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<DIV><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial>Dear
Yuki,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial>I have in front of me a
2008 book called <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Japón en Negro –
Japanese Film Noir</I>, edited by Roberto Cueto, published by the Festival
Internacional de Cine de Donastia-San Sebastian, from whom it can be
obtained.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial>I did offer to review it
for a couple of sites, but they always preferred other books, and I’m not sure I
blame them, as it really doesn’t much address ‘the appropriation of noir
aesthetics’ (which, of course, it should have centred on).<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It even has 60 indexed references to
ISHII Teruo, of which half I can assume are in Spanish and half repeated in
English, as it has parallel texts.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial>Having picked it up again,
I hope list-members will indulge my describing the book in more detail for a
select, audience (Yuki!).<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face=Arial>The <?xml:namespace prefix
= st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Sebastian</st1:City></st1:place> festival (to
abbreviate the name) runs at least two major retrospectives each year.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Each retrospective gets a book published
but one has more lavish treatment than the other. When <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Sebastian</st1:place></st1:City> did their
retrospective on Naruse in 1998, they produced a magnificent book.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Two outstanding Japanese critics were
engaged for a general introduction, a filmography was commissioned and a clutch
of interesting writers in the film world contributed their subjective
experiences around Naruse.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>All this
was presented in side-by-side English and Spanish texts arranged around a
beautifully constructed banquet of stills.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>A book of similar production values has been published this year, but it
is on another 2008 retrospective, on Mario
Monicelli.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>It seems
ungrateful to carp on such a point – what other festival produces three
substantial film books a year, besides their full catalogue ?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And what anglo-saxon publisher would
translate all their output into Spanish – or any other language.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But a reviewer should distinguish his
material to the exclusion of any misunderstanding.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Japón en Negro
is no make-weight, at some 1.3kg, and comprises chapters by 14 contributors,
half of them Spanish and half Japanese.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The Spanish texts are together at the front with the illustrations and
the English translations are at the back in smaller text.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I have read the English text but, it
must be said with difficulty.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This
is partly for production reasons: the English text is about the size of
newsprint, but no newspaper would expect their readers (1) to follow a line of
small print right across a wide page, (2) print on glossy paper or (3)
double-justify without hyphenation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Counter-intuitive it may be, but it is well researched how the
consistency of word-spacing affects readability of roman-alphabet texts, and it
is indefensible in this age to cause readers of books to have to ponder why they
are suddenly unable to read.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>But, alas, the
causes of the struggle to read the English text are not wholly in the technical
production of the book.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
printing of the chapter-titles at the top of each page would not only have
helped the reader, it would have helped some of the writers to stay
focused.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Several essays show signs
of hurried assembly and a dearth of editing.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some of the writers who appear in the
book have published much more coherently in English elsewhere, so the
translation is suspect. Tellingly, the translation credits are not linked to any
particular text, and only two of the five translators could possibly be native
English speakers.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In other cases
the chapters are random chains of titles of films the author has watched, linked
by unorganised and uncritical text, so it is not just a problem of
translation.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Although the
film index alone covers 21 three-column pages, there is no consistency as to
which language will be the main entry.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>And despite the spread, some films in the retrospective are not mentioned
in the book at all.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>I found Sadao
Yamane’s essay on Toei’s ‘Woman of Battle’ (the actress, Junko Fuji, and those
that followed) readable and interesting, although, when Yamane repeats his
assertion that in <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Female Prisoner #701:
Scorpion</I>, the fluttering of the Hinomaru (the Japanese national flag) ‘isn’t
a depiction of defiance or rebellion against the nation state’, I<I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> </I>think he protests too much. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Not even when it is followed by a
similarly-shot, blood-stained sheet ? <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Just not a very well developed rebellion,
methinks. Shigehiko Hasumi’s essay on <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">893
Gang</I><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">,</B> as the one crime film set
in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kyoto</st1:place></st1:City> -
ironically, from the capital of crime-film production - also marshals material
in an interesting and focussed manner.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Eduard Terrades Vicens piece on ‘Sexploitation on the Film Noir’ is worth
sticking with (the Spanish text makes clearer that it is revised from a piece in
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Cin</I><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">é</SPAN>Asia</I> magazine) but Beatriz
Mart<SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">í</SPAN>nez’s metaphors morphed as
rapidly as a ghost from a bad horror movie.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Kaizo Hayashi (whose <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Most Terrible Time in My Life</I> was
showing in the retrospective, and who holds a detective’ licence in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place>)
produced a highly readable and interesting piece on Japanese fictional
detectives.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is strong on
factual content (although I think a 1959 Metropolitan was a <U>British</U> car
made by <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Austin</st1:City></st1:place>
for the American market).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Makoto
Shinozaki at least stays focussed, although his extremely detailed description
of the plot of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Kaoyaku</I>, not a film in
the retrospective,<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> </B>is a level of
detail too far, when there was so much other material demanding attention.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If you want to drop the names of some
poisonous women, Toshihirō Motomura has seen more than a few.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Probably the
most valuable section of the book is the ‘Bio-filmographic Dictionary’.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Perhaps the information on many of the
directors can be found elsewhere, but the short notes on actors and, in
particular, screenwriters and adapted authors of Japanese crime fiction, are a
resource not otherwise available in any western language.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Although the
editor was wise not to devote another hundred pages of the literature to the
barren question as to what constitutes Film Noir, the book could have had more
coherence if it looked more at the thematic concerns of crime films in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place>, compared to those
elsewhere.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>I should
conclude by noting that there is no Contents listing for the English-language
texts, which I set out below :-</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Shades of Black
– A Brief Introduction to Japanese Crime Films<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>Robert CUETO<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>267</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Representations
of the Dark World in Japanese Silent Films<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>Hiroshi KOMATSU<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>271</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Japanese Crime
Films in the 1940s and 1950s<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 4">
</SPAN>Kyoko HIRANO<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>283</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>The Yakuza
Knight: <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Ninkyo Eiga</I>, 1963-1973<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 4">
</SPAN>Antonio Jos<SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">é</SPAN>
Navarro<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>297</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Noir Nippon Eiga</I>? Notes on some Auteur
Thrillers of the 60s<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>Antonio WEINRICHTER<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>306</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>The Development
of Toei’s “Women of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Battle</st1:place></st1:City>”<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 4">
</SPAN>Sadao YAMANE<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>312</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 193.25pt 0pt 0cm"><FONT face=Arial>Why did
Kioto Fail to Become a “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Crime</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">City</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>”?: from <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The 893 Gang </I>by Sadao Nakajima to <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Battles Without Honour and
<o:p></o:p></I></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm -4.75pt 0pt 0cm"><FONT face=Arial><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Humanity</I> by Kinji Fukasaku<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 4">
</SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>Shigehiko HASUMI<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>321</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Jitsoroku
Fiction: The Roaring Seventies<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 5">
</SPAN>Ignacio HUIDOBRO<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>329</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 193.25pt 0pt 0cm"><FONT
face=Arial>Sexploitation in the Japanese Film Noir: Pornography, Violence
</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm -4.75pt 0pt 0cm"><FONT face=Arial>and B
Movies<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 8">
</SPAN>Eduard Terrades VICENS<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>342</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>The Best Years
of Our Lives</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>(Or how new
Japanese film noir changed us forever)<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 3">
</SPAN>Beatriz MART<SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Í</SPAN>NEZ<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>359</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Japanese
Detective Films<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 7">
</SPAN>Kaizo HAYASHI<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>379</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Vengeance is
Mine: Police Detective Films Since <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Kaoyaku</I><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>Makato SHINOZAKI<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>388</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>The Poisonous
Women of Meiji, Taisho and Showa:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Do not Touch Me,
I am Dangerous<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 5">
</SPAN>Toshihiro
MOTOMURA<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>402</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>Glossary<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 9">
</SPAN>Daniel AGUILAR<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 2">
</SPAN>414</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Arial> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=Arial>So, you’re still
there, Yuki, this may well NOT be the answer to your needs, but at least I’ve
marked out some rocks to navigate around.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 4pt 0cm 0pt"><FONT
face=Arial>Roger</FONT></P></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=yuki.nakayama@gmail.com href="mailto:yuki.nakayama@gmail.com">Yuki
Nakayama</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, February 25, 2009 2:37
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Japanese Film Noir and Ishii
Teruo</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Hello my name is Yuki. I am a 4th year undergraduate film major
at University of California, Berkeley. I am currently working on my Honor's
Thesis on Japanese Film Noir with supervision from Miryam Sas. My thesis is
going to focus mainly on Ishii Teruo's Line series and few of his other films
which utilize noir aesthetics. I will be using Ishii's films as a
representative to explore the utilization of Noir aesthetics/themes/narratives
to t