Thank you so much to Kristen and Roger!!<br><br>A few months back some one who was part of that film festival posted on this list their film list and about the event. so I contacted that person off list and got the bibliography. Looking at the Bibliography, I wished that I had taken spanish in high school than taking french, but alas tis life. <br>
<br>Thank you Roger so much for giving me an overview / description of the book. I really appreciate it. I guess I should invest in a magnifying glass so I can read the small english text you described as painful to read. I knew that this book existed, but since it was in spanish I wasnt sure if it would be useful to me. Now knowing that there is at least an english text accompanying it, I will take a look at it. <br>
<br>I think the concerns you have mentioned about the book is kind of the trend some film "criticism" on japanese film noir (I use quotes because I dont think its sometime really criticism) focuses alot on describing the plot or the "behind the scenes look" description of its production, rather than strong thematic or visual analysis. But it gives me hope that Japanese Film Noir is being spotlighted in some way and my contribution would be that part which the discourse lacks. <br>
<br>I really appreciate both of your comments Kristen and Roger. <br><br>Yuki <br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 4:12 AM, Roger Macy <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:macyroger@yahoo.co.uk">macyroger@yahoo.co.uk</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><span><font face="Arial">Dear
Yuki,</font></span></div>
<div>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><span><font face="Arial">I have in front of me a
2008 book called <i>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.</font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><span><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> </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.</font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><span><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!).</font></span></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><span><font face="Arial">The San Sebastian festival (to
abbreviate the name) runs at least two major retrospectives each year.<span> </span>Each retrospective gets a book published
but one has more lavish treatment than the other. When San Sebastian did their
retrospective on Naruse in 1998, they produced a magnificent book.<span> </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> </span>All this
was presented in side-by-side English and Spanish texts arranged around a
beautifully constructed banquet of stills.<span>
</span>A book of similar production values has been published this year, but it
is on another 2008 retrospective, on Mario
Monicelli.</font></span></p>
<p 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> </span>And what anglo-saxon publisher would
translate all their output into Spanish – or any other language.<span> </span>But a reviewer should distinguish his
material to the exclusion of any misunderstanding.</font></p>
<p 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>
</span>The Spanish texts are together at the front with the illustrations and
the English translations are at the back in smaller text.<span> </span>I have read the English text but, it
must be said with difficulty.<span> </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>
</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 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> </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> </span>Several essays show signs
of hurried assembly and a dearth of editing.<span> </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> </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 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>
</span>And despite the spread, some films in the retrospective are not mentioned
in the book at all.</font></p>
<p 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>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> </i>think he protests too much. <span> </span>Not even when it is followed by a
similarly-shot, blood-stained sheet ? <span> </span>Just not a very well developed rebellion,
methinks. Shigehiko Hasumi’s essay on <i>893
Gang</i><b>,</b> as the one crime film set
in Kyoto -
ironically, from the capital of crime-film production - also marshals material
in an interesting and focussed manner.<span>
</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>Cin</i><i><span>é</span>Asia</i> magazine) but Beatriz
Mart<span>í</span>nez’s metaphors morphed as
rapidly as a ghost from a bad horror movie.<span> </span>Kaizo Hayashi (whose <i>Most Terrible Time in My Life</i> was
showing in the retrospective, and who holds a detective’ licence in Japan)
produced a highly readable and interesting piece on Japanese fictional
detectives.<span> </span>It is strong on
factual content (although I think a 1959 Metropolitan was a <u>British</u> car
made by Austin
for the American market).<span> </span>Makoto
Shinozaki at least stays focussed, although his extremely detailed description
of the plot of <i>Kaoyaku</i>, not a film in
the retrospective,<b> </b>is a level of
detail too far, when there was so much other material demanding attention.<span> </span>If you want to drop the names of some
poisonous women, Toshihirō Motomura has seen more than a few.</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Probably the
most valuable section of the book is the ‘Bio-filmographic Dictionary’.<span> </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 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
Japan, compared to those
elsewhere.</font></p>
<p 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 style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Shades of Black
– A Brief Introduction to Japanese Crime Films<span>
</span>Robert CUETO<span>
</span>267</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Representations
of the Dark World in Japanese Silent Films<span>
</span>Hiroshi KOMATSU<span>
</span>271</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Japanese Crime
Films in the 1940s and 1950s<span>
</span>Kyoko HIRANO<span>
</span>283</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">The Yakuza
Knight: <i>Ninkyo Eiga</i>, 1963-1973<span>
</span>Antonio Jos<span>é</span>
Navarro<span>
</span>297</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial"><i>Noir Nippon Eiga</i>? Notes on some Auteur
Thrillers of the 60s<span>
</span>Antonio WEINRICHTER<span>
</span>306</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">The Development
of Toei’s “Women of Battle”<span>
</span>Sadao YAMANE<span>
</span>312</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 193.25pt 0pt 0cm;"><font face="Arial">Why did
Kioto Fail to Become a “Crime City”?: from <i>The 893 Gang </i>by Sadao Nakajima to <i>Battles Without Honour and
</i></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial"><i>Humanity</i> by Kinji Fukasaku<span>
</span><span>
</span>Shigehiko HASUMI<span>
</span>321</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Jitsoroku
Fiction: The Roaring Seventies<span>
</span>Ignacio HUIDOBRO<span>
</span>329</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 193.25pt 0pt 0cm;"><font face="Arial">Sexploitation in the Japanese Film Noir: Pornography, Violence
</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">and B
Movies<span>
</span>Eduard Terrades VICENS<span>
</span>342</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">The Best Years
of Our Lives</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">(Or how new
Japanese film noir changed us forever)<span>
</span>Beatriz MART<span>Í</span>NEZ<span>
</span>359</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Japanese
Detective Films<span>
</span>Kaizo HAYASHI<span>
</span>379</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Vengeance is
Mine: Police Detective Films Since <i>Kaoyaku</i><span>
</span>Makato SHINOZAKI<span>
</span>388</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">The Poisonous
Women of Meiji, Taisho and Showa:</font></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Do not Touch Me,
I am Dangerous<span>
</span>Toshihiro
MOTOMURA<span>
</span>402</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Glossary<span>
</span>Daniel AGUILAR<span>
</span>414</font></p>
<p style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial"> </font></p>
<p 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 style="margin: 4pt 0cm 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Roger</font></p></div><div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c">
<blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px;">
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">----- Original Message ----- </div>
<div style="background: rgb(228, 228, 228) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
<b>From:</b>
<a title="yuki.nakayama@gmail.com" href="mailto:yuki.nakayama@gmail.com" target="_blank">Yuki
Nakayama</a> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>To:</b> <a title="KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu" href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu" target="_blank">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</a>
</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, February 25, 2009 2:37
AM</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><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 think about the genre "Japanese Film Noir".<br><br>I have been having
trouble finding sources that discuss japanese fim noir, the japanese
appropriation of noir aesthetics, or Teruo Ishii extensively. I have been
using specific films to do my searches, but if anyone knows any books/articles
(in either japanese or english) that talk about it, it would be greatly
appreciated. If anyone has any comments too feel free to email me about it.
<br><br>Thank you for your time,<br><br>Yuki Nakayama<br>University of
California, Berkeley<br>(<a href="mailto:yuki.nakayama@gmail.com" target="_blank">yuki.nakayama@gmail.com</a>) <br></blockquote></div></div></div>
</blockquote></div><br>