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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>It's also worth noting that the film was preserved by the
BFI out the old 'Film Society' stocks. The still of 'Crossroads' was
wheeled out several times in Sight and Sound etc. in the thirties and forties as
apparently the only available still to illustrate a Japanese reference in the
text.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>So that still, which they presumably still have, ought to
be completely immune to any copyright claim from Shochiku.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Roger</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=aaron.gerow@yale.edu href="mailto:aaron.gerow@yale.edu">Aaron
Gerow</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> Monday, February 15, 2010 1:06
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: still wanted: a still from
"Crossroads"</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">
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<DIV>Following a suggestion made here, I did e-mail the
Kawakita Institute about getting a still from Kinugasa's "Crossroads"
for my book. What they said, however--and this will be, I think, of
interest to others here because of the issues it raises--is that the film is
copyrighted by Shochiku (which is news to me), that they are very strict on
copyrights and I need to go to them and get their permission first before
they (Kawakita) can send anything to me. Considering that without any
difficulty at all I will be able to get photos from great American silent
classics like "The Big Parade" and "Ben-Hur" which really are in copyright,
I find this response a bit bizarre. It's my understanding that all
Japanese silent films are as much in the public domain as all Chinese and
Russian/Soviet silents. And in any case, Shochiku never released
"Crossroads" on VHS or
DVD. </DIV></FONT></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></DIV>
<DIV>This doesn't surprise me at all. Markus and I note that the Kawakita has
become less cooperative in recent years in our Research Guide to Japanese Film
Studies. There are basically two problems: 1) companies like Shochiku
asserting rights that they may not have (remember that Jujiro is now out on a
cut-rate DVD without, presumably, Shochiku's permission); and 2) institutions
like Kawakita refusing to stand up and speak out on behalf of
scholars. </DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Still, I should note that the person at the desk at Kawakita also
initially balked when I asked for stills of Page of Madness for my book. I
insisted on talking to someone higher up, who ended up being much more
reasonable and agreed that the film was in the public domain and that I could
have the stills. I do wonder if you can't do the same with
Jujiro. </DIV><BR>
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<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">Aaron Gerow</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">Associate Professor</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and
Literatures</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">Yale University</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">53 Wall Street, Room 316</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">PO Box 208363</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">New Haven, CT 06520-8363</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">USA</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">Phone: 1-203-432-7082</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">Fax: 1-203-432-6764</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">e-mail: <A
href="mailto:aaron.gerow@yale.edu">aaron.gerow@yale.edu</A></DIV>
<DIV>site: <A href="http://www.aarongerow.com">www.aarongerow.com</A></DIV><BR
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