You need to think of Kurosawa's age in the 1920s (just in his teens!), but also about his older brother who was a radical and a benshi. I can imagine an Embassy (or some sort of underground) screening, but, as noted in previous discussions, I can also imagine an encounter through articles with stills and then memory playing tricks!<br>
Lla<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 17 January 2011 16:37, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mccaskem@georgetown.edu">mccaskem@georgetown.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
If Potemkin did get shown in Japan, maybe piracy wasn't involved, but p;ossibly<br>
"underground" viewings. In those days, film was on jumbo reels, in flat round<br>
cans, enough cans for a full-length film taking up the space of a few jumbo<br>
pizzas in boxes, stacked up. That could have fitted in one large suitcase back<br>
then.<br>
<br>
Japan established diplomatic relations with the USSR in 1925, so it might have<br>
been possible for the Russian Embassy to bring films in without Customs<br>
inspection. Katayama Sen, a flounder of the JCP, was a Comintern leader in the<br>
USSR then, and he's likely to have been pleased if some people sympathetic to<br>
the USSR in Japan were to see the film. Pudovkin's Storm Over Asia was legally<br>
shown in Japan, and apparently so was Pudovkin's earlier film Mother, the same<br>
year Kurosawa says he saw Potemkin.<br>
<br>
The details of how people might have seen the film, if they did, would be hard<br>
to find now.<br>
<br>
In the same way, in the period 1945-1953, it seems pretty clear that Kurosawa<br>
must have seen some Italian Neo-Realist films, judging from the various echoes<br>
of some of them in his own, though it's unlikely that most Japanese ordinary<br>
audiences got to see many foreign films, other than US ones, during those years.<br>
<br>
Even so, Kinema Junpo resumed including foreign films in its annual Bests in<br>
1946. All Foreign Bests were American or British in 1946.<br>
<br>
In 1947, it was the same, except for 1 Russian film, Stone Flower.<br>
<br>
In 1948, 5 of the 10 Foreign Best were French, the first French ones since 1940.<br>
<br>
In 1949, out of the Foreign Best Ten, two were Italian, Vivere in Pace and Paisa,<br>
and 3 were French.<br>
<br>
In 1950, three - Bicycle Thieves Open City, and Shoeshine - were Italian, 2 were<br>
French, and the Usual Remaining 5 were US.<br>
<br>
In 1951, 7 were US or UK, 2 French, and 1 Italian.<br>
<br>
In 1952, 3 were US, 4 were French, 1 - Miracle in Milan - was Italian, Froeken<br>
Julie was Swedish, and the last, The River, was directed by Jean Renoir, but acted<br>
in English, and set in India.<br>
<br>
In 1953, 8 were in English, 1 was French - Forbidden Games, and 1 was Bunuel's<br>
Los Olvidados.<br>
<br>
Though so many foreign films were shown in Japa, 1946-1953, it's unlikely that<br>
most Japanese audiences saw many of them.<br>
<br>
But it's also very likely that someone like Kurosawa, along with the KJ Judges and<br>
a select no. of people in Tokyo, got to see all of them. It's also more than likely<br>
that he got to see foreign films, some in US facilities, that many Japanese had no<br>
way to see at all then.<br>
<br>
For those who'd like to go deeper, check for errors, etc., these dates and nos. are<br>
from Kinema Junpo Besuto Ten, 1924-2006, ISBN 978-4-87376-656-0.<br>
<br>
The whole book is filled with terrific information about Japanese Best Ten Films<br>
over the course of ca. 80 yrs. - minus some war years. They stopped having<br>
Foreign Bests after 1940, and there were no Best 10s at all after 1942, until they<br>
were resumed in 1946.<br>
<br>
Best Regards,<br>
<br>
M. McCaskey<br>
Georgetown Univ.<br>
</blockquote></div><br>