<html><head></head><body><div class="yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:arial;font-size:16px;"><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">I never met Mr. Bordwell, but his work deeply inspired me, not just through his classic book about Ozu, but with his excellent book on Carl Dreyer. He made me see how strange and eccentric (in a good way) these two great filmmakers were, despite well-meaning attempts by critics and scholars to flatten them into some arbitrary concept of "classic" cinema. <br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">He was a major inspiration on the Wikipedia article on <i>Late Spring</i> that I created (or rather re-created from scratch, throwing out most of what was already there) in the early 2010s. I made an effort with that page to draw upon all significant scholarship in English about that masterpiece film. I haven't counted, but I believe that I cited Bordwell in the footnotes more often than any other writer, even Richie. <br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">I've just downloaded and begun reading with great enjoyment his book <i>The Rhapsodes</i> about the four most important pre-1960s American film critics: Otis Ferguson, Manny Farber, Parker Tyler and James Agee. (I'm a big Agee fan.) Not much alluded to in the text I've read so far is how Mr. Bordwell himself is part of the tradition of passionate fanship mixed with genuine scholarship established by these four writers. <br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">Jack "David" Baldwin</div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">New York<br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div id="ydpfd71aa80yahoo_quoted_9568506966" class="ydpfd71aa80yahoo_quoted">
<div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#26282a;">
<div>
On Sunday, March 3, 2024 at 04:20:06 AM EST, kinejapan-request@mailman.yale.edu <kinejapan-request@mailman.yale.edu> wrote:
</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Today's Topics:<br><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"> 1. Re: Rest in Peace, DB (Ryan Cook)<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">----------------------------------------------------------------------<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Message: 1<br></div><div dir="ltr">Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2024 23:19:51 -1000<br></div><div dir="ltr">From: Ryan Cook <<a href="mailto:mauvaischat77@gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mauvaischat77@gmail.com</a>><br></div><div dir="ltr">To: Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <<a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>><br></div><div dir="ltr">Cc: "mekerpan@kerpan.com" <<a href="mailto:mekerpan@kerpan.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mekerpan@kerpan.com</a>>, quentin turnour<br></div><div dir="ltr"> <<a href="mailto:unkleque@yahoo.com.au" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">unkleque@yahoo.com.au</a>>, Michael Kerpan <<a href="mailto:mekerpan2@gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mekerpan2@gmail.com</a>><br></div><div dir="ltr">Subject: Re: [KineJapan] Rest in Peace, DB<br></div><div dir="ltr">Message-ID:<br></div><div dir="ltr"> <<a href="mailto:CAHOd6yjUHoP01hBNzkJToCf5jvFyKr_MAnGfSQr7C8Zx9Qha8Q@mail.gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CAHOd6yjUHoP01hBNzkJToCf5jvFyKr_MAnGfSQr7C8Zx9Qha8Q@mail.gmail.com</a>><br></div><div dir="ltr">Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Responding to Aaron's comment about Hasumi's criticism of Bordwell in the<br></div><div dir="ltr">(forthcoming this Tuesday in English translation, UCPSAVE30!) Ozu book,<br></div><div dir="ltr">yes, Hasumi does take issue with the Bordwellian norm and exception system<br></div><div dir="ltr">of "difference" in his preference for a probably Deleuzian "affirmation of<br></div><div dir="ltr">abundance" in Ozu, but the chapters in question were of course published in<br></div><div dir="ltr">1983, well before Bordwell's Ozu book. In fact, I suspect that Bordwell<br></div><div dir="ltr">himself responded to Hasumi's book in limited ways, probably<br></div><div dir="ltr">borrowing terms from Hasumi like "phatic communication" to describe speech<br></div><div dir="ltr">in Ozu. In critiquing Bordwell, Hasumi was responding to the "Space and<br></div><div dir="ltr">Narrative in the Films of Ozu" essay, but even there he shows a<br></div><div dir="ltr">reverence toward Bordwell and Thompson that he certainly does not<br></div><div dir="ltr">demonstrate toward certain other figures whose ideas he critiques in the<br></div><div dir="ltr">book... The later chapters, added in 2003, do reflect Hasumi's reading of<br></div><div dir="ltr">Bordwell's Ozu monograph. There is nothing deep there (in fact, Hasumi<br></div><div dir="ltr">misrepresents Bordwell's reading of I WAS BORN BUT, as I point out in a<br></div><div dir="ltr">footnote), but I think that later commentary reflects a respect for<br></div><div dir="ltr">Bordwell's work, if anything. In fact, I tried to get Bordwell to blurb the<br></div><div dir="ltr">Ozu book late last year when it was going to press, but was informed that<br></div><div dir="ltr">he was too unwell for such tasks, unfortunately. I hope the Hasumi<br></div><div dir="ltr">translation will invite new engagements with Bordwell's equally classic Ozu<br></div><div dir="ltr">study.<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Ryan<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">On Sat, Mar 2, 2024 at 10:12?PM quentin turnour via KineJapan <<br></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">> Hi Markus,<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> Thanks for letting us know. This is a shock.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> I knew David more though his Hong Kong cinema passions than those for<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Japanese cinema, although I conversed with him on Asian (and occasionally<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Australian cinema) across conference rooms, lecture plinths, email, dinner<br></div><div dir="ltr">> tables and cinema seat backs on maybe four continents over the years.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> No scholar was so much also the generalist buff and lived across and<br></div><div dir="ltr">> brought together the streams of screen (and in recent yars popular genre<br></div><div dir="ltr">> literary) scholarship, moving image archiving and living film production.<br></div><div dir="ltr">> And that he wanted to be a scholar and fan as much as a teacher stick in<br></div><div dir="ltr">> the mind. It was marvelous to see him taking it in from the front row of<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Bologna's Ill cinema ritrovato or contemporary, Asian cinema-focused<br></div><div dir="ltr">> festivals on both side of the Pacific, then rush back to blog on it in the<br></div><div dir="ltr">> evenings. Or getting very excited and talking selfies when chairing a<br></div><div dir="ltr">> judging panel at the Hong Kong Film Festival because actor Christopher<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Lambert was on his panel. Or supporting the careers of rising indie<br></div><div dir="ltr">> filmmakers whose films he'd seen (for example HK filmmaker Chan Tze-woon,<br></div><div dir="ltr">> who made a point of professing how valuable DB's early feedback had been at<br></div><div dir="ltr">> the seminar on documentary filmmakers and festivals held at last year's<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Yamagata).<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> And it was really humbling when he'd try to claim that he'd learnt a lot<br></div><div dir="ltr">> from you. When in truth you owed so much to him.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> Thoughts go his partner Kirstin and huge extended family of colleagues,<br></div><div dir="ltr">> collaborators and admirers.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> Many things need to get named after him...<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> Quentin Turnour<br></div><div dir="ltr">> National Archives of Australia / Cinema Reborn Film Festival.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> On Saturday, 2 March 2024 at 02:14:10 pm AEDT, Steven Elworth via<br></div><div dir="ltr">> KineJapan <<a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> I knew David for over 40 years. He was so knowledgeable about cinema and<br></div><div dir="ltr">> how to understand it closely and in context. He was also a great person.<br></div><div dir="ltr">> He is already missed. But we have the books and the blogs.<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Steve Elworth<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> On Fri, Mar 1, 2024 at 8:52?PM Michael Kerpan via KineJapan <<br></div><div dir="ltr">> <a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> While I never met Prof. Bordwell in person, we corresponded with each<br></div><div dir="ltr">> other from time to time. (His last trip to Boston was a year or so before<br></div><div dir="ltr">> I belatedly discovered Ozu). I always considered him my sensei when it came<br></div><div dir="ltr">> to Japanese cinema (especially Ozu, of course). I am quite sad -- it is<br></div><div dir="ltr">> too early to have to say goodbye to him.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> Michael Kerpan<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Boston<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> On Fri, Mar 1, 2024 at 8:36?PM Markus Nornes via KineJapan <<br></div><div dir="ltr">> <a href="mailto:kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">kinejapan@mailman.yale.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> SCMS just announced the passing of David Bordwell (b. 1947). David was a<br></div><div dir="ltr">> capacious, amazing scholar and incredibly generous. As a student, he<br></div><div dir="ltr">> entered grad school just as the field was taking shape. Imagine how<br></div><div dir="ltr">> exciting it was be studying a field that was nascent and just about<br></div><div dir="ltr">> anything you write was the first word. That was at Iowa, where he studied<br></div><div dir="ltr">> under Dudley Andrew who himself was just out of grad school and not too<br></div><div dir="ltr">> much older. I wonder if David was Dudley's first grad student.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> In the early 70s he became interested in Ozu, which was starting to<br></div><div dir="ltr">> circulate on 16mm and even TV. Then he offered a course pretty much<br></div><div dir="ltr">> centered on the director and rented all the prints he could get his hands<br></div><div dir="ltr">> on. At the time, there were the books by Schrader and Richie, but those<br></div><div dir="ltr">> didn't jive with what they were seeing. He told me he would go to the booth<br></div><div dir="ltr">> between classes and grab stills off the prints. From this experience, his<br></div><div dir="ltr">> student Ed Branigan wrote "The Space of Equinox Flower," and David and<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Kristin Thompson wrote their seminal "Space and Narrative in the Films of<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Ozu." I regularly teach this essay. It picks up all the things Richie,<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Schrader and others were writing about, adds a whole lot more, and<br></div><div dir="ltr">> describes it with a remarkable rigor that gives that essay a special<br></div><div dir="ltr">> durability. It's also a useful essay for seeing the development of what<br></div><div dir="ltr">> would later be called neo-formalism being thought out on the fly.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> In the background there was defining baselines that filmmakers like Ozu<br></div><div dir="ltr">> were working off of. The marker for that part of his research trajectory is<br></div><div dir="ltr">> the monumental *Classical Hollywood Cinema*, co-written with Thompson and<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Janet Staiger. That came out just when I started grad school, and it was an<br></div><div dir="ltr">> astounding read that demonstrated to a lot of us how to be a serious film<br></div><div dir="ltr">> scholar.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> And just a few years after this he followed up with Ozu and the Poetics of<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Cinema, which builds on his other writings at the time that explored norms<br></div><div dir="ltr">> that a given filmmaker plays with in doing something different. And the Ozu<br></div><div dir="ltr">> book is the prime example. The analyses in that film are unparalleled. Only<br></div><div dir="ltr">> someone as sensitive David could recognize the breathtaking intricacy of<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Ozu's work. It was criticized, even dismissed, by some for being thin on<br></div><div dir="ltr">> history. But for someone who is not a Japan specialist, with no language<br></div><div dir="ltr">> ability to crack the archive in the way they did with *CHC*, it's pretty<br></div><div dir="ltr">> solid history. And the heart of the book is breathtaking. I learned so much<br></div><div dir="ltr">> from that book, and still go back to it.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> At some point, David told me he was shocked and delighted to find the Ozu<br></div><div dir="ltr">> book in a New York used bookstore for over $400. I had no idea it was out<br></div><div dir="ltr">> of print. Princeton refused to reprint it because of all the photographs,<br></div><div dir="ltr">> which he found ridiculous and frustrating. So I reprinted it in digital<br></div><div dir="ltr">> form?long before the idea of "open access"?through UM's CJS Pubs (and this<br></div><div dir="ltr">> morning, I'm shocked to find that it's currently offline; I'll work on that<br></div><div dir="ltr">> asap). He actually hired a student to make new prints of the 300+ images<br></div><div dir="ltr">> and make what were then high res scans for the digital version. We actually<br></div><div dir="ltr">> made a novel interface that turned the small images on the pages into<br></div><div dir="ltr">> thumbnails that would call up the full res images. He was delighted with<br></div><div dir="ltr">> this, and continued to be frustrated with university presses and did a<br></div><div dir="ltr">> bunch of digital pubs and reprints in the future (eg., his Hong Kong cinema<br></div><div dir="ltr">> book).<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> His interest in Japanese film was lifelong, and actually it began with<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Mizoguchi. In fact, he attributes his decision to go to grad school to<br></div><div dir="ltr">> study cinema to his serendipitous encounter with Sansho the Bailiff in<br></div><div dir="ltr">> 1969. His major contribution on Mizoguchi is in *Figures Traced in Light*<br></div><div dir="ltr">> from 2008. He also published a nice supplement to the book on his blog:<br></div><div dir="ltr">> <a href="http://www.davidbordwell.net/books/figures_intro.php?ss=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.davidbordwell.net/books/figures_intro.php?ss=1</a><br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> If you haven't explored his blog, stop, take a moment and go down the<br></div><div dir="ltr">> rabbit hole. You can go to the sidebar on the right and find links that<br></div><div dir="ltr">> create discrete collections on Ozu, Mizoguchi and others. Many others:<br></div><div dir="ltr">> Kore-eda, Miike, Naruse, Miyazaki, nado nado.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> I learned A LOT from David Bordwell, but I especially learned how to look<br></div><div dir="ltr">> at Ozu and Mizoguchi. He'll be missed.<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div><div dir="ltr">> Markus<br></div><div dir="ltr">><br></div>[Remainder of post omitted]</div><div><br></div>
</div>
</div></div></body></html>