Tsuchi print in Russia

[Ono Seiko and Aaron Gerow]

The papers reported that researchers from the Museum of Modern Art, 
Tokyo, Film Center have found a nearly complete print of Uchida Tomu's 
masterpiece, _Tsuchi_ (Earth), in a Russian film archive.  Uchida's much 
celebrated 1939 film was lost believed to be lost until an abridged 
version was found in an East German archive in 1968.  That print, 
however, was missing the first and last scene, among others.  The print 
found in Russia still is missing the last scene, but it does include the 
10-minute first scene and is otherwise largely complete.  It is also 
reportedly in good condition.  It is believed the print was confiscated 
by Soviet armies in Manchuria at the end of WWII.

Many Japanese films have recently been found in Russian vaults, though 
the big problem is accumulating the money to bring them back to Japan.  
The Russians are apparently asking a high price for such films.

Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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