Fwd: AKIRA KUROSAWA AND POST W.W.II CINEMA OF JAPAN

Edward Fowler ebfowler at benfranklin.hnet.uci.edu
Wed Sep 22 14:21:22 EDT 1999


To Professor Soifer/KineJapan:  

I haven't noticed any replies to your message, and can only assume
that they haven't been cc'ed to the KineJapan list.  Pardon me,
therefore, for any redundancies in my own reply.  

I can't help wondering why you would want information re: Kurosawa 
with a focus on the 1990s, which is to say, the very end of his long
career, which began in the early 1940s.  I, for one, believe that
some of his very best work was done BEFORE _Rashomon_ (1950).  The
significance of his early work is suggested by Stephen Prince in
_The Warrior's Camera_, and explicated even more trenchantly by
Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto in his forthcoming study of Kurosawa (which
should be out by the time you teach your course).

I have been asked to teach an auteur course on Kurosawa by my school
this coming spring, and I plan to focus on the early years, which has
too often and too facilely been relegated to the status of "formative
period."  Anyone who can lead me to the film texts (esp. 16mm or laser
discs for purchase) of this period, from _Sugata Sanshiro_ (Sanshiro
Sugata; 1943) to _Shuubun_ (Scandal; 1950) for purchase, please contact
me at ebfowler at uci.edu. Thanks, Ted Fowler


On Tue, 21 Sep 1999, Ono Seiko and Aaron Gerow wrote:

> This request was on H-Film, but I'm sure more people here can help Prof. 
> Soifer.  Please send your responses to the original sender with a copy to 
> the list (I'm sure people would be interested in seeing responses).
> 
> ---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ----------------
> From: Alexander Soifer <asoifer at brain.uccs.edu>
> 
> Comrades:
> 
> I am teaching now a course
> 
>         ANDRZEJ WAJDA AND 50 YEARS OF POLISH CINEMA
> 
> One day I would share my thoughts on it with you. Here I would just say
> that the format of featuring one director with a major body of work, and
> 
> inscribing in the course other important filmmakers has been working
> very well. And so I decided to offer my students in the Fall-2000 the
> following course:
> 
>         AKIRA KUROSAWA AND POST W.W.II CINEMA OF JAPAN
> 
> I am at preliminary stages, developing the course, and would appreciate
> your input regarding inclusion of the films that will be featured,
> especially
> films of the 1990s.
> 
> I would also appreciate suggestions on the good  web sources.
> I myself found one fine site of  Aaron Gerow's film reviews.
> 
> And I truly need your input on text(s) for the course. I would like
> the text to not only address the cinema itself, but also discuss how
> Japanese cinema stems from, reflects upon and in turn creates national
> culture.
> 
>     Thank you all in advance!
> 
>                 Alexander Soifer
> 
> 
> ----------------- End Forwarded Message -----------------
> 




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