question regarding subs

[Aaron Gerow]

I've mentioned this before on the list, but since it's important, I'll 
say it again.

> What is the best way of locating oringinal Japanese scripts?  Through 
> the studios?  Having to transcribe from VHS is something I'd prefer to 
> avoid...

You can always try the studio, but institutions like the Waseda 
University Engeki Hakubutsukan are much less of a hassle. They have a 
big collection of scripts, both published and unpublished.
>
> I've been told that film scripts are often released in paperback form 
> in Japan.  Any suggestions on how to locate these scripts?

For an index to published screenplays, including the many that were 
published in film magazines, consult Tanikawa Yoshio's Shinario bunken 
(T?oky?o : F?ut?osha, 1997).

Just a note: whatever script you use, you should be prepared for 
discrepancies with the actual film. Unpublished scripts may be shooting 
scripts that ended up being changed during filming. Since "scenario 
literature" is popular as a form in Japan, many of the publications 
that print scripts such as the magazine Shinario or the Nenkan daihyo 
shinario shu prefer to publish the script as produced by its author, 
that is, the screenwriter. This can differ from the final film if the 
director changed things. One can find in print, for instance, Nozawa 
Hitoshi's original script for Kitano's Violent Cop, but it is nothing 
like the final film.

Ideally, for doing subtitles, you should obtain a postproduction script 
from the studios, but those are hard to get, especially with older 
films. Other scripts are mostly a decent guide to the film.

Aaron Gerow
Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Film Studies Program
Yale University
53 Wall Street, Room 316
PO Box 208363
New Haven, CT 06520-8363
USA
Phone: 1-203-432-7082
Fax: 1-203-432-6764
e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu