50000 Films Found?

[Aaron Gerow]

A colleague has pointed this fantastic news out to me (it is in  
Japanese):

http://www.mainichi-msn.co.jp/shakai/wadai/news/ 
20050211ddm041040082000c.html

This has also been reported on the Masters of Cinema website and here  
is their summary:

February 11, 2005

[50,000 OLD ASIAN FILMS FOUND]

Mainichi Shimbun newspaper today reports the death of a legendary  
Japanese film collector, Yoshishige Abe, aged 81. His father was a  
police doctor who worked for the Korean Consulate, and together they  
both collected fifty-thousand films both pre and post war at their  
storehouse. They had previously refused all investigations by scholars,  
and it is not clear just how many of the films are still viewable.

   The article focuses mostly on Na Unkyu's debut Arirang (1926), one of  
the most influential films of early Korean cinema, and long thought  
lost. North and South Korea apparently each sent representatives to  
reclaim the film but Abe refused. Thinking of it as an anti-Japan movie  
he said he would be willing to give the film rolls to both nations only  
if Korea united.

   Abe has no heir, so after the lawful procedures, National Film Center  
[Tokyo] will investigate the films. The catalogue contains Daichi wa  
Hohoemu [The Earth Smiles]  (Mizoguchi, 1925) amongst its many  
treasures. Thanks to Kimitoshi Sato for sending us this incredible  
news.   -N.W.


It's ironic that with the Korean boom in Japan these days, the Arirang  
news is played up (important news though it is), even though it is much  
more likely that the grand majority of these films are Japanese.

I've heard rumors about this guy for a while, but I only hope these  
films are in good condition. There are a number of private collectors  
out there who are hoarding their films, even when they are made of  
explosive nitrate stock. Let's pray that there are some great films in  
this collection and that they will be viewable.

Aaron Gerow
KineJapan owner

Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University

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