Introduction and request for help on 1930s film

[Wei Ting Jen]

Hello,

Been on the list for a couple of months now but haven't really posted much, 
but feel a bit less shy now after meeting some of you in person at the 
Kinema Club V :)

Just wanted to introduce myself really briefly as well as talk about the 
dissertation I'm working on.

Name is Wei Ting, currently attending graduate school in Osaka. My primary 
research interests are Sino-Japanese relations and cultural history, as for 
film I just watch lots of it. It's my dream to someday move into political 
documentaries and perhaps make a film on modern-day Sino-Japanese 
relations...but until I get more people on board it's going to remain a pipe 
dream.

I'm currently working on my dissertation which is on the representation of 
the "China Incident" in Japanese film in the 1930s. I'm primarily looking at 
the development of the news film industry, the plethora of "Japan saves 
China" drama films, and documentary films by filmmakers such as Kamei Fumio 
as well as other propaganda films. Despite the extreme difficulty in getting 
hold of these old films I've had a little measure of success by hunting down 
video rental stores, searching on Yahoo Auctions, etc. There really doesn't 
seem to be any better way of accessing these films, and my library's 
collection is paltry. 

At the moment I'm on the hunt for several films, and would appreciate if 
anybody could provide me with any leads on viewing them: 
Anything with Ri Koran, especially China Nights, The Road to the Pacific 
War, Sakebu Ajia (Asia cries out), Kamei Fumio's Peking, The Good Earth 
(Paramount, or MGM? I forget. I found it on Amazon but it cost like $50 to 
ship it hear to Japan), Hokushi no Sora wo Tsuku (Striking at the North 
Skies), Five Scouts, Mud & Soldiers, Shanghai Rikusentai

In addition I also have a list of Toho Bunka Eiga films which I found in a 
1938 edition of Kinema Junpo, all of which have to do with the China 
Incident. (These include productions by Kamei, Monbusho, Rikugunsho and 
Kaigunsho, etc etc). Would the best way to try and view these films be just 
to ring up Toho and ask? As a film-studies novice I would appreciate any 
advice on this matter. Yoroshiku!

That's it from me for now, thanks in advance for the help. And before I 
forget, many thanks to Prof Miryam Sas for introducing me to Kinema Club, 
and to Mark Normes for encouraging me to go for the conference.

cheers
Wei Ting



-- 
"Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward, You can 
only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will 
somehow connect in your future." - Steve Jobs
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