Early Movies Depicting WWII

[Rob Smith]

I just took out both Something Like an Autobiography and The Warrior's
Camera to double check, and I think I was misspeaking. Stephen Prince, in
The Warrior's Camera (pg. 54) has:

"None of Kurosawa's other films of this period demonstrates the consummate
> and professional command of form so evident in Sanshiro Sugata. These
> other works were made under conditions of official compulsion or were
> thematically and formally constrained by the exigencies of wartime."


I think this is what I was remembering, but his autobiography doesn't
indicate he did anything against his will (in fact, he met his first wife,
Yoko Yaguchi, while making The Most Beautiful). He does seem to intimate
that, much like after 9-11 for Americans, the wartime patriotism was a
little overboard. Perhaps he would not have made the film at all if he
hadn't been contacted by the Japanese navy, but he doesn't mention any
intimidation tactics, neither does Prince.

These are the only two books I have on Kurosawa, perhaps someone else has
more insight.


On 4/7/07, Jonathan M. Hall <jmhall at uci.edu> wrote:
>
> Dear All,
> Rob Smith raises, tentatively I see, an interesting question.  Was
> Kurosawa forced to make *The Most Beautiful*?  Was quitting his job a
> possibility? I wonder if the rhetoric of force is a contemporary means to
> deal with the question of life under fascism.  Of course, for those
> Americans on the list, we might be able to ask similar questions of
> ourselves?
>
> Yours,
> Jonathan
>
>
> -----
>
> Jonathan M. Hall
>
> Japanese Film, Media, and Modern Literature
>
> Assistant Professor, Comparative Literature / Film & Media Studies
>
>
> 320 Humanities Instructional Building
>
> UC Irvine, Irvine CA 92697-2651 USA
>
> office: 1-949-824-9778
>
> fax: 1-949-824-1992
>
>
> Co-Chair, Queer Caucus, Society for Cinema and Media Studies
>
>
>
>
> On Apr 6, 2007, at 3:24 PM, Rob Smith wrote:
>
> This won't answer the question specifically, but Kurosawa's "The Most
> Beautiful" might be worth taking a look at. It takes place in an optical
> plant during WW2, and does depict a little bit of the war during the climax,
> if I recall correctly.
> It's been a long time since I've read his own autobiography or Stephen
> Prince's book (I've never seen the film itself), but it's essentially a
> propaganda piece that he was, I think, forced to make during the war against
> his will (it was made in '44).
> Hope that helps, even though it doesn't really address the central issue
> of the question.
>
> On 4/6/07, Bruce Baird < baird at asianlan.umass.edu> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Colleagues,
> > This is a rudimentary question from a colleague (Steve Forrest--not
> > usually a KineJapan type) of mine here at UMass, but I thought that one of
> > you might know off the top of your head or already have a previously typed
> > file stored in your hard drive and thus could help out faster than I can.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Bruce
> >
> > PS.  No need to trouble  yourself with responding directly to Steve.  If
> > you just hit reply and respond to me or the list, I can forward replies on
> > to him
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > *From: * Stephen Forrest <sforrest at asianlan.umass.edu>
> > *Date: * April 6, 2007 2:04:37 PM EDT
> > *To: * Bruce Baird <baird at asianlan.umass.edu>
> > *Subject: * *Movie history question*
> >
> >
> > Hi Bruce,
> >
> > I'm wondering if know, or could look up (or suggest a good source for
> > looking up), the earliest Japanese movies that depict WWII actions and
> > events.  Between the end of the war and 1970 Tora! x3 is the period I'm
> > interested in, as of course there are all those victor's movies.  Any
> > thoughts?
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >  ______________________________________________________________
> >
> > Stephen M. FORREST,  Ph. D.
> > Exchange Program Director (Japan) and Assistant Undergraduate Advisor
> > Japanese Language and Literature
> > Dept. of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
> > University of Massachusetts Amherst
> >
> > * office*: Herter Hall 441              * phone*: (413) 545-4950
> >
> >          * Classical and Manuscript Japanese at UMass Amherst *
> > ______________________________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> > Bruce Baird
> > Assistant Professor
> > Asian Languages and Literatures
> > University of Massachusetts Amherst
> > Butô , Japanese Theater, Intellectual History
> >
> > 717 Herter Hall
> > 161 Presidents Drive
> > University of Massachusetts Amherst
> > Amherst, MA 01003-9312
> > Phone: 413-577-4992
> > Fax: 413-545-4975
> > baird at asianlan.umass.edu
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> -rob
> http://www.robixsmash.com/
>
>
>
>


-- 
-rob
http://www.robixsmash.com/
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