Shakespeare and Japanese Film

[Melek Ortabasi]

Hi Jerry,

I'm just stabbing in the dark here, but actor/director Ninagawa Yukio 
(father of Ninagawa Mika, director of last year's _Sakuran_) has done 
a lot of Shakespeare - on stage. I wonder if anyone out there knows 
of any video recordings of the performances?

I also remember watching a TV drama last year in which one of the 
main characters was a Shakespearean actor - the final episode 
features his interpretation of King Lear. "Yakusha damashii" aired in 
Fall 2006. Check out http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Yakusha_Damashii for 
more info. Not exactly what you were looking for, maybe, but hth.

Cheers,
Melek

>Thanks for all the responses thus far. I'm pretty familiar with most 
>of the Kurosawa films. One member emailed me a link to this film 
><http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053919/>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053919/ 
>by Kato Tai that is a version of Hamlet.
>
>For my short paper, that I'm eventually hoping to flesh out later, I 
>don't necessarily have to view two Japanese versions of Shakespeare, 
>I just thought it would be interesting to do so if I could find two 
>versions of the same play. Like I mentioned it can be loosely based. 
>I'm having a hard time finding anything other than the Kurosawa 
>films. I want to go off the beaten path and see if there is anything 
>available by other Japanese directors past and present (if possible).
>
>Thanks for the responses, and if you run across anything else please 
>don't hesitate to drop me a line.
>
>
>
>
>
>On 9/26/07, Yuna de Lannoy 
><<mailto:yuna_tasaka at hotmail.com>yuna_tasaka at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>Does it have to be a comparison between two Japanese films?
>
>If not, how about comparing Kurosawa's Ran with Grigori Kozintsev's 
>King Lear? I am always fascinated by how the two directors treated 
>the same scene in their unique ways eg. the sequence of Gloucester's 
>suicide attempt. Have you checked Jan Kott's Shakespeare Our 
>Contemporary? There is an interesting passage about the sequence.
>
>Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well is also loosely based on Hamlet. You 
>might be able to compare it with Kozintsev's Gamlet, although the 
>two films are very far from each other.
>
>And lastly, Orson Wells made Macbeth in 1948.
>
>Yuna
>
>
>Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:32:36 -0400
>From: <mailto:robixsmash at gmail.com>robixsmash at gmail.com
>To: <mailto:KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu> 
>KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
>Subject: Re: Shakespeare and Japanese Film
>
>
>I don't know of any other Japanese versions of Macbeth, but 
>Kurosawa's Ran is based on King Lear.
>
>On 9/26/07, Jerry Turner <<mailto:jdturner1 at gmail.com> 
>jdturner1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>Hello,
>
>I need a little help from some of you film buffs. I have a short 
>film adaptation paper due soon. The assignment is to discuss two 
>filmed versions of one play by Shakespeare. It's just a small 
>comparison paper, so I will probably just focus on one or two scenes 
>in particular and how they are done in both films.
>
>I really love Kurosawa's Throne of Blood, but don't know of any 
>other Japanese adaptations of Macbeth. If anyone knows of another 
>good Japanese film based on Macbeth (even if it's loosely based) 
>please let me know. Otherwise, if you know of a pair of good film 
>adaptations based on Shakespeare's work I would be most grateful.
>
>Thanks!
>
>
>
>
>--
>-rob
><http://www.robixsmash.com/>http://www.robixsmash.com/
>
>
>
>Play Movie Mash-up and win <https://www.moviemashup.co.uk>BIG prizes!


-- 
Melek Ortabasi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Comparative Literature
Hamilton College
Clinton, NY

**Visiting Researcher at The University of Tokyo, 2006-2007**
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