AW: Lost Japanese Films

Thu Dec 11 12:44:50 EST 2008

Roland,Thanks for this fascinating information about the film, and especially about Zensho Kinema.I would be interested to find out what the different versions of the films were - I just assumed they were two parts of a larger whole.Also, what films by Zensho still survive?It's so depressing that such huge swathes of Japanese film history have vanished!Martin, that's very interesting, and quite a coincidence - I just came across this Shinko Kinema tile earlier today. The director's name seems to have been transliterated in a number of ways: I've seen it as Kito Shigeru and Kifuji Shigeru in Western sources, but as Mokutou Shigeru in Japanese. Does anyone know which one it is for sure? He seems to have been fairly prolific.I am also really interested where you saw the film. I know Matsuda Productions in Japan have both a poster of this film (http://www.matsudafilm.com/matsuda/f_pages/f_6e.html), which seems to have been revived in Japan in the 1960s, and also it appears a print (http://www.matsudafilm.com/matsuda/e_pages/e_d_2e.html), along with a another of Shinko's bakeneko films with Takako Irie, The Ghost Cat and the Mysterious Shamisen from 1938. Did you see the film screened, or was it on DVD. thanks,JasperMidnight Eye
www.midnighteye.com> Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:50:53 +0100> From: eigagogo at free.fr> To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu> Subject: Re: AW: Lost Japanese Films> > Just to point out that 'Arima neko' (KITO Shigeru, 1937) have a final 'tower'> sequence that is an obvious reference to King Kong.> > > > Selon Roland Domenig <roland.domenig at univie.ac.at>:> >> Hi Jasper,>>>> actually there were two Edo ni arawareta Kingu Kongu films made: Edo ni>> arawareta Kingu Kongu Henka no maki (released March 18, 1939) and Edo ni>> arawareta Kingu Kongu Ogon no maki (released April 5, 1938). Both were>> directed by Kumagai Soya at Zensho Kinema's Ayameike Studio in Nara. The>> studio was established by Ichikawa Utaemon, one of the jidaigeki stars of the>> prewar era, who in 1927 left Makino Production and founded his own production>> company Ichikawa Utaemon Production aka Uta Puro. He rented a parcel of land>> of the Awameike Amusement Park and build a film studio there. Uta Puro>> continued to make films until 1936 when Utaemon joint Shochiku. Uta Puro was>> absorbed by Shochiku; their last film was Akutaro shishi by Nakagawa Nobuo>> who had made his directorial debut with Uta Puro in 1934. A few month after>> the closing of the studio Utaemon's elder brother, Yamaguchi Tenryu, founded>> the production company Zensho Kinema and reopened the Ayameike Studio. Zensho>> Kinema lasted until 1941. In 1940 it had come under the control of Shochiku>> which eventually absorbed Zensho Kinema. In January 1941 the Ayameike Studio>> closed its doors and fell into oblivion. The last of the about 170 films>> produced by Zensho Kinema (and almost all lost) was directed by Kumagai Soya,>> the director of the King Kong films.>> As Alex Jacoby already mentioned, Saito Torajiro made a Japanese King Kong>> version (Wasei Kingu Kongu) for the Shochiku Kamata Studios as early as 1933,>> only a few months after the release of the original King Kong film.>>>> Roland Domenig>> Vienna University>>>>>> ________________________________________>> Von: owner-KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>> [owner-KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu] im Auftrag von Jasper Sharp>> [jasper_sharp at hotmail.com]>> Gesendet: Mittwoch, 10. Dezember 2008 18:29>> An: kinejapan>> Betreff: RE: Lost Japanese Films>>>> Talking of lost films, something that keeps coming up in conversations>> recently has been the following title:>>>>>> King Kong Appears in Edo (Edo ni arawareta Kingu Kongu,>> æ±Ÿæˆ¸ã«ç¾ã‚ŒãŸã‚ãƒ³ã‚°ã‚³ãƒ³ã‚°, Kumaga SÃ´ya, 1938)>>>> It's listed in the jmdb simply as ã‚ãƒ³ã‚°ã‚³ãƒ³ã‚°>>>> Can anyone confirm it ever existed? It seems to good to be true.>> There's some information on the web, namely>> http://www.tcat.ne.jp/~oguchi/Ape%20Movie%201900-1939.html>>>> It appears it only screened for one week only at most then disappeared, but>> I've never even heard of its production company Zenshou Kinema (Zenkatsu>> Kinema?) before - it makes me realise just how much weird stuff in the prewar>> period there was. So sad its all vanished!>>>> Jasper>>>> Midnight Eye www.midnighteye.com>>>>>>>> ________________________________>> Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2008 13:39:06 +0000>> From: macyroger at yahoo.co.uk>> To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>> Subject: Re: Lost Japanese Films>>>> Dear Christiane Gruen,>> You ask ->> "Therefore we ask if anybody knows of any Japanese films, which are believed>> lost, that they please post to the list or get in touch with me at the email>> address listed below.">> Alas, for Japan, the question is overwhelming, if not mocking, since most>> Japanese films are lost.  Of the many thousands of films made before 1940>> (such as to be found on the JMDb website) all but a few hundred, I believe,>> are lost.  And plenty after this date are also lost - for example, Jasper>> Sharp points out, in his new book that most pink films have not been>> preserved.>> So, for practical reasons, our focus is on what films are preserved.  We have>> had recent threads on this list as to the availability of information on>> which films are preserved - see 'Film archive catalogues' and 'Japanese>> governmental agencies/film culture promotional policies'.  Due to the lack of>> easy availability of preservation information, Professor High's pointer to>> his book is particularly useful.>>>> The discussion on your website as to what might constitute a 'lost film' is>> valuable.  But whilst we have your attention, may I ask one question and make>> one suggestion, please?>>>> Question: (Assuming the Deutsche Kinemathek is the institution in Germany>> that holds information on films preserved in Germany,)  Is it one of those>> institutions that puts on line the listing of those films it has preserved?>> If so, what is the link, please.  If not, a listing of any East Asian films>> up to 1945 that are held would interest scholars, particularly as there are a>> few films that may have reached Berlin via Moscow.>>>> Suggestion: There is another category of found films that are hidden, in so>> far as there is no budget to produce projection copies.  Publicity for these>> might produce the positive result of procuring sponsorship for their>> projection and distribution.  For example, the only copy of a 1923 film by>> Conrad Wiene, DIE MACHT DER FINSTERNIS, (with Russian actors and, presumably,>> a Russian script) exists at Waseda University, Tokyo with English titles ->> see the report by Dr. Uli Jung in Filmblatt, Summer, 2003.  Perhaps your>> institution could find the budget to combine the revival of this hidden>> German film with that of a Japanese film in a similar state?>>>> sincerely,>> Roger Macy>>>> ----- Original Message ----->> From: "Christiane Gruen">> <Christiane.Gruen at gmx.de<mailto:Christiane.Gruen at gmx.de>>>> To:>>> <kinejapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu<mailto:kinejapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 3:52 PM>> <http://www.gmx.net/de/go/multimessenger>>>>> ________________________________>> Great search results, great prizes. BigSnapSearch.com Search>> now<http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/117442309/direct/01/>>>> > 
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