still wanted: a still from "Crossroads"

[Roger Macy]

It's also worth noting that the film was preserved by the BFI out the old 'Film Society' stocks.  The still of 'Crossroads' was wheeled out several times in Sight and Sound etc. in the thirties and forties as apparently the only available still to illustrate a Japanese reference in the text.
So that still, which they presumably still have, ought to be completely immune to any copyright claim from Shochiku.
Roger
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Aaron Gerow 
  To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu 
  Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 1:06 PM
  Subject: Re: still wanted: a still from "Crossroads"




    Following a suggestion made here, I did e-mail the Kawakita Institute about getting a still from Kinugasa's "Crossroads" for my book.  What they said, however--and this will be, I think, of interest to others here because of the issues it raises--is that the film is copyrighted by Shochiku (which is news to me), that they are very strict on copyrights and I need to go to them and get their permission first before they (Kawakita) can send anything to me.  Considering that without any difficulty at all I will be able to get photos from great American silent classics like "The Big Parade" and "Ben-Hur" which really are in copyright, I find this response a bit bizarre.  It's my understanding that all Japanese silent films are as much in the public domain as all Chinese and Russian/Soviet silents.  And in any case, Shochiku never released "Crossroads" on VHS or DVD. 


  This doesn't surprise me at all. Markus and I note that the Kawakita has become less cooperative in recent years in our Research Guide to Japanese Film Studies. There are basically two problems: 1) companies like Shochiku asserting rights that they may not have (remember that Jujiro is now out on a cut-rate DVD without, presumably, Shochiku's permission); and 2) institutions like Kawakita refusing to stand up and speak out on behalf of scholars. 


  Still, I should note that the person at the desk at Kawakita also initially balked when I asked for stills of Page of Madness for my book. I insisted on talking to someone higher up, who ended up being much more reasonable and agreed that the film was in the public domain and that I could have the stills. I do wonder if you can't do the same with Jujiro. 


  Aaron Gerow
  Associate Professor
  Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
  Yale University
  53 Wall Street, Room 316
  PO Box 208363
  New Haven, CT 06520-8363
  USA
  Phone: 1-203-432-7082
  Fax: 1-203-432-6764
  e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu
  site: www.aarongerow.com




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