still wanted: a still from "Crossroads"

[Aaron Gerow]

> 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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