still wanted: a still from "Crossroads"

[ReelDrew at aol.com]

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. 
   
In any case, I'm back where I was and if anyone here can provide me with a  
still from "Crossroads," either a hard copy or a high resolution copy sent  
as an e-mail attachment, I will be very grateful and, of course, you will  
receive credit in my acknowledgments.  As I've said before, I have to get  
all the photos in the next week or ten days.
 
Also, while this is not a Japanese film, I'm sure there must be some here  
who know of good sources for stills from German silents, too.  So does  
anyone know where I might be able to get a still from Hanns Schwarz's 1928 UFA  
production, "Hungarian Rhapsody," with Willy Fritsch, Lil Dagover and Dita  
Parlo?  It's another film that is discussed in my book.
 
William M. Drew
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