[KineJapan] Great Hara Kazuo story

[Peter Larson]

Brilliant!

2019年12月14日(土) 午後8:46 Markus Nornes via KineJapan <
kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>:

> Dennis Doros, the legendary distributor (Milestone), tells a great story
> about his first encounter with Hara Kazuo—just now from Facebook.
>
> M
>
> I'm so glad that The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On is on blu-ray. It's
> one of my favorite films of all time and one I acquired for Kino back in
> 1987. I want to tell a story and I'm linking it to the director on FB so if
> I'm repeating a tall tale, he can chastise me. It's also the first time
> he's hearing this story of our meeting. Back in 1987 I was desperate to
> acquire the film and my boss Don Krim said if I can get it cheaply, we
> could do it. My friend at the Japan Society, Dr. Kyoko Hirano, really
> wanted me to meet Mr. Hara
> <https://www.facebook.com/kazuo.hara.16718?__tn__=%2CdK-R0.g-R&eid=ARD3XQSQM506uks1PIIR7kWN8_uwVxUmcaQX7zK6jZk0gRSf464-k_r7S18Ug1oo-04zSMP7sCOIUnbl&fref=mentions> who
> was coming to town to present the film. So Dr. Hirano met me and we were
> walking to the Algonquin Hotel to meet him. And she tells me a story about
> Kei Kumai's THE SEA AND THE POISON. Mr. Hara was Mr. Kumai's assistant on
> the film. For one of the scenes, she tells me, they had real trouble making
> the blood look real. They tried all the usual suspects but it just wasn't
> working for Mr. Kumai. They leave for the evening and the next day, Mr.
> Hara comes in with a large plastic bag and suggests they try using this
> substance. They do the scene and the substance looks just like the real
> thing and Mr. Hara has saved the scene. Mr. Kumai thanks him. Mr. Hara
> responds, "Thank you, it's mine." Just as Dr. Hirano finishes the story as
> we reach the hotel lobby, the elevator rings and Mr. Hara gets out of the
> elevator. Even though I was 30 years old, I was still very innocent and
> totally freaked out. However, Mr. Hara proved to be one of the nicest
> people I've ever met in film and I absolutely LOVED distributing his
> magnificent film.
>
>
> ---
>
> *Markus Nornes*
> *Professor of Asian Cinema*
> Department of Film, Television and Media, Department of Asian Languages
> and Cultures, Penny Stamps School of Art & Design
>
> *Department of Film, Television and Media*
> *6348 North Quad*
> *105 S. State Street*
> *Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285*
>
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>
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