[KineJapan] 風雲城史, 1928 Castle of the Wind and Clouds

[Roger Macy]

I’ve just noticed that the Belgian Cinématheque/Cinematek areshowing this week a restored print of 風雲城史, 1928 - Fūun jōshi / Fū’un-jō shi. 

http://cinematek.be/?node=17&event_id=400495602

When I saw it on the flatbed in 2015, unrestored, it was a fine, tinted,subtitled print – in much better condition than most Japanese films that survivefrom that time. Perhaps the restoration was to go back to the unsubtitledmaster. The dual language subtitles I saw were credited to Hiroko Govaers. Thatwould have been roughly in the 70s. Until then, I would argue that part of thecause for its being unshown in the west at the time was its lack oftranslation (and the coming of the talkies).

There would be an argument for using a benshi on this film – not all ofthe story is clear purely from the pure film, or its intertitles, particularlyat the end.

And I don’t agree with 22 f.p.s. I felt that the movement would lookright at about 14 f.p.s., but perhaps contemporary audiences would find thatslow, depending on the accompaniment and presentation, of which there is no mention, here.

Roger

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