Writing in light : the silent scenario and the Japanese pure film movement
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Writing in light : the silent scenario and the Japanese pure film movement
(Contemporary film and television series)
Wayne State University Press, c2001
- : [hbk]
- : pbk
Available at 31 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 337-343) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
While most people associate Japanese film with modern directors like Akira Kurosawa, Japan's cinema has a rich tradition going back to the silent era. Japan's ""pure film movement"" of the 1910s is widely held to mark the birth of film theory as we know it and is a touchstone for historians of early cinema. Yet this work has been difficult to access because so few prints have been preserved. Joanne Bernardi offers a study of this important era, recovering a body of lost film and establishing its significance in the development of Japanese cinema. Building on a wealth of original-language sources she examines how the movement challenged the industry's dependence on pre-existing stage repertoires, preferences for lecturers over intertitles, and the use of female impersonators. Bernardi provides in-depth analysis of key scripts - ""The Glory of Life"", ""A Father's Tears"", ""Amateur Club"" and ""The Lust of the White Serpent"" - and includes translations in an appendix. These films offer case studies for understanding the craft of screenwriting during the silent era and shed light on such issues as genre, authorship and control, and gender representation. ""Writing in Light"" helps fill gaps in the history of Japanese silent cinema. By identifying points at which ""pure film"" discourse merges with changing international trends and attitudes toward film, it should offer an important resource for film, literary and cultural historians.
by "Nielsen BookData"