Policeman and Modern Horror: 100,000,00 Yen
6 March 2011, 2pm
Ticketing information – Special ticket prices apply
Screenings
Modern Horror: 100,000,00 Yen
(Modan Kaidan: Ichioku-En) Dir: Saito Torajiro, Japan, 14mins, 35mm
A modern young couple get lost, search for the buried treasure and encounter ghosts in this example of a slapstick ‘nonsense’ short by the form’s specialist, Japanese cinema’s ‘Hal Roach’ Saito Torajiro. This is one of a number of similar films recently re-discovered in 9.5 and 16mm home movie versions, and restored back to 35mm.
Live accompaniment by Joshua McHugh.
Restored with the support of the Film Preservation Society, Tokyo.
Policeman
(警察官/ Keisatsukan) Dir: Uchima Tomu, Japan, 91mins, 35mm
The only surviving silent feature from a master of classic Japanese cinema little known in the west is also one of many Japanese films from this era to show the influence of Hollywood gangster films like Howard Hawk’s Scarface. The battle of wits, guns and speeding cars, between a street corner rookie policeman and an old high school friend turned gangster (and possible Communist double agent) is also a key example of the allegorical social problem ‘Tendency’ films of the era, as well as being loaded with obtuse hints at the shadowy undercurrents of early 1930s Japan politics.
Live accompaniment by Joshua McHugh.
Courtesy the National Film Center, Tokyo.
