A Hundred Years Of Japanese Film

I found Donald Richie’s book A Hundred Years of Japanese Film to be a very engaging overview of the Japanese film history. It is clear that Richie’s knowledge of Japanese culture informs his observation about the history and development of film. For example in the first chapter Richie discussed the importance of the benishi (or narrator) for audiences. The beneshi were active until the early 30 s because they not only commented on silent films but they also provided information about the west since many Japanese were unfamiliar with customs of the west due to the self-imposed closed country prior to the Meiji restoration. According to Richie this helps explain the Japanese affection for teachers, tour guides, sommeliers and other conduits for acquisition of new experience. He also pointed out that many short films were looped and this process led to the tradition of lengthy films and still can be seen in commercials in Japan today. I found Chapter three to one of the most interesting sections of the book, because this is where Richie discussed most of the post war masters of Japanese cinema: Ozu and Naruse, Mizoguchi and the Period Film, social issues films by Kurosawa, Kinoshita, and Ichikawa. In chapter four Richie discussed the devastating effects of TV on the film industry and the studio system. He also discussed the notion of two Japans. One is the “official” version that has Noh, tea ceremony, Mizoguchi, Ozu, late Kurosawa, along with the approved high-class virtues of fidelity and devotion. The other version is the “real” version of which the people do not behave like the ”official” version. They are seen in the films of Kawashima or Imamura and they are selfish, lusty, amoral and all of the vitality of Japan comes from their members. The sections on the Japanese New Wave filmmakers like Oshima, Yoshida, adn Shinoda is enlightening as well. In the final chapter Richie discussed the introduction of genre film in the industry due to the American influence of films. There is a natural connection between yakuza films and the mysteries and thrillers from America. He rounds up the book by discussing the documentary filmmaking scene and the rise of independent filmmaking. There is s a discussion of the new generation filmmakers with an audience abroad like Takashi Kitano, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Shinji Aoyama, and Takashi Miike, as well as the popularity of animation. It is a good overview and provides a lot of general commentary about Japan and Japanese culture.