Program Four
先代萩 御殿の場 義大夫出語[英語字幕付][No.1] 1915
Sendaihagi: One of the few films from this era that exists, this provides a rare glimpse of the “kabuki cinema” of the time and features one of the earliest stars of Japanese cinema, Nakamura Kasen. Remarkably, unlike kabuki and other early films which usually featured female impersonators for female roles, this film actually has a female cast!
長恨[部分][英語字幕付] 1926 Ito Daisuke
An Unforgettable Grudge
忠次旅日記[トータル・イマーション版][英語字幕付] 1927 Ito Daisuke
A Diary of Chuji’s Travels
The director of a total of nearly 100 jidaigeki films, Itō Daisuke (1898-1981), often revered as “father of jidaigeki” by critics and moviefans in Japan. A Diary of Chūji’s Travels stars Itō’s frequent collaborator Ōkōchi Denjirō as the legendary late-Edo gambler Chūji Kunisada, portraying him as a man at odds with an oppressive society as he strives to save the geisha Oshina. While only the last reel of An Unforgettable Grudge has been preserved, the fast camera movement and rapid cuts offer an early glimpse into Itō’s distinctive style. The portrayal of disgruntled, lonely, nihilistic drifters as protagonists marks Itō’s socially conscious filmmaking, creatively exaggerating, critiquing, and transforming the period film conventions of the time.
Total: 125 min.
