Pure Film Movement
Encyclopedia
The was a trend in film criticism
and filmmaking
in 1910s and early 1920s Japan that advocated what were considered more modern and cinematic modes of filmmaking. Critics in such magazines as Kinema Record
and Kinema Junpo
complained that existing Japanese cinema
was overly theatrical. They said it presented scenes from kabuki
and shinpa
theater as is, with little cinematic manipulation and without a screenplay written with cinema in mind. Women were even played by onnagata. Filmmakers were charged with shooting films with long takes and leaving the storytelling to the benshi
in the theater instead of using devices such as close-ups and analytical editing to visually narrate a scene. The novelist Jun'ichiro Tanizaki was an important supporter of the movement. Critics such as Norimasa Kaeriyama
eventually became filmmakers to put their ideas of what cinema is into practice, with Kaeriyama directing The Glow of Life at the Tenkatsu Studio
in 1918. This is often considered the first "pure film," but filmmakers such as Eizō Tanaka
, influenced by shingeki
theater, also made their own innovations in the late 1910s at studios like Nikkatsu
. The move towards "pure film" was aided by the appearance of new reformist studios such as Shochiku
and Taikatsu around 1920. By the mid-1920s, Japanese cinema exhibited more of the cinematic techniques pure film advocates called for, and onnagata were replaced by actresses. The movement profoundly influenced the way films would be made and thought about for decades to come, but it was not a complete success: benshi would remain an integral part of the Japanese film experience into the 1930s.
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
and filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
in 1910s and early 1920s Japan that advocated what were considered more modern and cinematic modes of filmmaking. Critics in such magazines as Kinema Record
Kinema Record
was a Japanese film magazine published during the 1910s that played an important role in the Pure Film Movement. In 1914, with no serious film magazines being published in Japan at the time, Norimasa Kaeriyama, Yoshiyuki Shigeno and other students interested in movies formed the Japan...
and Kinema Junpo
Kinema Junpo
, commonly called , is a Japanese film magazine which began publication in July 1919. The magazine was founded by a group of four students, including Saburō Tanaka, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology . In that first month, it was published three times on days with a "1" in them. These first three...
complained that existing Japanese cinema
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
was overly theatrical. They said it presented scenes from kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
and shinpa
Shinpa
is a form of theater and cinema in Japan usually featuring melodramatic stories. Its roots can be traced to a form of agitation propaganda theater in the 1880s promoted by Liberal Party members Sadanori Sudo and Otojirō Kawakami...
theater as is, with little cinematic manipulation and without a screenplay written with cinema in mind. Women were even played by onnagata. Filmmakers were charged with shooting films with long takes and leaving the storytelling to the benshi
Benshi
were Japanese performers who provided live narration for silent films . Benshi are sometimes also called or .-Role of the benshi:...
in the theater instead of using devices such as close-ups and analytical editing to visually narrate a scene. The novelist Jun'ichiro Tanizaki was an important supporter of the movement. Critics such as Norimasa Kaeriyama
Norimasa Kaeriyama
was a pioneering Japanese film director and film theorist.-Biography:Beginning with articles he submitted to Yoshizawa Shōten's magazine Katsudō shashinkai while still a student, Kaeriyama developed a long series of critiques of contemporary Japanese cinema that would make him the leading spokesman...
eventually became filmmakers to put their ideas of what cinema is into practice, with Kaeriyama directing The Glow of Life at the Tenkatsu Studio
Tennenshoku Katsudō Shashin
was a Japanese film studio active in the 1910s. The name translates as the "Natural Color Moving Picture Company," but it was known as Tenkatsu for short...
in 1918. This is often considered the first "pure film," but filmmakers such as Eizō Tanaka
Eizō Tanaka
was a early Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor.-Life and career:Tanaka initially trained as a stage actor in the shingeki movement under Kaoru Osanai, but eventually joined the Nikkatsu film studio in 1917...
, influenced by shingeki
Shingeki
Shingeki was the Japanese retelling of Western realist theatre during the late 19th century through to the early 20th century. Retellings included the works of Western writers such as Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, and Eugene O'Neill, and reflected the styles of Russian proscenium theatre...
theater, also made their own innovations in the late 1910s at studios like Nikkatsu
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...
. The move towards "pure film" was aided by the appearance of new reformist studios such as Shochiku
Shochiku
is a Japanese movie studio and production company for kabuki. It also produces and distributes anime films. Its best remembered directors include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada...
and Taikatsu around 1920. By the mid-1920s, Japanese cinema exhibited more of the cinematic techniques pure film advocates called for, and onnagata were replaced by actresses. The movement profoundly influenced the way films would be made and thought about for decades to come, but it was not a complete success: benshi would remain an integral part of the Japanese film experience into the 1930s.