| |
 |
|
|
Movies Forum Index » Silent Movies Forum » Reuters: Japan finds films by early "anime" pioneers
Page 1 of 1
|
| Author |
Message |
| Bruce Calvert |
 Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:08 pm |
|
|
|
Guest
|
http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUST23069120080327
Japan finds films by early "anime" pioneers
Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:06am EDT
TOKYO (Reuters) - Two early 20th century Japanese animated movies, crafted
by pioneers of the "anime" that has since swept the world, have been found
in good condition, a researcher at Tokyo's National Film Center said on
Thursday.
U.S. and European animated cartoons were introduced in Japan around 1914 and
soon inspired works by Japanese cartoonists and artists, including Junichi
Kouchi and Seitaro Kitayama, two of whose works were found in an Osaka
antique store.
"Nakamura Katana", Kouichi's two-minute silent movie that tells the story of
a samurai tricked into buying a dull-edged sword, was first released in
1917.
Kitayama's "Urashima Taro", based on a folk tale in which a fisherman is
transported to a fantastic underwater world on the back of a turtle, came
out the following year.
Together with Oten Shimokawa, whose 1917 "Imokawa Mukuzo, The Janitor" is
thought to be the first commercial Japanese animated film, Kouichi and
Kitayama are considered "fathers of Japanese anime", said National Film
Center researcher Yoshiro Irie.
"Now everything is digitalized, but these early animated films were made on
the same principles used now," Irie said.
But while modern anime is often used to tell complex, dark stories, the
brief early Japanese animated films mainly surprised viewers with the simple
fact the pictures moved, Irie said.
They also made people laugh.
"It was an era when people were surprised just to see that the pictures
moved," he said. "The films are also full of gags."
(Reporting by Linda Sieg)
--
Bruce Calvert
--
Visit the Silent Film Still Archive
http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
|
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Sat Oct 11, 2008 2:21 am
|
|