Thank you for all the work you have done on your blog. Japan is fascinating.
"Non-Japanese" film reviews would be interesting in the sense that many western film makers are influenced by Japanese films in way that are not talked about. I think Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies gets a lot from Kurosawa for instance. I see Golum in a lot of Kurosawa movies. I think "Harakiri" influenced Kubrick's "2001 a space odyssey" in a big way, especially the white hotel sequence at the end of Kubrick's movie.
Opinions on Japanese politics would be interesting. Historian Paul Johnson said some thing very strange: "Until 1945 it (Japan) had no system of fixed law." (Modern Times" p 179) I know that this is misleading, as there were codes of conduct for the different classes, but I still find the idea that Japan seems so rigid to us westerners, but actually could be said to be anarchistic.
I read an interview with artist Gary Panter in the late 80's. He said he made an action painting in front of a live Japanese audience. When he was done painting he joked "I'm done now. You can stay and watch the paint dry if you want!" He claimed that some of the audience stayed to "watch the paint dry." Some say that Japanese executives do things like meditate on the shape of the perfect tea bowel. That sounds to me like a similar "zen" phenomenon to what Gary Panter reported. This Zen like attitude is alien to me as a westerner. I am interested in this quality of Japanese culture. Maybe it is a myth or a misunderstanding. Maybe it is unquantifiable... But it might be worth talking about in what ever form you might think up.
Please review Korasawa's "Hidden Fortress." Maybe also Kenji Misoguchi's "The 47 Ronin" or some other Mizoguchi film (other then "HEIKE MONOGATARI".)
Sincerely, Joe, Greenfield Mass.
john - 12 years ago
actually, i checked all the boxes and wanted more of non-film input from you. you have potential to create well-written stuff.
Hi
Thank you for all the work you have done on your blog. Japan is fascinating.
"Non-Japanese" film reviews would be interesting in the sense that many western film makers are influenced by Japanese films in way that are not talked about. I think Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies gets a lot from Kurosawa for instance. I see Golum in a lot of Kurosawa movies. I think "Harakiri" influenced Kubrick's "2001 a space odyssey" in a big way, especially the white hotel sequence at the end of Kubrick's movie.
Opinions on Japanese politics would be interesting. Historian Paul Johnson said some thing very strange: "Until 1945 it (Japan) had no system of fixed law." (Modern Times" p 179) I know that this is misleading, as there were codes of conduct for the different classes, but I still find the idea that Japan seems so rigid to us westerners, but actually could be said to be anarchistic.
I read an interview with artist Gary Panter in the late 80's. He said he made an action painting in front of a live Japanese audience. When he was done painting he joked "I'm done now. You can stay and watch the paint dry if you want!" He claimed that some of the audience stayed to "watch the paint dry." Some say that Japanese executives do things like meditate on the shape of the perfect tea bowel. That sounds to me like a similar "zen" phenomenon to what Gary Panter reported. This Zen like attitude is alien to me as a westerner. I am interested in this quality of Japanese culture. Maybe it is a myth or a misunderstanding. Maybe it is unquantifiable... But it might be worth talking about in what ever form you might think up.
Please review Korasawa's "Hidden Fortress." Maybe also Kenji Misoguchi's "The 47 Ronin" or some other Mizoguchi film (other then "HEIKE MONOGATARI".)
Sincerely, Joe, Greenfield Mass.
actually, i checked all the boxes and wanted more of non-film input from you. you have potential to create well-written stuff.