Here's something for anyone who's going to be in NYC this winter.
Couldn't find a nice webpage dedicated to it on their site (listed at the bottom), so I cut out most of the text of a very long email (including film descriptions, years, directors, etc.), so as to not take up too much space. Coulld post that too, if anyone wants it.
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Japan Society Film Center Proudly Presents
The History of Japanese Horror Films
December 1, 2003 - February 24, 2004
Recent Hollywood remakes and adaptations of films such as Hideo Nakata's Ringu and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Kairo have increased the popularity of Japanese contemporary horror films abroad. At the same time, academic disciplines such as psychoanalysis, gay and lesbian, ethnic, and Gothic literature studies, among others, are reexamining the horror film genre. This series traces the historic evolution of Japanese horror films during the past 50 years, including adaptations of traditional Japanese ghost stories, literature and theater pieces, contemporary murder dramas and psycho thrillers. Curated by Daisuke Miyao, Postdoctoral Fellow of Expanding East Asian Studies, Columbia University and Kyoko Hirano, Director, Japan Society Film Center.
*All films are in Japanese with English subtitles*
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Monday, December 1
Discussion & Screening
Discussion at 6:30 pm:
A panel discussion on the specifics of Japanese horror films, how trends have changed in this genre and its sub-genres, and why people want to be entertained by supernatural phenomena. Panelists are: Daisuke Miyao, series co-curator; Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto, Associate Professor of East Asian Studies, New York University; and co-programmers of the Walter Reade Theater's 2002 horror film series Kent Jones, Associate Program Director, Film Society of Lincoln Center and Gavin Smith, Editor-in-Chief, Film Comment magazine.
Screening at 7:30 pm:
Ugetsu (Ugetsu monogatari)
Monday, December 15 at 6:30 pm:
Yotsuya Ghost Story Parts I and II (Shinshaku Yotsuya Kaidan)
Friday, December 19 at 6:30 pm:
Kwaidan (Kaidan)
Thursday, January 15 at 6:30 pm
The Devil's Ball (Akuma no temariuta)
Tuesday, January 20 at 6:30 pm
Sinners of Hell (Jigoku)
U.S. premiere.
Friday, January 23
Lecture & Screening
Lecture at 6:30 pm:
Keiko I. McDonald, Professor of Cinema and Literature, the University of Pittsburgh, discusses how noh masks and theatrical aspects are exploited in Onibaba.
Screening at 7:30 pm:
Onibaba
Friday, January 30 at 6:30 pm:
The Vampire Doll (Yurei yashiki no kyofu: Chi o suu ningyo)
Monday, February 9 at 6:30 pm:
Crest of Betrayal (Chushingura gaiden Yotsuya kaidan)
Friday, February 20 at 6:30 pm:
Living Koheiji (Kaiidan: Ikiteiru Koheiji)
Tuesday, February 24 at 6:30 & 8:45 pm (two separate screenings)
Ghosts at School (Gakko no kaidan)
Something is Haunting Me (Nanika ni tsukarete iru)
The Devil's Choices (Akuma no sentaku)
The Strange Story of an Abandoned School (Haiko kidan)
Video of Spirits (Rei bideo)
The History of Japanese Horror Films is funded by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund, The Japan Foundation, and the Friends of Japan Society Film Center. The series is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency. Transportation is supported by Japan Airlines.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Tickets: $10, Japan Society members, seniors & students, $5
Location: Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street (Between First & Second Avenues)
Box Office: 212-752-3015, Monday Friday, 10:00 a.m. 4:45 p.m.
For more information or to order tickets, please call the box office at (212) 752-3015 or visit the website at
http://www.japansociety.org
