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Noël Burch
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To the Distant Observer: Form and Meaning in Japanese Cinema First Edition

by Noël Burch (Author)
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The cinema of Japan, at least until I945, was the only national cinema to derive fundamentally from a non-European culture. Its films thus diverged in important respects from the standard 'Hollywood style' of shooting and editing adopted by the industries of Europe and the US, as well as by colonized nations. In this unprecedented study, Noel Burch confronts the major modes of discourse of Japanese culture with the stylistic development of Japanese cinema, and contrasts the resulting modes of representation with those of the West. Contrary to previous opinion, Burch shows how the period I 896-I 930 was not one of stagnation and 'underdevelopment' but instead constituted a preparatory stage for the I93o-I945 'golden age' of Japanese cinema, during which Ozu, Mizoguchi, and other less well-known masters produced their most distinguished films. Burch also concludes that prewar militarism was.relatively uninfluential on the work of the 'thirties and he views the post-1945 period of 'democratization' as one of regression in cinema, particularly in the works of Ozu and Mizoguchi. Treating many examples with the aid of frame enlargements, Burch illuminates previously unknown aspects of Japanese film history. And his dialectical analysis produces a new understanding of the elements of film structure.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0520036050
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0520036055
  3. Edition
    First Edition
  4. Publisher
    University of California Press
  5. Publication date
    March 29, 1979
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1 x 9.75 inches
  8. Print length
    387 pages
  9. See all details
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  • Prabash Mukhopadhyay
    4.0 out of 5 stars It is good referential book for analysing Japanese movies.
    Reviewed in India on July 23, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Thank you so much for proper delivery. I received the book in time. The book is necessary to understand the form and meaning of the Japanese cinema otherwise the knowledge of Japanese film creaters remains lack. It is a good referential book.
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  • P.S.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Das Buch für den Couchtisch
    Reviewed in Germany on January 30, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Man muss lange suchen, bis man ein schickeres Buch für den Couchtisch findet.
    Und wer sich für japanischen Filme bis 1950 ernsthaft interessesiert und akzeptiert, das er die Filme voraussichtlich nie sehen wird, der greife zu.
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