Japan Times: Carrying on the art of silent film narration

[silentfilm]

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ ... 515f1.html

Saturday, May 15, 2010


Carrying on the art of silent film narration
'Benshi' like Midori Sawato act by voice to enliven old movies

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By NATSUKO FUKUE
Staff writer
Midori Sawato knows how to act, from princess to samurai to thief — but only with her voice.

For the past 36 years, she has been performing as a "benshi," or live narrator, for monochrome silent movies.

Benshi sit next to the movie screen and provide narration, playing multiple roles in the films accompanied by live music.

In the old days, a popular benshi could earn more than a prime minister, according to Sawato, who declined to give her age.

"I heard that when a popular benshi was headhunted by another movie theater, the audience also moved there to see the benshi perform," she said.

But for Sawato, the high income was not the main reason for choosing the occupation.

"Benshi was a dream job that enabled me to pursue my love of movies," she said, adding she has been fascinated by the mystic beauty of monochrome films since childhood.

Sawato currently narrates old silent films about 100 times a year in special one-time events at city halls and theaters.

In this age of 3-D movies, the number of such nostalgic events continues to decrease. Up to the late 1920s, all the movies shown in Japan were silent, she said.

Benshi wrote the script based on a brief plot outline and subtitles.

Thus the narration varied from theater to theater, depending on the imagination of the benshi.

Sawato said narrators also existed in the U.S. and France in the early part of the 20th century, but "the popularity and narrative art of the benshi are unique to Japan."

Movie critics say the benshi culture developed in Japan out of traditional narrative performances such as bunraku puppet theater.

Sawato has been a movie lover since childhood, indulging her passion for movies since elementary school, she said.

It was a time when lots of people went to see movies in theaters.

"The movie theater (I went to for the first time) was filled with so many people that there was not enough space to stand."

The first movie she saw was "Sinbad the Sailor," an American adventure film. "I was enchanted by the colorful pictures," she said, adding sharing the excitement with other audience members was also memorable.

Then she encountered monochrome European films shot in the 1930s and 1940s when she was a teenager. They were broadcast on TV, she said.

She was struck by the beauty of European films because they offered a gateway to a world totally different from Japan.

"The European films aired on TV (in Japan) showed ideas and artistic senses completely different from ours," she said. "I was probably strongly attracted by something different from me."

Another reason she enjoyed old European films was what she described as the "sublime beauty" of many actresses, including Arletty in the French movie "The Devil's Envoys," shot in 1942.

"She looked totally different from the beautiful Japanese women I had known. . . . I even felt awed to know such a beautiful woman existed."

Monochrome films also imparted a feeling of elegance, said Sawato.

"Back then, the costumes were made of high-quality materials. The attitude of actors, when standing, crossing their legs, smoking for example (was different) and I admired their elegant manners."

Despite her love of monochrome films, she said she did not plan on getting a job related to movies.

After studying philosophy at a university in Tokyo, she worked at a publishing company for a few years, but said she did not enjoy it.

Then she went to see a silent movie narrated by master benshi Shunsui Matsuda, and this eventually changed her life.

"I immediately thought benshi would be an interesting job," she said. "Being a benshi simply fulfills all my dreams. I liked classy films, and I wanted to be a writer or an actress."

In 1972, she became an apprentice of Matsuda, but she said, to her surprise, he neither taught her nor gave her advice.

"I had to learn the skill with my ears" while watching experienced narrators perform, she said.

Sawato also learned "gidayu," a traditional style of chanting, and old ballads to improve her performances, and went to a special school that trains news anchors.

"I also went to see 'rakugo' (comic storytelling) for what I could learn," she said.

About half a year later, she made her debut with a film by Charlie Chaplin called "The Rink" at Kinokuniya Hall in Shinjuku.

Playing Chaplin's characters was not particularly difficult but expressing the characters' feeling through the voice was, she said.

"Even if the character is sad, he or she doesn't necessarily use a sad voice," she said, adding she has to use her imagination to express the feelings of the movie characters.

"So it's not like I change voices for each role. I change the expressions of characters' emotions."

The time she has to prepare for a performance varies from a day to a month.

"With some films, I had to ad lib" because there was not enough time, she said. When she does have time, she thoroughly researches the story's background, she added. "I even read the Old Testament when I did the narration for 'The Ten Commandments.'

As late as the 1970s, Sawato said, interest in benshi performances was still high. She was invited to over 180 events a year, and performed overseas 19 times, including in New York, Avignon, France, Rome, Sao Paulo and Sydney, always speaking in Japanese with subtitles shown on screen.

Although the number of performances has been declining recently, she said the size of the audience does not matter to her.

"First of all, I enjoy performing. Silent movies are so entertaining and mysterious," she said, adding they are like a textbook of history and culture.</p>

She said the themes of classic films are universal, and more and more young people are coming to her shows. "I believe (silent films) will continue as long as we live.

[moviepas]

I have a lot of Japanese silent films and some with Benshi tracks. There is a series of 10 DVDs issued, some cartoons and other material. These have been restored as much as possible. There is a DVD- ROM disc of the silent films but much is lost and not because of the war either as with losses from the 1950s etc seems to indicate they were not too careful in preserving their material but then what survived after the carpet bombing of Tokyo never ceases to amaze me but then I could also say that about Berlin too. But then I am talking paper archives like film censorship records and even staff work records from Tokyo radio during the war. About 240 Japanese films from before and during the war were confiscated by the Allied victors and ordered destroyed because of their content but if any escaped that I don't know. I am unaware of any German films that suffered this direction but I could be proved wrong. The Russians took a lot to their country and are now giving stuff back. I have a DVD of at least one of those Russian returns.

With the Japanese films see: http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/31/japanesesilent.php

This article adds to what I am talking about. I also have a few Chinese silents to about 1935 in various states of preservation. The lead actress in the 1930s committed suicide. I think her name was Ruan Ling Yu. Her best known film is The Goddess from about 1935 and there is a book on her short life. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival got me going on these Asian films thru their website. There are also some found Chinese films that were apparently made in SF somewhat like the Yiddish-language films made in NYC & NJ. These films are worth a look.

[boblipton]

And of course, Nitratevillain Urbanora has a piece on this at his not only invaluable, but beautifully written blog, The Bioscope.

http://bioscopic.wordpress.com/

Bob