{"product_id":"art-of-the-benshi-us-import-limited-edition-4k-uhd-blu-ray-combo","title":"Art of the Benshi (US Import Limited Edition 4K UHD\/BLU-RAY Combo)","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUS Import\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e2Mye_6nKYg?si=H_ERXN7Xw6M0NVbb\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFlicker Alley and the Yanai Initiative—a collaborative project of UCLA and Waseda University in Tokyo—proudly present \u003cstrong\u003eThe Art of the Benshi\u003c\/strong\u003e, a limited edition box set that celebrates Japan’s remarkable “film orators.” Talkies famously overtook Hollywood in 1930. In Japan, however, the movies had been speaking all along thanks to live \u003cem\u003ebenshi\u003c\/em\u003e performers who, standing off to the side of the screen, lent their voices to all manner of cinematic works, narrating events as they unfolded and speaking for the characters.\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFull-fledged artists in their own right, \u003cem\u003ebenshi\u003c\/em\u003e interpreted and enlivened the cinema experience in Japan through expressive performances that illuminated and extended the emotional and thematic range of the works on screen. The art, today, is carried on by a small number of performers, many of whom have honed their abilities through apprenticeships under \u003cem\u003ebenshi\u003c\/em\u003e of the preceding generation, creating a continuous lineage back to the performers of the 1910s, 20s, and 30s.\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAppearing for the first time on 4K UHD and Blu-ray disc are new 4K restorations of Buntarō Futagawa’s \u003cem\u003eOrochi\u003c\/em\u003e (1925), Teinosuke Kinugasa’s \u003cem\u003eA Page of Madness\u003c\/em\u003e (1926), and, starring Baby Peggy (a highly popular star in Japan), \u003cem\u003eCaptain January\u003c\/em\u003e (1924), along with Blu-ray releases of a new restoration of Kenji Mizoguchi’s \u003cem\u003eThe Water Magician\u003c\/em\u003e (1933) (presented in both 20fps and 24fps playback speeds), four additional Baby Peggy shorts: \u003cem\u003eBrownie’s Little Venus\u003c\/em\u003e (1921), \u003cem\u003eSweetie\u003c\/em\u003e (1923), \u003cem\u003eDarling of New York\u003c\/em\u003e (1923), and \u003cem\u003eOur Pet\u003c\/em\u003e (1924), as well as a surviving fragment of the samurai tale \u003cem\u003eBlood Spattered at Takadanobaba\u003c\/em\u003e (1928) by Daisuke Itō.\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIncluding 23 audio presentations across nine different titles, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Art of the Benshi\u003c\/strong\u003e features 11 different \u003cem\u003ebenshi\u003c\/em\u003e with newly recorded performances from masters like Sawato Midori (on \u003cem\u003eOrochi\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Water Magician\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eOur Pet\u003c\/em\u003e), Kataoka Ichirō (on \u003cem\u003eOrochi\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eA Page of Madness\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCaptain January\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eBlood-Spattered Takadanobaba\u003c\/em\u003e), Sakamoto Raikō (on \u003cem\u003eThe Water Magician\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCaptain January\u003c\/em\u003e), and Ōmori Kumiko (on \u003cem\u003eThe Water Magician\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCaptain January\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSweetie\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eBlood Spattered at Takadanobaba\u003c\/em\u003e). With multiple \u003cem\u003ebenshi\u003c\/em\u003e performances and historically inspired musical performances on every film, audiences can fully experience the degree to which different performers transform and deepen the moviegoing experience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/yanai-initiative.ucla.edu\/publication\/the-world-of-the-benshi\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor more information about \u003cem\u003ebenshi \u003c\/em\u003estardom and the history of \u003cem\u003ebenshi\u003c\/em\u003e performance, please check out the Yanai Initiative's companion book, \u003cem\u003eThe World of the Benshi\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBONUS MATERIALS INCLUDE:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMusic Only Presentations -\u003c\/strong\u003e When international editions of Japanese films were distributed to Western art-house audiences in the late 1920s, they were shown with translated intertitles only (no \u003cem\u003ebenshi\u003c\/em\u003e) and typically with musical accompaniment by either a pianist or small orchestra. Some of the finest musicians working in silent film music scoring today—Neil Brand, Stephen Horne, Makia Matsumura, and Donald Sosin—offer music-only presentations as a counterpoint to the version featuring \u003cem\u003ebenshi\u003c\/em\u003e, to give a sense how these films would have been exhibited outside of Japan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTalking Benshi\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e-\u003c\/strong\u003e A brief overview of the oral art form that dates back to the dawn of Japanese cinema\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-c7bacfb4-7fff-b460-ba2e-93cd94522a02\"\u003en Appreciation - \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eA video essay comparing \u003cem\u003eOrochi\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eA Page of Madness\u003c\/em\u003e, historian Aaron Gerow provides an overview of jidai-geki, and gendai-geki, Japan’s distinct storytelling eras, and explores their connection to some early French films\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn Interview with “Baby Peggy” Diana Serra Cary \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e-\u003c\/strong\u003e From a never-before-released 2011 interview, Diana Serra Cary looks back on life as “Baby Peggy” and recalls the fiery production of \u003cem\u003eThe Darling of New York\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDeluxe 80-Page Book - \u003c\/strong\u003eA detailed guide to the history of \u003cem\u003ebenshi\u003c\/em\u003e and to the artists and films that appear in the collection\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Page of Madness\u003c\/em\u003e Program - \u003c\/strong\u003eA reproduction of the original brochure distributed at the very first public screening of the film in 1926\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-56e94c67-7fff-e7f2-a179-16073a0cb1e4\"\u003eLimited edition of 3,000 units encased in a hard box with removable obi strip\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBlu-ray Authoring by David Mackenzie of Fidelity In Motion\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" role=\"presentation\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEnglish SDH Subtitles\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Flicker Alley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45254465847496,"sku":"617311009297","price":134.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0598\/8486\/3688\/files\/artofthebenshibd1.jpg?v=1794443515","url":"https:\/\/videomatica.com\/products\/art-of-the-benshi-us-import-limited-edition-4k-uhd-blu-ray-combo","provider":"Videomatica Ltd (since 1983)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}