This assignment asks you to view one film from the post-classical studio era of Japanese cinema outside of class, chosen from the list below, and analyze the relationship between film form and content. It is your opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of, and apply in a critical manner, the kinds of formal, thematic, and narrative issues that we have been examining closely with regards to this particular period in Japanese film history.

Because this assignment is a short essay, be concise and try to focus on a few specific scenes or sequences in the films that will illustrate and support a thesis—an overarching critical and interpretative argument that you want to make about the films that you have chosen—and not simply state the similarities and differences of each. The bulk of your paper is analysis and interpretation in support of this thesis. Part of your analysis can include identifying formal patterns (editing, narrative, shot, and visual) and stylistic elements/techniques used within each film and analyzing them in relation to their function within the film’s story, characterization, and/or themes. The structure of your paper should be in an alternating pattern, as opposed to discussing one film entirely before moving on to the next film.

Choose ONE film from the list below as the focus of your analysis and essay. Updates to film availability will be made whenever possible.

1. Good for Nothing (1960, Yoshida Yoshishige) – Yoshida’s debut feature of university students engaging in petty crimes & relationships out of boredom; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZGPkkfT4U8

2. *Bad Boys (1961, Hani Susumu) – Hani’s debut docu-drama film on juvenile delinquents & their experiences

3. The Insect Woman (1963, Imamura Shohei) – chronicle of pre-/post-war Japan through the experiences of one woman: https://csulb.kanopy.com/video/insect-woman

4. Onibaba (1964, Shindo Kaneto) – feudal-era tale of two women who kill samurai for survival & their daily hardships; https://archive.org/details/OnibabaDemonWoman

5. Three Outlaw Samurai (1964, Gosha Hideo) – Gosha’s chambara feature debut of ronin embroiled in shifting loyalties & revenge

6. Woman in the Dunes (1964, Teshigahara Hiroshi) – existential exploration of identity through an entomologist ensnared to live in a sandpit; https://csulb.kanopy.com/video/woman-dunes

7. Sword of the Beast (1965, Gosha Hideo) – rank-&-file samurai betrayed by his comrades as critique of samurai ideology & authoritarianism; https://archive.org/details/SwordOfTheBeast1965 (Spanish subs)

8. The Face of Another (1966, Teshigahara Hiroshi) – disfigured man conspires with his doctor to fashion a new face

9. Tokyo Drifter (1966, Suzuki Seijun) – Phoenix Tetsu becomes caught in rival gangs & occasionally sings his way through the confusion; https://csulb.kanopy.com/video/tokyo-drifter

10. Branded to Kill (1967, Suzuki Seijun) – the number one assassin botches an assignment & soon finds himself the target of another assassin/assignment; https://csulb.kanopy.com/video/branded-kill

11. *Death by Hanging (1968, Oshima Nagisa) – scathing, self-reflexive examination of capital punishment & treatment of ethnic Koreans in Japan

12. Kuroneko (1968, Shindo Kaneto) – atmospheric, civil war-era kaidan of two women who avenge themselves on samurai; https://csulb.kanopy.com/video/kuroneko

13. Nanami: The Inferno of First Love (1968, Hani Susumu) – portrait of a young man’s encounter with a model & the memories of the past & excesses of the present commingle

14. Double Suicide (1969, Shinoda Masahiro) – merchant & courtesan transgress feudal era’s strict social codes with their affair & bear the consequences; https://csulb.kanopy.com/video/double-suicide

15. The Man Who Left His Will on Film (1970, Oshima Nagisa) – theft of a university student’s film camera gives way to a meditation on student political activism & its shortcomings; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X39n4LQBTtk

Style and submission guidelines:

• Papers must be at least 5 full pages, use 12-point Times New Roman font, be double-spaced, and have 1-inch margins to avoid point reduction

• Papers must have a title that reflects your main argument

• Italicize all book and film titles; article titles should be put in quotation marks, journal names italicized