Monochrome to Modernity: Day 1 - The Golden Age

Welcome to the first set of screenings of 'From Monochrome to Modernity'!This is a collaboration of The Parallel Cinema Club, Daijoubu eSports and Japan Habba to bring to everyone the rich cinematic culture of Japan. Through curated films from the likes of Kurosawa and Teshigahara, we span through 120 years of Japanese cinema's vibrant richness.The first set of films will look at the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema.About the period: The Golden Age of Japanese cinema, usually dated to the 1950s, early 1960s, grew from a prewar studio system reshaped by postwar Occupation reforms. Rashomon’s 1951 Venice win opened Western markets and brought Kurosawa, Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Naruse global acclaim, while the late-1950s peak of major studios, huge attendance, and widescreen/color gave way in the 1960s to television, studio crises, and changing audiences. Formally, it was a studio-genre synthesis, jidaigeki, gendai-geki, shomingeki, and melodrama using classical continuity with strong mise-en-scène, long takes, and expressive sound, with key styles including Ozu’s low static “tatami” camera and pillow shots, Mizoguchi’s long moving takes, Kurosawa’s dynamic montage and telephoto action, and Naruse’s restrained, elliptical melodrama.Films to be screened:Floating Weeds by Yasujirō Ozu Ikiru by Akira KurosawaWife! Be Like a Rose! by Mikio NaruseThis is a free screening, with breaks after each film. For more details about the curation itself, you can go here: Curation for Japan HabbaPlease note that there are a total of 4 entry passes to this event, and you can either RSVP for select films or all the films. Please be sure to show up early because the seats are not going to be reserved for anyone. The RSVP form is just for our headcount reference.