CROSSWAYS aka CROSSROADS; SLUMS OF TOKYO; SHADOWS OF THE YOSHIWARA
(Movies) WhenNovember 22, 2014 <m>(Saturday)m>WhereAFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center8633 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 (US)
Phone: 301.495.6700
Website: http://www.afi.com/silver/films/2014/p68/silentcinema.aspx
Event Details
CROSSWAYS aka CROSSROADS; SLUMS OF TOKYO; SHADOWS OF THE YOSHIWARA
[十字路 Jûjiro]Live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne
Teinosuke Kinugasa, best known for his legendary debut, A PAGE OF MADNESS, builds upon the earlier film's deserved reputation as a landmark of cinematic expressionism with this visually dazzling tale of lust and madness. The story follows a young man's descent from infatuation to obsession for a geisha he meets in Tokyo's Yoshiwara pleasure district, and his sister's self-sacrificing efforts to save him from himself. Kinugasa, who had retreated to safer commercial-minded jidai-geki (period pieces) after giving his more daring cinematic aesthetics full rein with A PAGE OF MADNESS, described CROSSWAYS as a "chanbara (samurai film) without swordfights."
DIR/SCR/PROD Teinosuke Kinugasa. Japan, 1928, b&w, 74 min, 35mm. NOT RATED
Based at London's BFI Southbank, but playing at all the major UK venues and many international film festivals and cinematheques, Stephen Horne has long been considered one of the world's leading silent film accompanists. He has recorded music for DVD releases, BBC TV screenings and museum installations of silent films. Although principally a pianist, he often incorporates flute, accordion and keyboards into his performances, sometimes simultaneously. stephenhorne.co.uk.