An overly confident samurai, an exhausting kidnapee, and a demon serpent are a few of the characters in these rare gems from the Japanese silent era.
The Dull Sword (Namakura gatana) (1917)
Dir. Junichi Kōchi
5min; DCP, silent, tinted
Japan
In this oldest known surviving example of moving image anime, an overly-confident samurai looks for unsuspecting victims on which to try out his new sword, but neither his targets nor his weapon prove willing to play along.
DCP courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan.
The Immigrant (1917)
Dir. Charlie Chaplin
24min, DCP, black and white, silent
USA
Directed by Charlie Chaplin, this classic of the silent era follows the delightfully slapstick comic misadventures of an immigrant (Chaplin) from the deck of a steamship sailing by the Statue of Liberty to the streets of America where penury and romance follow.
DCP courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan.
Not Blood Relations (Nasanu naka) (1916)
Dir. Masao Inoue
12min, DCP, black and white, silent with Japanese intertitles
Japan
Director Inoue Masao also stars in this 1916 adaptation of the novel by Yanagawa Shun'yo which follows the destruction of a businessman and his family after a series of mounting scandals surface. This surviving fragment features three sequences from the original film, including its denouement.
DCP courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan.
The Oath of the Sword (1914)
Dir. Frank Shaw
31min, DCP, tinted, silent
US
The earliest known Asian-American film production, this tragic tale of ambition and betrayal was rediscovered in 2016 and restored by the Japanese American National Museum and the George Eastman Museum
DCP courtesy of George Eastman Museum.
The Vindictive Snake (Shūnen no dokuja) (1932)
Dir. Frank Shaw
71min, DCP, tinted, silent
Japan
A vengeful ghost takes center stage in this rarely-seen early Japanese horror film shot in Okinawa and Hawaii. An immigrant story gone wrong, it stars Okinawan native Seizen Toguchi—who also wrote the script—as a husband emigrating with his wife from Okinawa to Oahu. A seminal genre work with roots in Okinawan folklore, The Vindictive Snake is the oldest known narrative film shot in Okinawa.
DCP courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan.
UPCOMING Screenings
RUNNING TIME
143min
VENUE
TICKET INFORMATION
General Admission: $20
Members: $15
Please note: A $1.50 processing fee per ticket will be added to your order
Leadership support for
BAM Access Programs provided by the
Jerome L. Greene Foundation
Leadership support for
BAM Film provided by
the Ford Foundation and
The Thompson Family Foundation
