I just wanted to let Mobians know that I have a book coming out that might interest some of them. It's called FIGURES TRACED IN LIGHT: ON CINEMATIC STAGING.

The book surveys some major ways in which directors have staged scenes across film history, by examining four major filmmakers. Two--Louis Feuillade (of LES VAMPIRES fame) and Theo Angelopoulos (a major contemporary director from Greece)--may be less familiar to Mobians than the other two big guys: Mizoguchi Kenji from Japan and Hou Hsiao-hsien from Taiwan. I try to show that a lot of their work's originality and power derives from the way they move actors around the frame, use props and lighting, and direct the performances.

For both Mizoguchi and Hou, I talk about how they use long takes and very slight movements to forward their narratives and evoke atmosphere. I think I probably discuss each director's early work a bit more than is common, partly because I like it (especially Hou's first three films, those romantic "musicals" with Kenny Bee). But I do cover the major works as well, although I ran out of space and couldn't do justice to FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI....

The first, introductory chapter also analyzes a scene from the work of Hong Sang-soo, the up-and-coming Korean director.

The book has over 500 frame stills, a few in color; all the stills are drawn from 35mm prints.

The University of California Press's official announcement is here:

http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9505.html

and I have some further information on my own website:

www.davidbordwell.net

I hope to keep updating the book on my website; there's already a supplement on Feuillade there, and I've written extra things on Mizoguchi I'll be adding soon.

In the meantime, I'd be happy to answer questions about the book, or once it's available (in February, I'm told) to discuss aspects of it that readers want to comment on.

David --

Glad to see that the end of the publishing tunnel is near on this. Look forward to finally reading this long-awaited tome.

Which Hong scene do you discuss? Or do we have to wait until publication to find out. ;~}

Michael Kerpan
Boston

Thanks for your interest, Michael!

The scene is the drinking scene from OH, SU-JEONG! (aka THE VIRGIN STRIPPED BARE BY HER BACHELORS) in which the film director and his producer quarrel and the director winds up leaving the table in disgust. The scene ends with Su-jeong pouring the producer's drink.

It's part of a series of scenes I use to illustrate a common problem directors face: how to stage a scene of people talking around a table? It's sometimes called the "dinner-table conundrum" and I wanted to show that it's solved in various ways by directors in different filmmaking traditions. Eventually Ozu, Mizo, and Hou are brought in as further comparisons.

Interestingly, when I first saw the film in 2000, in Brussels, the director seemed to be anglicizing his name as Hang Song-soo. But I think some time around 2003, while my book was in production, he changed the English spelling of his last name to Hong, so I had to alter it in proofs. At least he's been more consistent than Mr Yuen Kwai, Yuen Kuei, Corey Yuen, and Cory Yuen.....

As I recall, there are some major differences between the first time we see the "drinking scene" in "Virgin" and the second. Which one do you analyze (or do you deal with both)? FWIW, "Virgin" remains my favorite Hong film -- and I like it more each time I re-watch it.

I assume the Hou table scene is one of the many from "Flowers of Shanghai". There are so many of these in Ozu, I wouldn't know where to start guessing. How does the "lunch counter against the wall" scene in "Late Autumn" fit into this analysis? (It would seem to impose even more constraints than the typical dinner table setting).

It's funny, I can't recall any prominent scenes of this sort in Mizoguchi -- at least not offhand.

Oh well, I've pre-ordered the book from UC Press -- maybe I should just save my questions until after I read it. ;~}

BTW, Is there any likelihood of your Ozu book getting reprinted? Used copies are now be sold for well over $100. (Glad I got my copy before this went out of print).

Michael Kerpan
Boston

Chris D. of the American Cinematheque should be releasing his long awaited book on Japanese Outlaw Masters at the end of the first quarter of this year. It's sure to be the "be all end all" of Yakuza and Pinky Violence film tomes.

For Michael:

There are indeed several drinking/ eating scenes in THE BRIDE (my favorite Hong movie too). The scene I analyze in FIGURES is set at the group drinking party, in the segment labeled 6 in the film's "chapters": it starts at 40:24 on the Korean DVD of the film.

As for the Ozu book, it's been out of print since 2002 and is indeed hard to find. I've seen internet copies sold for over $200. If only I had extra copies to sell online! :ph43r:

The book is big, with lots of pictures, and publishers are reluctant to take on such an expensive reprint, even with the surge of Ozu/ Criterion DVDs. I'm in discussion with one trade press right now, but I think it's unlikely to take on the task. If this fails and when I get time, I might put it on my website on PDF files. The only problem with that, as far as my experiments show, is that the photos won't be very legible.