I saw part of this movie in October 2005 at the Cinema Muto festival in Sacile, Italy. The festival screened a print from the National Film Centre, Tokyo.
Since I know very little about Japanese silent films, I try to correct that lapse by seeing as many Japanese silent films as possible. The programme notes at the Sacile festival made three interesting assertions about this movie, none of which I can vouch for independently: (1) the film's director, Shozo Maino, was "the father of Japanese cinema", noted for his visual innovation; (2) Matsunosuke Onoe, who plays the title role of Jiraiya here, was the first Japanese film star; and (3) Jiraiya, the hero of this film, had long been a popular character in kabuki theatre after originating in a ninja novel published in 1839. Since all of the above seem to be true, it follows that this movie -- representing a collaboration of a great director, a popular star and a beloved fictional character -- must have been a very big hit in Japan indeed.
Based on the part of the film I saw, I can tell you this much: Jiraiya is some sort of super-ninja with superpowers. He can fly, he can avoid detection by turning himself into a toad (and back again, I hope!), and he has some sort of ability to vanish. It wasn't clear to me whether this power is an ability to turn invisible (remaining in the same place, but no longer seen) or rather an ability to teleport ... vanishing outright from one place and materialising elsewhere. I wonder how Jiraiya's ninja powers were depicted onstage in his kabuki dramas.
Although I enjoy Oriental movies that give me an accurate glimpse of Asian cultures (past or present), I don't much fancy Oriental heroic fantasy. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" bored me stiff with its procession of characters leaping into the air and dashing over rooftops. For similar reasons, this ninja movie was not my cup of Japanese tea. When it screened at Sacile, I was more than slightly exhausted from a combination of jet lag and non-stop film attendance (the festival had two simultaneous programme tracks, in cinemas several streets apart in Sacile), and I had difficulty staying awake through this movie. So I got up halfway through and went back to my hotel.
Suffice it to say, this is a ninja movie with a lot of jumping about. I did enjoy the toad sequences, though.
The fact that I couldn't stay awake through this movie is mostly down to external factors, not anything in this movie. And yet there have been occasions when I was far more exhausted yet I managed to sit riveted and rapt through a film because I found it fascinating. This movie bored me, and I expect it would have bored me even if I'd been fully awake. However, as I didn't sit through it till the end, I shan't give it a rating. If I get another chance to watch it, I'll try to stay through the whole movie next time.
Since I know very little about Japanese silent films, I try to correct that lapse by seeing as many Japanese silent films as possible. The programme notes at the Sacile festival made three interesting assertions about this movie, none of which I can vouch for independently: (1) the film's director, Shozo Maino, was "the father of Japanese cinema", noted for his visual innovation; (2) Matsunosuke Onoe, who plays the title role of Jiraiya here, was the first Japanese film star; and (3) Jiraiya, the hero of this film, had long been a popular character in kabuki theatre after originating in a ninja novel published in 1839. Since all of the above seem to be true, it follows that this movie -- representing a collaboration of a great director, a popular star and a beloved fictional character -- must have been a very big hit in Japan indeed.
Based on the part of the film I saw, I can tell you this much: Jiraiya is some sort of super-ninja with superpowers. He can fly, he can avoid detection by turning himself into a toad (and back again, I hope!), and he has some sort of ability to vanish. It wasn't clear to me whether this power is an ability to turn invisible (remaining in the same place, but no longer seen) or rather an ability to teleport ... vanishing outright from one place and materialising elsewhere. I wonder how Jiraiya's ninja powers were depicted onstage in his kabuki dramas.
Although I enjoy Oriental movies that give me an accurate glimpse of Asian cultures (past or present), I don't much fancy Oriental heroic fantasy. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" bored me stiff with its procession of characters leaping into the air and dashing over rooftops. For similar reasons, this ninja movie was not my cup of Japanese tea. When it screened at Sacile, I was more than slightly exhausted from a combination of jet lag and non-stop film attendance (the festival had two simultaneous programme tracks, in cinemas several streets apart in Sacile), and I had difficulty staying awake through this movie. So I got up halfway through and went back to my hotel.
Suffice it to say, this is a ninja movie with a lot of jumping about. I did enjoy the toad sequences, though.
The fact that I couldn't stay awake through this movie is mostly down to external factors, not anything in this movie. And yet there have been occasions when I was far more exhausted yet I managed to sit riveted and rapt through a film because I found it fascinating. This movie bored me, and I expect it would have bored me even if I'd been fully awake. However, as I didn't sit through it till the end, I shan't give it a rating. If I get another chance to watch it, I'll try to stay through the whole movie next time.
