Moving Picture World (Aug 1920)

August 14, 1920 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 863 Expert Sees Through American Eyes “Movie Houses ” in China and Japan 1HAVE seen all the important theatres of Japan and most of the better ones in the northern portion of China. Japan, with her usual keen insight into modern innovations, is making fuller use _ of the manifold possibilities of the exhibition of motion pictures. The theatres devoted to the showing of motion pictures in China are cleaner and better run than in Japan, but not with the same profitable results. There is a very good reason for all of this. The Japanese more fully understand the psychology of the art than do the Chinese. As in the drama, the lines spoken on the stage or the scenes there depicted are not of much importance except as suggestions to the minds of the spectators, wherein the entire action of the play takes place. The spoken word or the scenes enacted merely suggest to the active mind the story as it unfolds, therefore the necessity of perfect continuity. The play may slightly differ in detail with each individual mind, but in the main the story, if it be a good one, is the same to all. That is the process which fascinates one in a motion picture and unconsciously creates a habit among certain individuals for motion pictures. The solution of a good story is recreation and pleasure for the mind. The more acute the mind the fewer the suggestions needed to prompt logical thought. Too much or too many suggestions annoy and disturb the pleasant working of the mind. Japanese Sense a Secret. The Japanese have discovered this consciously or unconsciously. Takashi Komatsu, of the Oriental Steamship Company, who is largely interested in motion pictures, both as a producer and an exhibitor, said to me in an interview that the simple translation into Japanese of the titles would not serve, as the amount of translation necessary to make the meaning of the foreign pictures clear to the Japanese mind would be so lengthy as to seriously interrupt the continuity of the story. Ordinary customs and actions of the characters in a scene that were perfectly clear to a European or an American were like Greek to an Oriental, and therefore would require lengthy explanations that would entail too long titles. So the Japanese have adopted a method peculiar to themselves. A professional reader declaims the story in a dramatic voice that does not disturb the auditor as the picture is shown, and the spectators, thrilled by his eloquence, drinks in every word of the description. In the Hands of an Employe. It therefore follows that the exhibitor is more or less in the hands of his reader, an employe. Good or bad rendition can make or mar the picture. But in a land where bribery is a simple matter, this makes little difference, as a clever exhibitor can easily make sure to control his reader. In China, with better theatres, the management have not succeeded so well. It is true the Chinese exhibitor has a more mixed audience to deal with than has his Japanese competitor. Not less than thirty different dialects are spoken in China, and neighboring sections cannot understand the simple speech of one another. But F. Marshall Sanderson, a Shanghai By EDWARD B. KIN SI LA film distributor and an occasional correspondent of the Moving Picture World, is at present experimenting on what I believe is a good solution for China of this difficulty. He proposes to divide the title in half, reserving the right side for the English words, and the left portion for a fitting Chinese interpretation. The Chinese always read vertically from right to left. While the Chinese spoken language is divided into thirty distinct dialects that cannot be understood by the denizens even of a neighboring region, the written language which, by the way, is symbolic, is always expressed in two forms, either the Mandarin form which is the classic one and understood by the generality of people, or the Wenli form, not so generally employed. Any means that will easily and quickly convey the story to the minds of the spectators is the right one. This is the secret underlying the success of the ancient “puppet” or so-called marionette shows that even today are so popular in Europe. The audience quickly forget that the performing figures are mere dolls, manipulated by strings in the hands of skilful operators out of sight. By the way, these exhibitions, once so popular in Japan, are gradually dying out. Only two of these theatres remain in the entire country, one at Kyoto and another at Osaka. Marionettes No Longer Deceive. These two surviving theatres are now poorly attended, simply because the means of conveying the necessary suggestions to the spectators’ minds are too obvious and crude. There the dolls, instead of being worked by hidden hands and manipulated by strings, are worked by black masked, cloaked individuals in full view of the audience. While these operators possess wonderful skill, the illusion is not sufficient to wholly prevent the mental distraction of the spectator, as do the Italian operators, who are hidden from view. But to return to the original subject of this articles: The comparison of the Japanese motion picture theatre with the Chinese similar institution. The Japanese theatre is quite devoid of the ordinary comforts of a rural, country moving picture showshop, let alone the luxuries of an American city picture playhouse, while the Chinese theatre is comfortably if not gorgeously arranged. Neither country has enormous palatial houses such as many of our smaller American cities possess. Japan, of course, does not require large edifices that hold audiences of several thousand. The theatre of a country should be expressive of the ideals of that country. Nature Done in Miniature. Everything in Japan is small, even the people themselves. The entire beauty of Japan consists of the fact that everything in nature is reproduced in miniature. The highest mountains compared with the immense Rockies of America are mere hillocks, the very blades of grass, too, are tiny, and the trees are like American bushes. Aside from this the necessity of a reader to translate the suggestions of a picture demand a limitation of space in order to secure good acoustics. In China it is another matter. If the method' advocated by Mr. Sanderson proves a success, which I firmly believe it will, the proper mode of suggestion will be accomplihed, and the true thought of the screened story properly appreciated by the audience. In both China and Japan the business of the matinees needs to be improved by the reduction of admission prices to these performances. The Chinese theatres also have a most comfortable seating arrangement. Like in England the seats are placed three feet from back to back instead of thirty-two inches or less, as in America. Chinese Theatres Excel. This admits of the passage of patrons to their seats without the necessity of their neighbors arising, a most convenient arrangement that only adds four inches to each row of seats — the loss of one row in about every ten. The Chinese theatre also excels the Japanese theatre in other respects. On the whole, they are larger than the same type of theatre in Japan. In both countries there is a decided tendency toward building theatres in one defined locality. This is so particularly in Japan, where each large city has its theatre street, which is filled with all manner of shows. It is true in a lesser degree of some cities in China. Pekin, for instance, has its theatre street, but in Shanghai and other large cities of China the theatres are scattered. Of course, this centralization of amusements has its merits, but they are matters for further consideration. Rather than exploit new ideas it is much safer, if possible, to conform to those already existing. Suggest Theatre Construction. If someone would erect a modern theatre in Japan, not too large, but one whose auditorium area would not exceed one hundred feet square so as to perfectly admit the reader to be heard declaiming the story of the picture, and inaugurated cheaper daily matinees, his fortune is already made. Or, if one would build one in China, or better still, conduct an existing one with Mr. Sanderson’s idea of split titles for each picture, with the same cheaper matinee prices, as exist in America and elsewhere, it is my idea he would meet with equal success. Motion pictures are recognized throughout the world as an amusement that has come to stay, so why not in China if the pictures be properly shown? All that need be done is to correctly convey to the spectators’ minds the story that is told. China is about the only spot in the world where pictures have not been shown with great success, and the fault clearly lies with the exhibitor, who in several remote instances has increased his earnings enormously by adopting saner methods. In whichever country one builds he should adopt the style of architecture fitted to and expressive of that country. This is particularly true of either of the countries in question, as Chinese architecture is admirably adapted to theatres. NEW YORK, N. Y. — Caesar Theatre Corporation has been organized with $100,000 capital by T. P. Garrity, 32 Broadway. OSSINING, N. Y.— Rowe Theatre has been purchased by Joseph Christonia for $6, BOO. EUGENE, ORE.— Rex Theatre has been purchased by A. H. McDonald.