Author Archive for: ‘Abé Mark Nornes’

Uploaded 1 July 1999 Open any Japanese book on documentary, and the “theory” of Paul Rotha will be singled out as one of the most influential bodies of thought in the history of Japanese cinema. While there were translations of all the major Western film theorists, from Münsterberg to Eisenstein, it is safe to say that none of their writing …

Unfortunately, this colors his discussion of Rotha as well. Kubota had originally intended to structure his entire book around The Documentary film, a measure of Rotha’s prestige and influence over the very conception of nonfiction filmmaking. In the end, he wisely saved the discussion of Rotha for the final chapter. After his careful discussion of the avant-garde, Kubota warns readers that …