<i>Big Tokyo</i> (1933) and the Ideology of Sound

Abstract

This paper discusses the production, distribution, and reception of an early sound documentary film, Big Tokyo, directed 1932-1933 by prominent Soviet filmmaker Vladimir Shneiderov. Big Tokyo was the first Soviet picture filmed in Japan, as well as one of the first Soviet "talkies." The film's soundtrack, however, was recorded in Moscow under the direction of prominent Japanese musician Yamada Kōsaku. The filming process itself was financially supported and coordinated by Tokyo Asahi, one of the biggest newspapers in Japan. Thus, when the film was released in Japan, it was advertised as a co-production between Tokyo Asahi and the Soviet film studio Mezhrabpomfilm. The early 1930s was a transitional period for both Japan and the Soviet Union, in their diplomatic relations as well as their film industries (conversion to sound). Radical changes that shook political, social, and cultural life in both countries had an indisputable effect on cinematic style, ideological content, and the use of sound in Big Tokyo. Despite the film's unique status, it has garnered scholars' attention only rarely. This might partially be explained by the fact that, in Japan, the film of Big Tokyo was long considered lost. 1 Yet, I have verified that at least one copy of Big Tokyo is stored at RGAKFD (The Russian State Documentary Film & Photo Archive of Krasnogorsk), a few kilometers outside of Moscow. This copy has Russian narration and subtitles, and was presumably screened for Soviet audiences. According to Shneiderov, there also existed a Japanese version of the film. The whereabouts of the "Japanese copy," however, have yet to be determined, so this paper will conduct an analysis of Big Tokyo based on a close examination of the "Russian copy" stored at RGAKFD, as well as of Soviet and Japanese reviews published after the film's release.