Japanese silent film series features famed narrator

"Jirokichi the Ratkid," directed by Ito Daisuke, is one of the few silent Chambara (Japanese swordfight) films remaining. It will screen Oct. 27 as part of the "Japanese Silent Films" series sponsored by Cornell Cinema and the East Asia Program. Courtesy of Cornell Cinema

This October, Cornell Cinema and the East Asia Program present a "Japanese Silent Films" series that will give theatergoers a chance to experience "virtual live benshi performances" by watching three films accompanied by pre-recorded music and narration by the late master Matsuda Shunsui.

In the early years of Japanese cinema, benshi, the narrators of silent-era films, played a key role in the general popularity of movies of the time. They would stand next to the screen and interpret the dialogue and action in a parallel performance involving sound effects and additional commentary.

The first in this Wednesday night series is an early film by famed Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi, "The Water Magician." It will screen Oct. 6.

"Serpent," a masterpiece of actor Bando Tsumasaburo's youth, in which he plays a low-ranking, hotheaded samurai who falls in love with two women, screens Oct. 13.

"Jirokichi the Ratkid," directed by Ito Daisuke, one of the few silent Chambara (Japanese swordfight) films remaining, will screen Oct. 27.

The fourth film of the series, "The Life of Tsumasaburu Bando (Bantsuma)," made in 1980, examines the life and career of Bando, one of the greatest stars in the history of Japanese cinema, who appeared in more than 200 films between 1923 and 1953. This documentary will screen Oct. 20.

Films will be shown Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre. Tickets are $6 general admission, $4.75 for students and seniors and $4 for Cornell graduate students. For more information, contact Cornell Cinema at 255-3522 or visit http://cinema.cornell.edu.