Author: N.A.
Source: "The Broad Ax" July 6, 1917, p. 3
Text:
The kasuban is a native and unique product of Japanese life and is called both a nuisance and a necessity. The name is an abridgement of katsudo-benshi and means moving picture speaker. The katsuban follows every action shown in motion picture plays and interprets it to the audience. He must not only have a fluent tongue, but have the ability to imitate professional actors of both old and new schools as well as being able to speak several degrees of falsetto to portray the various characters in the plays. The profession is by no means an easy one, and the skilled members are almost as popular as the actors themselves.
The katsuban cannot be dispensed with because of the introduction of foreign films in Japan. It is necessary to explain the action; otherwise the picture would be unintelligible to most of the audience. Even in the case of native pictures it is said that as yet many of the actors are not sufficiently clever to enable the management to dispense with the services of the katsuban.
- Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph.
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz