1971: Film director loses copyright 11

T:

Here's an episode.

A long time ago, there was a movie called "あゝ野麦峠(Ah, Nomugi Pass)" (directed by Satsuo Yamamoto).
After that, Yamamoto decided to make a sequel (with a different company).
At that time, Director Yamamoto consulted me.

When Yamamoto was making "Ah, Nomugi Pass Part 2 (Ah, Nomugi Pass New Green Version)," he tried to use a scene from the first "Ah, Nomugi Pass" that he had made before, but the president of his previous company complained to Yamamoto.
"The copyright is mine, so it's outrageous that you're using a scene from my movie without my permission!". *1
So Yamamoto got mad and said, "What a ridiculous story! That's the movie I made. The copyright belongs to me!".
This led to a long argument that almost went to court.
In the end, the president of his previous company gave permission to use the scene from Part 1, so the case didn't end up in court.

But a lot of humiliating issues like that happened. For movies, Article 29, paragraph 1 (which stipulates that film copyright holders are corporations) is the root of all evil.

There is a history of many people fighting against it. *2



*1 From 1971 to the present, a huge number of problems have occurred.

*2 Unfortunately, we do not have that material in our possession. If we find them in the future, we may introduce them on this blog.

「あゝ野麦峠」(1979) credit: Shinnihon-eigasha / 「あゝ野麦峠 新緑編 (Part2)」 (1982) credit: Toho

As we have mentioned several times before on this blog, Director Yamamoto is a member of the Japanese Communist Party.

The president of "Shinnihon-eigasha," the company that produced the first film, is also someone I have mentioned before on this blog. He attempted suicide but happened to see a film and gave up on it, founded a company, and hired Satsuo Yamamoto as director of the company's first film.　https://kiyubaru.exblog.jp/33946564/

”Ah, Nomugi Pass” part 1 / part 2（In the foreground is Director Yamamoto.）

*All photos are from programs owned by Kiryukan.

"Ah, Nomugi Pass part 1" is the story of a poor girl from a rural part of Japan who is forced to work long hours in a factory during Japan's war of aggression.
In part 2, the girls from the factory form a labor union and go on strike and launch a labor dispute against the factory. However, they are oppressed by the capitalists and the military.
Part 2 was made by Toho, who had previously red-purged director Yamamoto. At first, Toho asked Yamamoto not to include any scenes of labor disputes, but Yamamoto ignored her and included scenes of intense labor disputes. Perhaps because of this, it has never been released on video or DVD to this day.