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The Black Ships (1970)
Directed by Charles Eames, Ray Eames
History · 8m
Created with imagery taken from the 19th-Century Japanese woodcuts on display in the Smithsonian Institution’s exhibition “The Japanese Expedition 1852-1866 of Commodore Matthew Perry,” the film records the opening of the country to Western trade from a Japanese perspective. In Charles’ words, the film “shows something of the special and rare situations that existed when these two cultures came together…one very sophisticated, one with a highly developed technology.” The soundtrack juxtaposes the visuals, with music from the album “Banjo Kings,” an early-American fife-and-drum recording from the Smithsonian Institution archives, and traditional Japanese music from tapes provided by the Japanese embassy.
Crew
- Director
- Charles Eames, Ray Eames
Details
- Release date
- 1970-01-01
- Runtime
- 8m
- Genres
- History
- Original language
- EN