The Dragon Painter
About The Dragon Painter
Tatsu paints in the mountains and throws the pictures away. He believes his bride, a princess, was turned into a dragon. Uchida takes one canvas to Kano Indara in Tokyo and tells Tatsu the painter knows where she is. Tatsu marries Indara's daughter Ume-ko and stops painting once he is happy. She leaves a letter that says she is dead. He paints again. She comes back. The last shot is the two of them in the mountains, and he is working. Sessue Hayakawa plays Tatsu. Tsuru Aoki, his wife, plays Ume-ko.
Cast & crew
More about The Dragon Painter
William Worthington directed. Richard Schayer adapted Mary McNeil Fenollosa's novel. Frank D. Williams photographed. Film Booking Offices released it on September 28, 1919. Edward Peil plays Indara. Toyo Fujita plays Uchida. A 35mm print found in France was restored in 1988 by the American Film Institute with George Eastman Museum and MoMA. Named to the National Film Registry in 2014.
Themes
Look
Frank D. Williams shot Tatsu in Yosemite Valley and in the Japanese Tea Garden at Coronado.
Preservation
Restored in 1988 by the American Film Institute with George Eastman Museum and MoMA from a 35mm print found in France. Named to the National Film Registry in 2014.
Notes
- Aoki and Hayakawa were married. She plays the woman he thinks is the dragon princess.
- The mountain work is Yosemite. The garden scenes are the tea garden at Coronado.
- The gift goes when the longing goes. Ume-ko's letter is meant to bring it back.
- The 1988 restoration used the French 35mm.
Awards
- National Film Registry (2014)
Scenes
- Tatsu paints and throws the sheet away.
- Ume-ko's letter says she is dead. He paints again, and she returns.
Influenced by
- Mary McNeil Fenollosa's novel The Dragon Painter
Also available
- George Eastman Museum
- Museum of Modern Art
