Stillman Fires Collection: Foreign Fire Depts

★★★★ · High City, Low City · Wilford B. Wolf · 2004-09-27

This film opens with firefighting in Japan circa 1930. The footage starts with shots from the annual firefighting festival held in Tokyo, firefighters wearing their traditional Tokugawa era (1600-1868) firefighting uniforms and techniques as well as demonstrating more modern techniques, including motorized fire trucks and asbestos firesuits. There is also a shot of the Matoi, the fire god emblem, being paraded. This section ends with a brief smokey shot of a lumber yard fire in Shinagawa, in the southwest of Tokyo. The final three-quarters of the film is shots of the Paris fire department…

★★★ · Meanwhile, in Tokyo and Paris... · Christine Hennig · 2006-11-09

This 30s firefighting film shows us firefighting practices in Japan and Paris. The Japanese footage is most interesting, as it shows us some unusual cultural things, such as the medal-giving ceremony, the decidedly Asian-looking asbestos suits, and effigies of Matoi, the fire god that were believed to protect homes from fire. The Paris footage is pretty standard, featuring demonstrations of various firefighting practices. As with most Stillman films, this has limited entertainment value, but lots of historical interest. Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****.…