Diary of a Lady-Killer (1969)

[yukabacera]

Diary of a Lady-Killer (1969) http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=4991
I've deleted two completely wrong aliases from this page. I won't repeat them here due to the fact that their false association with this film, stemming from this database, has already spread around the internet. I've done as much as I can to undo that spread of misinformation by deleting them.

[bkasten]

Diary of a Lady-Killer (1969) http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=4991
I've deleted two completely wrong aliases from this page. I won't repeat them here due to the fact that their false association with this film, stemming from this database, has already spread around the internet. I've done as much as I can to undo that spread of misinformation by deleting them.

Could you PM them to me please.

[bkasten]

Ever since 30 March 2005 when I instituted the "any deletion, modification, or merging" must be discussed in the forum, we ALL ask/discuss/post BEFORE deleting. In this case, while I DO agree with your judgement, the aliases and the facts behind the issue should also be posted here as well.

Calros posted the aliases for me. After seeing them, I now understand the issue, and why those aliases were placed there. There is an actual set of facts here worthy of discussion. That's the discussion I expect to have here.

While I understand the concern, stating things like "completely wrong" and "false association with this film, stemming from this database, has already spread around the internet" is not sticking to stating facts and details in this forum.

There are of course many mistakes, and as new information comes to light, we correct them. That's what you did. That's how we operate. Good work. If blogger and reviewers, and in this case "other" films databases, copy this DB, then yes, these mistakes propagate. We do what we can.

So here is the issue:

A Japanese studies professor at the University of Hong Kong, Dr. Kinnia Yau (???) who specializes in film history published a scholarly book in 2009 called "Japanese and Hong Kong Film Industries: Understanding the Origins of East Asian Film Networks" that actually contains the name and two aliases for a 1964 Japanese film "Ryojin Nikki" (????) by director K? Nakahira (a.k.a. ???/???/Yeung Shu-Hei).

Later in the 1960s, K? Nakahira directed several films for Shaw Bros - including the 1969 "Diary of a Lady-Killer" (??). While I have not personally seen either film, I have read summaries of the two and some consider ?? to be a "remake" of ???. I think that is true. But the 1964 film apparently goes into greater depth in some areas later in the film. AS SUCH, I believe there is a conflation of these two similar films with similar screenplays by the same director. The two aliases for Ryojin Nikki (????) published in the 2009 book by Prof. Yau are the ones that "were" used here in HKMDB for "Diary of a Lady-Killer" (??). While wrong, it's not quite fatal. And I wonder where these truly came from. I have contacted Prof. Yau about the primary source of these aliases, and hope to hear back from her.

[yukabacera]

I apologize, but I didn't see your request for a PM on time. I have to disagree with one point - I was stating facts when I called those aliases 'completely wrong'. The details as you have outlined them are completely correct. Diary of a Lady-Killer (1969) is a remake of the Japanese film The Hunter's Diary (1964). The two titles Professor Yau mentions are, presumably, her own literal (unofficial) translations of two Chinese aliases of The Hunter's Diary, not Diary of a Lady-Killer. The fact that the 1969 film is a remake of the 1964 film creates no further association between them. Seven Samurai was remade as The Magnificent Seven, but that does not make The Magnificent Seven an alternate title for Seven Samurai. It's a completely different film. Here is the exact quote from Professor Yau's book. All I've done is remove the two translations:

Diary of a Lady Killer, directed by the same director who used the screenname Yang Shuxi, was 'glamorously' released in 11 theatres in Hong Kong and Kowloon some time ago. It is clearly an adaptation of The Hunter's Diary. I am not certain whether it was Yang's or Shaw's idea, but it was weird that shortly after the release of Diary of a Lady Killer, which had a full house at every screening, The Hunter's Diary got 'stealthily' released as pornography in Cathay and Dongle [Happy East] theatres under a different title: first Lieren fengliuzhang ([...]) and then Yisheng wu wo shi fengliu ([...]).

[bkasten]

OK. Thanks for the excerpt from the publiction. Now it makes sense.

And I agree with your analogy - you are factually correct: wrong is wrong. I am merely trying expand upon how such an error could be made based on this misunderstanding and conflation.