(Oatsurae Jirokichi Goshi) Jirokichi the Burglar is the only extant silent by the legendary period-film director Daisuke Ito. Together with his cameraman, Hiromitsu Karasawa, Ito introduced the moving camera to the swordfight, a spectacular combination that revolutionized period-film cinematography. Ito's command of montage and his propensity for serious drama delicately balanced by comic interludes make this the finest silent period-film to have survived in approximately original form. The film stars Denjiro Okochi, an actor whose popularity was rivaled only by Tsumasaburo Bando. Nezumi Kozo Jirokichi, a late Edo-period burglar immortalized as a folk hero who stole from the homes of wealthy samurai to aid the poor, was the subject of numerous films from as early as 1911. Ito develops a sophisticated plot drawn from a story by Eiji Yoshikawa that places the thief between two women, a sultry woman of the world who sacrifices herself to help him escape, and an innocent young girl who falls in love with him when he saves her from being sold as a geisha. In a spectacular final scene the shogun's police force close in on Jirokichi at night, their lanterns glowing eerily in the dark. Naoe Fushimi's seductive performance as Jirokichi's lover provides a rare opportunity to see one of Japan's few vamps. Her sister, Nobuko, plays the innocent young girl. Lisa Spalding