“Being an artist means not having to avert
one's eyes.”
Akira Kurosawa was
born in Tokyo, Japan in 1910. In his early years Kurosawa studied to be an artist
and is/was a painter by trade. Kurosawa was always interested in cinema and
when he was in his early adulthood he responded to a request from a local paper
for essays about Tokyo film making and how they could be better. His response
landed him a job working for the studios as an AD for Kajiro Yamamoto, whom he
credits as being his first and most influential mentor in film. In 1923, the
great Kanto Earthquake struck Japan. It was during this event that Kurosawa got
to see the full force and fury of nature which he states had a great impact on
his story telling. Indeed, elements of weather often foreshadow and accent
dramatic situations throughout his films.
Kurosawa made his feature length
directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata
in 1943. It was here that the style that would encompase his many films to come
would be showcased. Kurosawa is known for his extreme attention to detail.
Every storyboard is hand painted by him as a full scale painting, accounting
for all of the colors and weather conditions that he will use to make his film
as visually stunning as possible. On camera, Kurosawa uses a very deep focus,
making sure that the audience sees every detail of what is happening on screen.
Kurosawa is also known for adapting older stories and plays, namely Shakespear,
and putting them into a feudal Japanese setting. This is also a reason why his
films do better in the West than they do in the East. Because of his rich
storytelling and the success of his films, his movies are often remade, adapted,
or copied by Western filmmakers. Most notably, Rashomon (1950) as The Outrage
(1964), Seven Samurai (1954), as The Magnificent Seven (1960), Yojimbo (1961),
as A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and The Hidden Fortress (1958), as Star Wars:
Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).
In 1985 Kurosawa released the film Ran, the story of an elderly Japanese
ruler, Lord Hidetora and his sons. Lord Hidetora decides to divide his lands
between his three sons. When the youngest objects and tries to warn his father
about his corrupt older siblings, he is banished from the lands. It is only too
late that the old lord finds his son’s warning to be true. This story is an
example of Kurosawa adapting a Shakespeare play, in this case King Lear. This film is a good example
of how Kurosawa is in complete control over his mise-en-scène. Each frame
looks like a painting, vivid colors and exaggerated battle. In fact, each piece
of wardrobe and costume, including the suits of armor, were hand made over a
two year period. Everything is always in focus as per Kurosawa’s standard, and
he went so far as to build the castle on the side of Mt. Fuji, so that they
could burn it down without having to use models. The film uses many long takes
and is done completely in wide shots, only once cutting to a medium close up,
allowing all of the characters in the scene to move the plot. The film was ten
years in the making, and the painstaking process pays off in a big way with a
great example of Kurosawa’s control over his film.
In 1954 Kurosawa releases what many
regard as his greatest achievement ever, Seven
Samurai. A village under threat from marauders hires the help of a down on
his luck samurai. He brings in six others to help him defend the town and teach
them how to help themselves. Kurosawa employs his tradition tactic of the long,
sweeping, epic shots, not just for landscapes and action, but also for
character introductions. As always, Kurosawa demonstrates his brilliant use of
the entire frame to tell the story, packing full of information for the
viewers. He also introduces the use of “Theme Songs” to identify characters and
groups of individuals. It is also said that he employs the first ever use of
slow motion to emphasize epic fighting. Another first for Kurosawa is the
employment of multiple cameras on his set, a practice he would use for the rest
of his career as a way to eliminate multiple takes and allow the actors to play
out the entire scene. Again Kurosawa uses his deep focus to put everything in
great detail and allow us to see everything that is happening on screen. In Seven Samurai, Kurosawa uses his
knowledge of philosophy, action, and human emotion to show audiences an amazing
story with interesting characters, that has many levels of meaning emotion.
Kurosawa was an amazing filmmaker,
it is no wonder why he is always high of ever list of greatest and most
influential filmmakers. I have only watched these two films, but I am making it
a point to see all of the movies from this great story teller and will probably
draw much inspiration from him.
“In all my
films, there's three or maybe four minutes of real cinema.”
Akira Kurosawa in Bullet Points
Disclaimer: In the copy and paste my tabbed bullet points turned into squiggly lines. I suppose the title should now be "Akira Kurosawa in Bullet Points and Squiggly Lines"...
- · Stats
o
Born
in Tokyo, Japan in 1910
o
Studied
to be an artist
o
Instead
of failing at that and moving on to world domination Kurosawa answered a call
for essays on Tokyo film making which landed him a job as AD for Kajiro
Yamamoto whom he credits with being his mentor and guide into film making
o
Directorial debut in 1943 with Sanshiro Sugata
o
Credits the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 as
being a big influence on his film making style which could explain all of the
nature elements that foreshadow much of his plot lines in his films, especially
rain
o
Known for his attention to detail and painting
all of his storyboards as full paintings
o
His films are often copied, remade, or adapted
by American and European filmmakers, notably, Rashomon (1950) as The Outrage
(1964), Seven Samurai (1954), as The Magnificent Seven (1960), Yojimbo (1961),
as A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and The Hidden Fortress (1958), as Star Wars:
Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
o
He likes to put Shakespeare stories in Feudal
Japan settings
o
His
films typically do better in the West than in his home country Japan
o
- · Ran, 1985
o
Synopsis
§ An
elderly Japanese ruler, Lord Hidetora decides to divide his lands between his
three sons. When the youngest objects and tries to warn his father about his
corrupt older siblings, he is banished from the lands. It is only too late that
the old lord finds his son’s warning to be true.
o
Adaptation of King Lear
o
Director’s Style
§ Use
of long focus and complete control over mise-en-scène.
§ Careful
attention to all detail and color
·
Each costume/suit of armor was handmade and took over two years
·
Storyboards were drawn out for years as paintings
§ Long
takes, only one close up shot. Letting his actors move the plot
§ Exaggerated
and artistic violence, plays into to color and mise-en-scène
o Artistic
vision
§ This
film took many years in pre-production so every ounce of his artistic person
was included.
o Similarities
§ This
film is very similar artistically to his other films in his careful attention
to detail
§ Nothing
is left to chance
§ His
storyboards are full scale paintings
o Differences
§ His
recent shift to color
§ His
recent departure from Director/Actor relationship with Toshiro
Mifune who was always his lead
o
Director’s Personality
§ About
halfway through the film, the epic battle scene, is where Kurosawa’s artistic
vision really shines through
§ The castle was a full scale set,
built on Mt. Fuji and burned down
§ No models were used
§ The smoke, the colors, the
awesomeness
o
Quality
of film in comparison to other works
§ No drop in quality
§ Kurosawa is very consistent (with the
works I’ve seen) in quality and storytelling ability
§ He always takes the time to plan out
every shot well in advance so there is no questioning his vision
§ His use of nature as both a prop and
plot moving device
- · Seven Samurai, 1954
o
Synopsis
§ A village under attack hires the help
of a down on his luck samurai. He brings in six others to help him defend the
town from the marauders.
o
Director’s
Style
§ Long sweeping epic shots not just for
landscape but for character introduction
§ Brilliant use of the entire frame to
tell the story
§ Use of “theme songs” for characters
or groups of characters
§ Slow motion to emphasis epic fighting
is used (it is said) for the first time
§ First time for Kurosawa, multiple
camera’s, which he forever employed after
§ Long cuts that let character
introductions sink in and allow not only the other characters on screen to get
to know them well, but the viewer as well
§ Deep focus to allow every detail to
be visible for the audience
o
Artistic
Vision
§ Kurosawa does an amazing job
combining philosophy, action, and human emotion into the entire film
o
Similarities
§ All of Kurosawa’s films are
identifiable by their attention to detail and use of the entire frame
§ The ability to mix action sequences
with human emotions is also something that he masters in this and all films I have
seen of his
o
Director’s
Personality
§ Kurosawa’s personality shines through
in the epicness of this small concept of a film, if that makes any sense
§ Even the comedic elements (there are
a few) get the same technical treatment that the rest of the film gets, it is
not an excuse to slack off
o
Quality
of film in comparison to other works
§ 7 Samurai is
considered by most to be Kurosawa’s greatest film, which means that all other
works of his are generally compared to it
§ That being said, it is right on par
with Ran, or vice-versa
§ The characters are interesting and
memorable, the story layered but easy to follow, and I had a lot of fun
Works Cited
"Akira Kurosawa – A Short Analysis of Directing
Style." Akira Kurosawa – A Short Analysis of Directing Style. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.moseisleycinema.com/akira-kurosawa-a-short-analysis-of-directing-style/>.
"Akira Kurosawa." IMDb.
IMDb.com. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000041/bio>.
"Akira Kurosawa." Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Dec. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa>.
"The Epic Images of
Kurosawa." Object Moved. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.filmsondisc.com/features/kurosawa/epicimagesofkurosawa.htm>.
"Ran." IMDb.
IMDb.com. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089881/>.
"Seven Samurai." IMDb.
IMDb.com. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047478/>.
Director's Worksheet
Name:
Akira Kurosawa
Year
Born: 1910
Country
of Origin: Japan
Background
(education/upbringing): Trained as a painter/Answered a call for essays that
landed him a job as an AD.
First
Feature: Sanshiro Sugata, 1943
Most
notable Films: Seven Samurai, Ran, Yojimbo
Major Influences: Kajiro Yamamoto, Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923
Major Influences: Kajiro Yamamoto, Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923
Genre’s
Explored: Samurai action, drama
Stylistic
Tendencies: Long sweeping shots, deep focus, paints every storyboard as a full
painting, packs the frame with information
Typical
Content: Great story combined with blood
Awards
& accolades: A whole crap ton, mostly foreign.
Long-term
collaborators: Actor Toshiro Mifune
Interesting
facts/ etc: First to use the slo-mo shot for action sequences
No comments:
Post a Comment