tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438334.post7261598630602276711..comments2024-03-27T11:18:53.456-07:00Comments on Temple of the Seven Golden Camels: "Kagemusha" and some Composition thoughtsmark kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11953166248647413142noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438334.post-91743122827347906712011-12-07T14:25:34.090-08:002011-12-07T14:25:34.090-08:00It should be no surprise, but Kurosawa was a paint...It should be no surprise, but Kurosawa was a painter in his early days - something he never gave up (they released a book of his production sketches/paintings from "Ran"). So his relationship with composition predates his film career.<br /><br />2 compositional memories of Kurosawa:<br /><br />1) In Ran, there's a high angle long shot of a mass of soldiers on one side of the screen, and I don't know if he planned it, or it was an amazing coincidence, but the shadows of the clouds seem to move WITH the action on the field.<br /><br />And<br /><br />2) I got a tv format tape of Yojimbo back in the 80's, and there's a scene where the two gangs are facing off at either side of the frame, with Mifune perching on a tower in the middle, watching. Both sides make threatening moves, but neither is willing to commit, so they never really move from their respective sides of the frame. In the tv framing, all you see is their sword tips waggling from offscreen - because they didn't letterbox, or pan and scan - they just cropped the center of the frame. It'd be hilarious if it hadn't been so frustrating. So if you get a chance to see any Kurosawa on a big screen - do it! the 3+ hrs of Seven Samurai pass much faster than plenty of 90 minute features you'll see. Consider it a gift to your eyes.Sargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03562574618158514131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438334.post-65538718345258669992011-09-16T18:07:13.031-07:002011-09-16T18:07:13.031-07:00Not to be too fussy about things, but I think the ...Not to be too fussy about things, but I think the reason Kurosawa's cameras were far away from the actors is because after his early films, he really favored using telephoto lenses. His telephoto compositions, full of characters stacked in layers, are often quite amazing, and would have probably looked odd when blocking out the actors' movements.<br /><br />I only mention this because, in a post about Kurosawa's composition technique, the lenses he uses are quite an important element of that technique...Daniel Philip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065611527627233269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438334.post-22871634982781894312011-09-15T18:21:38.282-07:002011-09-15T18:21:38.282-07:00Anyone interested in Kurosawa should also watch Yo...Anyone interested in Kurosawa should also watch Yojimbo. One of my favorites. Great analysis in this post.Jeff Callhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04164261454466686068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438334.post-70892459766818445362011-09-14T22:56:56.561-07:002011-09-14T22:56:56.561-07:00FUN FACTS!!
It's said that Kurosawa's fam...FUN FACTS!!<br /><br />It's said that Kurosawa's family is descended from a line of actual samurai.<br /><br />Akira placed the cameras quite far away from the actors to coax better performances out of them, as they wouldn't be so conscious of being filmed.<br /><br />Akira's dictatorial directing style earned him the nickname Tenno, meaning Emperor.<br /><br />Akira loved dramatic weather effects in his films and for Rashomon, he even dyed water black with calligraphy ink to produce intense heavy rain.<br /><br />In Ran, an entire castle set was built on the slopes of Mt Fuji - then it was burnt to a crisp in a final scene.<br /><br />Akira liked a costume to look worn-in – and even asked actors to wear their clothing on a daily basis so that it looked authentic when filming started.<br /><br />Steven Spielberg called him the 'pictorial Shakespeare of our time'.<br /><br />After a barren period, Akira tried to commit suicide in December 1971. He slashed his wrists 30 times with a razor, but fortunately the wounds didn't prove fatal.<br /><br />Akira stood at over 6ft tall.pbcbstudioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08633823323530799486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438334.post-7227531833335497672011-09-12T16:27:18.713-07:002011-09-12T16:27:18.713-07:00So glad you're talking about Kurosawa, he is p...So glad you're talking about Kurosawa, he is probably one of the single greatest inspirations for anyone aspiring to work in motion pictures.<br /><br />Throne of Blood is my personal favorite, and also a great study on how restricting yourself to a very formal discipline (he set out to make an extremely formal film, where a cut, a wipe, and a fade to black, all occur several times and each indicate a different but very specific passage of time in the story, also no point of view shots and only a couple of camera moves, the last point being very handy for composing hand drawn animation)<br /><br />In terms of beautiful composition, High & Low is a masterclass. The first half of the film is entirely dedicated to loads of people talking in a single room, but he is always keeping it visually interesting and dynamic. When the film opens up you get some amazing techniques with the villain (lots of frame-within-a-frame like you were looking at, but sometimes done with his reflective sunglasses)<br /><br />Sorry for the long post, I get very nerdy around Kurosawa... I have and treasure an exhibition book I picked up in Paris of his storyboards, he spent 10 years painting up watercolor storyboards for Ran. An amazingly dedicated worker...Daniel Philip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065611527627233269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438334.post-56456593491195515452011-09-12T06:34:36.020-07:002011-09-12T06:34:36.020-07:00Looks like I should watch more Kurosawa. Even with...Looks like I should watch more Kurosawa. Even without any analysis, his films are stunningly beautiful.SStefaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08203129398052466764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438334.post-10552780649868802602011-09-12T02:46:46.903-07:002011-09-12T02:46:46.903-07:00You did a very fine analysis of Kurosawa's fra...You did a very fine analysis of Kurosawa's framing techniques. Kurosawa's camera work is also worth the analysis (his camera work on <i>Rashomon</i> puts any TV series to shame).<br /><br />Unfortunately his movies really need to be appreciated on a silver screen. I have seen <i>Kagemusha</i> and <i>Rashomon</i> twice, once on TV screen and a second time in theater, and the second experience felt like watching completely different movies, and the opening sequence of <i>Throne of Blood</i> only works in theater.<br /><br />Kurosawa's actor direction is also very interesting, especially in his costume drama, where he uses lots of techniques from No theater (pay close attention how extras react to events, how eyes are pointing in a direction before an actor actually does move in that particular direction, how body language is used to direct the flow of discourse).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438334.post-64555090245030630852011-09-11T22:54:29.232-07:002011-09-11T22:54:29.232-07:00Time for another viewing of Kagemusha!Time for another viewing of Kagemusha!Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09379387828450465575noreply@blogger.com