Akira Kurosawa
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 5:33 pm
There is an interesting documentary I watched recently:
Kurosawa: A Documentary on the Acclaimed Director
It probably benefitted from having just read his autobiography, but it still had some good insights into the man and the people surrounding him. If you have access to both, I'd definitely read the book first. The autobiography was surprising and compelling. I found myself reacting to portions of the book the way I have to many if not all of his films (Dodes'ka-den bothered me in a big way, but there were extenuating circumstances, including the collaboration of 3 other directors). Kurosawa was a Marxist, for a time, even joined the Proletarian Artists' League, then fell severely ill and lost track of the group, then decided it was a good excuse to leave. In his autobio. at least, he states that he was basically an impressionable kid looking for a cause to join. I imagine that watching his movies is the best way to suss out his philosophies. For what it's worth, I highly recommend reading the book, because it does give further clues, and gives an incredible first-hand perceptions of the turn of Japanese society and thought from the ending of the Edo perod (his father's family came from a Samurai line) into the post-war confusion of modern-day Japan.
As far as the relationship between him and Mifune, I gathered that AK was something of a taskmaster and a bit megalomaniacal when it came to Mifune. He knew how important Mifune's talent was to his work at the time -the screenplays AK wrote were basically tailored to Mifune's style. AK also had major troubles with drink through his later life, but no idea if that was the chicken or the egg in that context.
Sorry for the long-windedness, but he is my favorite director, closely followed by Werner Herzog.
Another great one (I haven't noticed if it was mentioned yet) is Madadayo (transl. "Not Yet"?).
Kurosawa: A Documentary on the Acclaimed Director
It probably benefitted from having just read his autobiography, but it still had some good insights into the man and the people surrounding him. If you have access to both, I'd definitely read the book first. The autobiography was surprising and compelling. I found myself reacting to portions of the book the way I have to many if not all of his films (Dodes'ka-den bothered me in a big way, but there were extenuating circumstances, including the collaboration of 3 other directors). Kurosawa was a Marxist, for a time, even joined the Proletarian Artists' League, then fell severely ill and lost track of the group, then decided it was a good excuse to leave. In his autobio. at least, he states that he was basically an impressionable kid looking for a cause to join. I imagine that watching his movies is the best way to suss out his philosophies. For what it's worth, I highly recommend reading the book, because it does give further clues, and gives an incredible first-hand perceptions of the turn of Japanese society and thought from the ending of the Edo perod (his father's family came from a Samurai line) into the post-war confusion of modern-day Japan.
As far as the relationship between him and Mifune, I gathered that AK was something of a taskmaster and a bit megalomaniacal when it came to Mifune. He knew how important Mifune's talent was to his work at the time -the screenplays AK wrote were basically tailored to Mifune's style. AK also had major troubles with drink through his later life, but no idea if that was the chicken or the egg in that context.
Sorry for the long-windedness, but he is my favorite director, closely followed by Werner Herzog.
Another great one (I haven't noticed if it was mentioned yet) is Madadayo (transl. "Not Yet"?).