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The Films of Akira Kurosawa
04
AUG 23 | The Bad Sleep Well
Cast into Chaos — a celebration of the films of
AUG 24 | Drunken Angel
Akira Kurosawa. The protagonists in these films
AUG 25 | High and Low AUG 26 | Ikiru AUG 27 | Stray Dogs
are not extraordinary, rather they are average, common people cast in a storm of shifting realities. Just like a duck appears serene upon the waters, even though it paddles furiously underneath, there is a churning internal life behind our external appearances. It’s the internal struggle to make sense of our lives. Where not everything can be understood — the only constant being the search for meaning and purpose. At another level, it’s for order and balance. Sometimes, the right answers are found. Other times, they prove elusive.
黒 佐 明 THE FILMS OF AKIRA KUROSAWA
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
Contents
04
Contents
01
02
The Director
The Films
Biography
Ikiru Festival The
Filmography
Drunken Angel Thread The Bad Sleep Well Venue Stray Dogs Event High & Low
Awards & Recognition Interview
Director’s Trademark
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
05
“For me, film-making combines everything. That’s the reason I’ve made cinema my life’s work. In films painting and literature, theatre and music come together. But a film is still a film.” —Akira Kurosawa
03
04
The Festival
References
Festival Theme Festival Schedule Calligraphy Workshop Festival Location
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
THE WIND MAN
08
The Director
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
The Director
09
01 デ ィ レ ク タ ー
Biography The Director Filmography Awards & Recognition Interview
The Director
10
“I like unformed characters. This may be because, no matter how old I get, I am still unformed myself.”
He storyboarded his films as full-scale paintings.
—Akira Kurosawa
Biography
Akira Kurosawa was born in Japan in 1910. From an
his protagonists are often caught in seemingly
early age the young Kurosawa lived an eventful life —his
impossible situations struggling against seemingly
father encouraging him to pursue painting, calligraphy,
insurmountable odds (Ikiru), the old-fashioned
kendo and an interest in films. Kurosawa’s older brother,
notion of the “human spirit” generally triumphs in
Heigo, was also a big influence on the young Akira,
Kurosawa’s films, providing a narrative goal that
nurturing a love of literature, and also encouraging him
informs a surprising number of his works.
to see as many new movies as possible.
in filmmakers: He was a visual stylist, and a thoughtful
of his older brother— that he was to enter the movie
humanist. His films had a daring, exhilarating visual
world in earnest after being recruited by Japanese
freedom, and a heart of deep human understanding.
movie studio pcl (later to become Toho) on the back
He often made movies about heroes, but their
of a newspaper advert. From that moment on his
challenge was not simply to win; it was to make the
life was to change. Throughout his life Kurosawa was
right ethical choice.
to make more than thirty films as a director, and contributed to many more — writing scripts and working as an assistant director.
on Filming of ‘Madamayo’ In Japan On June 15, 1992.
>>
His films fall into three overlapping categories. There were the samurai dramas, steeped in Japanese history, like “The Seven Samurai” and “The Hidden Fortress”.
Film became his life and his work was to prove
There were the literary adaptations, from sources like
extremely influential throughout the 20th Century.
Shakespeare and Dostoevsky but also from American
From his directorial debut, Sanshiro Sugata, in
crime writers. And there were the contemporary stories,
1943 Kurosawa continued to explore complex and
about ordinary people faced with ethical dilemmas.
delicate humanistic themes, gradually building a
Kurosawa’s late films were the meditations of an old man
reputation as a film-maker unwilling to compromise
at peace with himself.
either his vision or his message. Akira Kurozawa
He combined two qualities not always found together
But it wasn’t until Kurosawa turned 26 —after the death
Humanism. Kurosawa’s film oeuvre is unified by the director’s deep-seated belief in the fundamental goodness and dignity of the human being. Though
04
MAR 23 1910 – SEPT 06 1998
The Director
12
His films are frequently copied and remade by American and European filmmakers.
Filmography
40s
50s
Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
Scandal (1950)
The Most Beautiful (1944)
Rashomon (1950)
They Who Step on The Tiger’s Tail (1945)
The Idiot (1951)
Sanshiro Sugata–Part Two (1945)
Ikiru (1952)
No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Those Who Make Tomorrow (1946)
I Live in Fear (1955)
One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
Drunken Angel (1948)
Throne of Blood (1957)
The Quiet Duel (1949)
The Lower Depths (1957)
Stray Dog (1949)
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
13
“Human being share the same common problems. A film can only be understood if it depicts these properly.” —Akira Kurosawa
60s
70s
80s
90s
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Dodes’kaden (1970)
Kagemusha (1980)
Dreams (1990)
Yojimbo (1961)
Dersu Uzala (1975)
Ran (1985)
Rhapsody in August (1991)
Sanjuro (1962)
Madadayo (1993)
High and Low (1963) Red Beard (1965)
From left to right
>>
Stills from Drunken Angels, Stray Dog, Ikiru, High and low and The Bad Sleep Well
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Director
14
“I suppose all my films have a common theme. If I think about it, the only theme I can think of is really a question: Why can’t people be happier together?”
Film maker
>>
Akira Kurosawa holding his Honorary Oscar with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, at the 62nd Academy Awards, Los Angeles, March 26th 1990.
—Akira Kurosawa
38th Annual Directors Guild of America Awards Honors Akira Kurosawa March 26, 1986
Awards & Recognition
ACADEMY AWARDS, USA 1990
Won Honorary Awards
1986
Nominated Oscars | Best Director (Ran) BAFTA AWARDS
1987
Won | Best Foreign Language Film (Ran) Nominated | Best Screenplay - Adapted (Ran)
1981
Won | Best Direction (Kagemusha) Won | Best Film (Kagemusha) AMANDA AWARDS, NORWAY
1986
Won | Best Foreign Feature Film (Ran) AWARDS OF THE JAPANESE ACADEMY
2001
Won | Best Screenplay (After The Rain)
1999
Won | Lifetime Achievement Award
1992
Nominated | Best Director (Rhapsody in August) Nominated | Best Screenplay (Rhapsody in August)
1991
Nominated | Best Director (Dreams)
1961
Nominated | Golden Berlin Bear (The Bad Sleep Well)
BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
66
WINS
>>
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
15
Kurosawa worshiped legendary American director John Ford.
1961 1959
DAVID DI DONATELLO AWARDS
Won Silver Berlin Bear | Best Director (The Hidden Fortress) Won | FIPRESCI Prize (The Hidden Fortress)
1986
Nominated | Golden Berlin Bear (The Hidden fortress) 1954
1999
Won | Best Foreign Director (Ran) Nominated | Best Foreign Film (Ran)
Won | Special Prize of the Senate of Berlin (Ikiru)
1981
Won | Best Foreign Director (Kagemusha)
BLUE RIBBON AWARDS
1977
Won | Best Foreign Director (Dersu Uzala) DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA, USA
Won | Special Award for His Work
1986
Won | Blue Ribbon Award | Best Film (Ran)
1992
1981
Won | Blue Ribbon Award | Best Film (Kagemusha)
1986
Won | Golden Jubilee Special Award
1966
Won | Blue Ribbon Award | Best Film (Red Beard)
1953
1959
Won | Blue Ribbon Award | Best Film (The Hidden Fortress)
Nominated | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Rashômon)
1951
Won | Blue Ribbon Award | Best Film (Rashomon) BODIL AWARDS
1986
1986
Won | BFI Fellowship CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
1980
Won | Palme d’Or (Kagemusha)
1956
Won | Palme d’Or (I Live in Fear) CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS
1999
1981
1964
1978
Won Critics Award | Best Foreign Film (Dersu Uzala) HOCHI FILM AWARDS
1980
Won | Best Film (Kagemusha) ITALIAN NATIONAL SYNDICATE OF FILM JOURNALISTS
1981
Won | Best Foreign Director (Kagemusha)
1977
Won | Best Foreign Director (Dersu Uzala) JUSSI AWARDS
1959
Won | Foreign Director (Seven Samurai) KINEMA JUNPO AWARDS
Nominated | Best Foreign Film (Ran) Won | Best Foreign Film (Kagemusha)
Nominated | Best Foreign Film (High and Low) FRENCH SYNDICATE OF CINEMA CRITICS
Nominated | Best Foreign Language Film (Maadadayo) CÉSAR AWARDS, FRANCE
1986
EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARDS
Won | Best European Film (Ran) BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE AWARDS
Won | Lifetime Achievement Award
1966
Won | Best Film (Red Beard) Won | Best Director (Red Beard)
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Director
16
From left: British actor Dirk Bogarde, US actor and President of Cannes Film Festival’s jury, Kirk Douglas, an unidentified woman, and Michel Drucker, surround Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, awarded Gold Palm for his movie Kagemusha, during the closing ceremony of the 33rd Cannes Film Festival, on May 23, 1980 in Cannes.
1953 1949
1987
1985
Won | Best Film (Ikiru)
MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Won | Best Film (Drunken Angel)
1979
Won Honorary Prize | For the contribution to the cinema
LONDON CRITICS CIRCLE FILM AWARDS
1975
Won | Golden Prize (Dersu Uzala)
Won | Director of the Year (Ran)
Won | FIPRESCI Prize (Dersu Uzala)
LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS
NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW, USA
Won | Best Foreign Film (Ran)
1985
Won | Best Director (Ran)
Won | Career Achievement Award
1951
Won | Best Director (Rashômon) NATIONAL SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS AWARDS, USA
Won 2nd place | Best Director (Ran) MAINICHI FILM CONCOURS 1999
Won Speical Award | For his work
1986
Won | Best Film (Ran)
1986
NIKKAN SPORTS FILM AWARDS 1999
Won | Best Director (Ran) 1981
Won | Best Film (Kagemusha)
Won | Reader’s Choice Award (Kagemusha) Won | Best Film (Red Beard)
1964
Won | Best Film (High and Low)
2000
Won | Best Film (Ikiru)
1986
Won | Best Film (Drunken Angel)
1948
Won | Best Director (One Wonderful Sunday)
Won Akira Kurosawa Award SAN SEBASTIÁN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
1985
Won | Won OCIC Award (Ran) SESC FILM FESTIVAL, BRAZIL
1987
Won | Best Screenplay (Ikiru) 1949
Won OFTA Film Hall of Fame SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Won | Best Screenplay (High and Low) 1953
Won Special Award | For his work ONLINE FILM & TELEVISION ASSOCIATION
Won | Best Director (Kagemusha)
1966
Won 2nd place | Best Director (Ran)
Won Audience Award | Best Foreign Film (Ran) VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
1982
Won Career Golden Lion
1971
Won OCIC Award | Dodesukaden
1965
Won OCIC Award (Red Beard)
>>
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
1965
04
Won | San Giorgio Prize (Red Beard) Nominated | Golden Lion (Red Beard)
1963
Nominated| Golden Lion (High and Low)
1961
Nominated| Golden Lion (Yojimbo)
1957
Nominated| Golden Lion (Throne of Blood)
1954
Won | Silver Lion (Seven Samurai) Nominated | Golden Lion (Seven Samurai)
1951
Won | Golden Lion (Rashômon) Won | Italian Film Critics Award (Rashômon)
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Director
18
“Being an artist means not having to avert one’s eyes.”
Kurosawa made 16 films with Toshirô Mifune.
—Akira Kurosawa
The Interview
In October 1990, Gabriel García Márquez visited Tokyo
García Márquez: Is the first thing that comes to your
during the shooting of Akira Kurosawa’s penultimate
mind an idea or an image?
feature, Rhapsody in August. García Márquez, who spent some years in Bogota as a film critic before pen-
Akira Kurosawa and
ning landmark novels such as One Hundred Years of
Gabriel García Márquez
Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, spoke with
talk about filmmaking
Kurosawa for over six hours on a number of subjects.
(and nuclear bombs)
Below is a partial transcription of the conversation, first published by the Los Angeles Times in 1991. Gabriel García Márquez: I don’t want this conversation between friends to seem like a press interview, but I just have this great curiosity to know a great many other things about you and your work. To begin with, I am interested to know how you write your scripts. First,
Gabriel García Márquez
>>
Kurosawa: I can’t explain it very well, but I think it all begins with several scattered images. By contrast, I know that scriptwriters here in Japan first create an overall view of the script, organizing it by scenes, and after systematizing the plot they begin to write. But I don’t think that is the right way to do it, since we are not God. García Márquez: Has your method also been that intuitive when you have adapted Shakespeare or Gorky or Dostoevsky? Kurosawa: Directors who make films halfway may not
because I am myself a scriptwriter. And second,
realize that it is very difficult to convey literary images
because you have made stupendous adaptations of
to the audience through cinematic images. For instance,
great literary works, and I have many doubts about
in adapting a detective novel in which a body was found
the adaptations that have been made or could be made
next to the railroad tracks, a young director insisted
of mine.
that a certain spot corresponded perfectly with the one
Akira Kurosawa: When I conceive an original idea that I wish to turn into a script, I lock myself up in a hotel with paper and pencil. At that point I have a general idea of the plot, and I know more or less how it is going to end. If I don’t know what scene to begin with, I follow the stream of the ideas that spring up naturally.
in the book. “You are wrong,” I said. “The problem is that you have already read the novel and you know that a body was found next to the tracks. But for the people who have not read it there is nothing special about the place.” That young director was captivated by the magical power of literature without realizing that cinematic images must be expressed in a different way.
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
19
“He who awaits much can expect little.” —Gabriel García Márquez
García Márquez: Can you remember any image from real life that you consider impossible to express on film?
one of my favorites in the whole history of cinema. Kurosawa: Red Beard constitutes a point of reference in
García Márquez: Perhaps he thought it was. It is something that often happens to us novelists.
Kurosawa: Yes. That of a mining town named Ilidachi,
my evolution. All of my films which precede it are
where I worked as an assistant director when I was very
different from the succeeding ones. It was the end of
on their books, some writers say: “That part of my novel
young. The director had declared at first glance that the
one stage and the beginning of another.
is well portrayed.” But they are actually referring to
atmosphere was magnificent and strange, and that’s the reason we filmed it. But the images showed only a run-of-the-mill town, for they were missing something that was known to us: that the working conditions in (the town) are very dangerous, and that the women and children of the miners live in eternal fear for their safety.
García Márquez: That is obvious. Furthermore, within the same film there are two scenes that are extreme in relation to the totality of your work, and they are both unforgettable; one is the praying mantis episode, and the other is the karate fight in the hospital courtyard.
When one looks at the village one confuses the land-
Kurosawa: Yes, but what I wanted to tell you is that
scape with that feeling, and one perceives it as stranger
the author of the book, Shuguro Yamamoto, had always
than it actually is. But the camera does not see it with
opposed having his novels made into films. He made
the same eyes.
an exception with Red Beard because I persisted with
García Márquez: The truth is that I know very few novelists who have been satisfied with the adaptation of their books for the screen. What experience have
Kurosawa: So it is. In fact, upon seeing the films based
something that was added by the director. I understand what they are saying, because they may see clearly expressed on the screen, by sheer intuition on the part of the director, something they had meant to write but had not been able to. García Márquez: It is a known fact: “Poets are mixers of poisons.” But, to come back to your current film, will the typhoon be the most difficult thing to film? Kurosawa: No. The most difficult thing was to work
merciless obstinacy until I succeeded. Yet, when
with the animals. Water serpents, rose-eating ants.
he had finished viewing the film he turned to look at me
Domesticated snakes are too accustomed to people,
and said: “Well it’s more interesting than my novel.”
they don’t flee instinctively, and they behave like eels. The solution was to capture a huge wild snake,
you had with your adaptations?
García Márquez: Why did he like it so much, I wonder?
Kurosawa: Allow me, first, a question: Did you see my
Kurosawa: Because he had a clear awareness of the
was truly frightening. So it played its role very well.
film Red Beard?
inherent characteristics of cinema. The only thing
As for the ants, it was a question of getting them
he requested of me was that I be very careful with the
to climb up a rosebush in single file until they reached
García Márquez: I have seen it six times in 20 years and I talked about it to my children almost every day until they were able to see it. So not only is it the one among your films best liked by my family and me, but also
which kept trying with all its might to escape and
protagonist, a complete failure of a woman, as he
a rose. They were reluctant for a long time, until we
saw her. But the curious thing is that the idea of a failed
made a trail of honey on the stem, and the ants climbed
woman was not explicit in his novel.
up. Actually, we had many difficulties, but it was worth it, because I learned a great deal about them.
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Director
20
García Márquez: Yes, so I’ve noticed. But what kind
hasten the end of the World War. Still, for us, the war
Kurosawa: It’s hard to say. The people who survived
of film is this that is as likely to have problems with ants
goes on. The full death toll for Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Nagasaki don’t want to remember their experience
has been officially published at 230,000. But in actual
because the majority of them, in order to survive, had to
fact there were over half a million dead. And even
abandon their parents, their children, their brothers
as with typhoons? What is the plot? Kurosawa: It is very difficult to summarize in a few words. García Márquez: Does somebody kill somebody? Kurosawa: No. It’s simply about an old woman from Nagasaki who survived the atomic bomb and whose
now there are still 2,700 patients at the Atomic Bomb
and sisters. They still can’t stop feeling guilty.
Hospital waiting to die from the after-effects of the
Afterwards, the U.S. forces that occupied the country
radiation after 45 years of agony. In other words, the
for six years influenced by various means the accelera-
atomic bomb is still killing Japanese.
tion of forgetfulness, and the Japanese government
García Márquez: The most rational explanation seems
grandchildren went to visit her last summer. I have
to be that the U.S. rushed in to end it with the bomb for
not filmed shockingly realistic scenes which would
fear that the Soviets would take Japan before they did.
prove to be unbearable and yet would not explain in and of themselves the horror of the drama. What I would like to convey is the type of wounds the atomic bomb left in the heart of our people, and how they gradually began to heal. I remember the day of the bombing
only by civilians who had nothing to do with the war?
not be over.
There were military concentrations that were in fact waging war.
have happened in the real world. But the worst part
Palace, which must have been a very vulnerable spot in
is that the Japanese have already cast it into oblivion.
the heart of Tokyo. And I think that this is all explained
Japanese people?
country that dropped the bomb should apologize to the Japanese people. Until that happens this drama will
García Márquez: Nor did they drop it on the Imperial
mean for the future of Japan, for the identity of the
erated by war. But I think that, at the very least, the
Kurosawa: Yes, but why did they do it in a city inhabited
clearly, and even now I still can’t believe that it could
García Márquez: What does that historical amnesia
collaborated with them. I would even be willing to understand all this as part of the inevitable tragedy gen-
by the fact that they wanted to leave the political power and the military power intact in order to carry out a speedy negotiation without having to share the booty with their allies. It’s something no other country has
García Márquez: That far? Couldn’t the misfortune be compensated for by a long era of happiness? Kurosawa: The atomic bomb constituted the starting point of the Cold War and of the arms race, and it marked the beginning of the process of creation and utilization of nuclear energy. Happiness will never be possible given such origins. García Márquez: I see. Nuclear energy was born as a
Kurosawa: The Japanese don’t talk about it explicitly.
ever experienced in all of human history. Now then: Had
cursed force, and a force born under a curse is a per-
Our politicians in particular are silent for fear of the
Japan surrendered without the atomic bomb, would it
fect theme for Kurosawa. But what concerns me is that
United States. They may have accepted Truman’s expla-
be the same Japan it is today?
you are not condemning nuclear energy itself, but
nation that he resorted to the atomic bomb only to
the way it was misused from the beginning. Electricity
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
is still a good thing in spite of the electric chair. Kurosawa: It is not the same thing. I think nuclear energy is beyond the possibilities of control that can be established by human beings. In the event of a mistake in the management of nuclear energy, the immediate disaster would be immense and the radioactivity would remain for hundreds of generations. On the other
Kurosawa: Human beings will be more human when
considered, I think that if I were Japanese I would be as
not manipulate. I don’t think we have the right to gener-
unyielding as you on this subject. And at any rate,
ate children without anuses, or eight-legged horses,
I understand you. No war is good for anybody.
such as is happening at Chernobyl. But now I think this conversation has become too serious, and that wasn’t my intention. García Márquez: We’ve done the right thing. When
it to no longer be dangerous. Let’s stop using elements
a topic is as serious as this, one can’t help but discuss it
which continue to boil for hundreds of thousands
seriously. Does the film you are in the process of
of years.
finishing cast any light on your thoughts in this matter?
García Márquez: I owe a large measure of my own faith
Kurosawa: Not directly. I was a young journalist when
in humanity to Kurosawa’s films. But I also understand
the bomb was dropped, and I wanted to write articles
your position in view of the terrible injustice of using
about what had happened, but it was absolutely forbid-
the atomic bomb only against civilians and of the
den until the end of the occupation. Now, to make
Americans and Japanese colluding to make Japan
this film, I began to research and study the subject
forget. But it seems to me equally unjust for nuclear
and I know much more than I did then. But if I had
energy to be deemed forever accursed without consid-
expressed my thoughts directly in the film, it could not
ering that it could perform a great non-military service
have been shown in today’s Japan, or anywhere else.
which is due to the irritation you feel because you know Japan has forgotten, and because the guilty, which is to say, the United States, has not in the end come to
García Márquez: Thank you very much. All things
they realize there are aspects of reality they may
hand, when water is boiling, it suffices to let it cool for
for humanity. There is in that a confusion of feelings
21
Kurosawa: That is so. The trouble is that when the shooting starts, even Christ and the angels turn into military chiefs of staff.
García Márquez: Do you think it might be possible to publish the transcript of this dialogue? Kurosawa: I have no objection. On the contrary. This is
acknowledge its guilt and to render unto the Japanese
a matter on which many people in the world should give
people the apologies due to them.
their opinion without restrictions of any sort.
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
22
The Director
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
23
—Akira Kurosawa
“I like silent pictures and I always have … I wanted to restore some of this beauty. I thought of it, I remember in this way: one of techniques of modern art is simplification, and that I must therefore simplify this film.” AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
03
The Films
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
04
02 映 画
Ikiru Festival The Drunken Angel Thread The Bad Sleep Well Venue Stray Dogs Event High & Low Director’s Trademark
The Films
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Films
28
“I don’t know what I’ve been doing with my life all these years.”
The literal translation of Ikiru is “To Live”.
—Kanji Watanabe in Ikiru
MARCH 25, 1956
生 き る
Ikiru
Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) is a middle-aged
and asks for the secret to her love of life. She says
man who has worked in the same monotonous bureau-
that she doesn’t know, but that she found happiness in
Runtime: 143 min | 123 min
cratic position for thirty years. His wife is dead and
her new job making toys, which makes her feel like
Color: Black and White
his son and daughter-in-law, who live with him, seem
she is playing with all the children of Japan and that he
to care mainly about Watanabe’s pension and their
should find a purpose in his own life.
Genres: Drama Language: Japanese Production Co: Toho Studios
Plot
Stills from film Ikiru
Summary
future inheritance. After learning he has stomach cancer and less than a
Inspired by her, Watanabe realizes that it is not too late for him and that he still can do something. He then
year to live, Watanabe attempts to come to terms with
dedicates his remaining time and energy to accom-
his impending death. He plans to tell his son about
plish one worthwhile achievement before his life ends.
the cancer, but decides against it when his son does
Through his tireless and persistent efforts, he is able
not pay attention to him. He then tries to find escape
to overcome the stagnation of bureaucracy and
in the pleasures of Tokyo’s nightlife, guided by an
turn a mosquito-infested cesspool into a children’s
eccentric novelist whom he just met. In a nightclub,
playground.
Watanabe requests a song from the piano player, and sings “Gondola no Uta” with great sadness. His singing greatly affects those watching him. After one night submerged in the nightlife, he realizes this
The last third of the film takes place during Watanabe’s wake, as his former co-workers try to figure out what caused such a dramatic change in his behavior. His transformation from listless bureaucrat to passionate
Cast
is not the solution.
Takashi Shimura
The following day, Watanabe encounters a young
they slowly realize that Watanabe must have known he
female subordinate, Toyo, who needs his signature on
was dying, even when his son denies this, as he was
Nobuo Kaneko Shin’ichi Himori
advocate puzzles them. As the co-workers drink,
her resignation. He is attracted to her joyous love of
unaware of his father’s condition. They drunkenly vow
life and enthusiasm and tries to spend as much time as
to live their lives with the same dedication and passion
possible with her. She eventually becomes suspicious
as he did. But back at work, they lack the courage
of his intentions and grows weary of him. After con-
of their newfound conviction.
vincing her to join him for the last time, he opens up
>>
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
“A masterwork of burning social conscience and hard-eyed psychological realism.”
29
Partly, the script of Ikiru was inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s work “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”.
—Roger Ebert Film Ikiru poster design
An iconic scene from the film is from the last few
Review by Roger Ebert | September 29, 1996
moments in Watanabe’s life, as he sits on the swing
I saw “Ikiru” first in 1960 or 1961. I went to the movie
at the park he built. As the snow falls, we see
because it was playing in a campus film series and
Watanabe gazing lovingly over the playground,
only cost a quarter. I sat enveloped in the story of
at peace with himself and the world. He again starts
Watanabe for 2 1/2 hours, and wrote about it in a class
singing “Gondola no Uta”.
where the essay topic was Socrates’ statement, “the unexamined life is not worth living.”’ Over the years I have seen “Ikiru” every five years or so, and each time it has moved me, and made me think. And the older I get, the less Watanabe seems like a pathetic old man, and the more he seems like every one of us.
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
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The Films of Akira Kurosawa
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Films
32
“He tormented you, made you sick, and then deserted you like a puppy. And you still wag your tail and follow him.” —Sanada in Drunken Angel
Drunken Angel Runtime: 98 min | 150 min Color: Black and White Genres: Psychological Drama
Plot Summary
First of many collaborations between Toshirô Mifune and Akira Kurosawa.
Stills from
>>
film Drunken Angel
酔 い ど れ 天 使
Sanada (Takashi Shimura) is an alcoholic doctor in
is killed in the ensuing knife fight. A local shop-owner
postwar Japan who treats a young, small-time hood
woman who had feelings for Matsunaga plans to take
named Matsunaga (Toshiro Mifune), after a gunfight
Matsunaga’s ashes to be buried on her farm, where
with a rival syndicate. The doctor diagnoses the young
she had offered to live with him, and the doctor learns
gangster with tuberculosis, and convinces him to
that one of his younger patients had followed his
begin treatment (and quit boozing and womanizing).
advice and has been fully cured of tuberculosis.
Language: Japanese
The two enjoy an uneasy friendship until the gangster’s
Production Co: Toho Studios
former boss, Okada, who is also the former abusive boyfriend of the doctor’s female assistant, is released from prison and seeks to take his gang over once again. Matsunaga then stops following the doctor’s advice, slipping back into old habits and going to night clubs with Okada. Matsunaga realizes that Okada is not a true friend when Okada threatens to kill the doctor if he doesn’t reveal the female assistant’s whereabouts, and then finds out that his boss is grooming Okada and merely using Matsunaga as a pawn to be sacrificed
Cast Toshiro Mifune Reisaburo Yamamoto Chieko Nakakita Noriko Sengoku Takashi Shimura Michiyo Kogure Eitaro Shindo Yoshiko Kuga
against the rival gang. When the doctor leaves his house to report Okada to the police, despite the doctor’s orders to remain in bed, Matsunaga slips out to confront Okada (who has also managed to steal Matsunaga’s girlfriend Nanae) but Matsunaga
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
33
“A strong reflection of the morals of man.” —Michael Costello
DEC 10, 1959
Film Drunken Angel poster design
Review by Michael Costello | 27 November 2007 The breakthrough film for both Kurosawa and key collaborator and alter ego Mifune, it was heralded by Japanese critics as the work of a cinematic master. The story was originally to have centered around the heroic, alcoholic doctor (Takashi Shimura), who runs a clinic for the indigent on the outskirts of a Tokyo slum neighborhood, but Mifune made such a powerful impression on the director that he expanded his role, that of a tubercular gangster, shifting the film’s focus to the relationship between them. The doctor sees something of himself in the hard-drinking, self-destructive yakuza, and tries to get him to reform. The young Mifune is forceful and charismatic; even just leaning against a wall he exudes energy. His delirious swing dancing in an American-style club is alone worth the price of admission. Like much of the semi-documentary material shot against the backdrop of the city, to Kurosawa, it’s evidence of the depravity of Japan, now occupied by American troops, with native traditions and customs fallen by the wayside. Similarly, the director returns to a shot of a disease-ridden sump outside the doctor’s office, like the gangster’s tuberculosis, a metaphor for the condition of the defeated country.
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
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34
“Mifune had a kind of talent I had never encountered before”
The Films
Intense, macho acting style that was often both bombastic and emotionally honest.
—Akira Kurosawa
ACTED IN 16 KUROSAWA FILMS
Toshiro Mifune in the film Stray Dog
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The Films of Akira Kurosawa
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Gruff characters who claim to despise shows of human weakness but who end up frequently displaying it themselves.
Toshiro Mifune in
>>
the film The Bad Sleep Well The Last Samurai shown
>>
at the Venice Film Festival Mifune with Kurosawa
Toshiro Mifune achieved more worldwide fame than any
in Japan and in foreign countries. He was twice named
other Japanese actor of his century. He was born in
Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival (for Yojimbo
Tsingtao, China, to Japanese parents and grew up in
(1961) and Red Beard (1965)). In 1963 he formed his
Dalian. He did not set foot in Japan until he was 21. His
own production company, directing one film and pro-
father was an importer and a commercial photographer,
ducing several others. In his later years he gained new
and young Toshiro worked in his father’s studio for a
fame in the title role of the American TV miniseries
Review by Akira Kurosawa On his discovery of Toshirô Mifune during casting of Drunken Angel (1948), “I am a person who is rarely impressed by actors, but in the case of Mifune, I was completely overwhelmed. Mifune had a kind of talent I had never encountered
time after graduating from Dalian Middle School.
Shogun (1980), and appeared infrequently in cameo
He was automatically drafted into the Japanese army
roles after that. His last years were plagued with
before in the Japanese film world. It was, above all, the
when he turned 20, and enlisted in the Air Force where
Alzheimer’s Syndrome and he died of organ failure in
speed with which he expressed himself that was
he was attached to the Aerial Photography Unit for
1997, a few months before the death of the director with
astounding. The ordinary Japanese actor might need
the duration of the World War II. In 1947 he took a test
whose name he will forever be linked, Akira Kurosawa.
ten feet of film to get across an impression; Mifune
for Kajirô Yamamoto, who recommended him to director
needed only three. The speed of his movements was
Senkichi Taniguchi, thus leading to Mifune’s first film
such that he said in a single action what took ordinary
role in These Foolish Times II (1947). Mifune then met
actors three separate movements to express. He put
and bonded with director Akira Kurosawa, and the two
forth everything directly and boldly, and his sense
joined to become the most prominent actor-director
of timing was the keenest I had ever seen in a Japanese
pairing in all Japanese cinema. Beginning with Drunken
actor. And yet with all his quickness, he also had
Angel (1948), Mifune appeared in 16 of Kurosawa’s
surprisingly fine sensibilities.”
films, most of which have become world-renowned classics. In Kurosawa’s pictures, especially Rashomon (1950), Mifune would become the most famous Japanese actor in the world. A dynamic and ferocious actor, he excelled in action roles, but also had the depth to plumb intricate and subtle dramatic parts. A personal rift during the filming of Red Beard (1965) ended the Mifune-Kurosawa collaboration, but Mifune continued to perform leading roles in major films both
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Films
36
“A man with a full stomach doesn’t bother with snacks.”
悪 い 奴 ほ ど よ く 眠 る
—Hatano in The Bad Sleep Well
JAN 22, 1963
The Bad Sleep Well Runtime: 151 min Color: Black and White Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Stills from the film
Plot Summary
The film begins with a group of news reporters watching,
that point forward, Nishi uses Wada to further his plans
Yoshiko Iwabuchi (Kyoko Kagawa), the daughter
for revenge.
of Vice President Iwabuchi (Masayuki Mori, the villain character) of the Unexploited Land Development Corporation, a construction company, and Koichi Nishi,
Production Co: Toho Studios
Mifune). The police interrupt the wedding when corporate assistant officer Wada, who is the wedding reception’s master of ceremony, is arrested on charges of bribery in a kickback scheme. The reporters comment this incident is similar to an earlier scandal involving Iwabuchi, administrative officer Moriyama, and contract officer Shirai. That earlier case was hushed up after the apparent suicide of Assistant Chief
Masayuki Mori Masayuki Kato Takeshi Katô Kenjiro Ishiyama K.O.
the sacrifice he had been willing to make. From
and gossiping, at an elaborate wedding reception for
the president’s secretary (a bespectacled Toshiro
Toshirô Mifune
Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
The Bad Sleep Well
Language: Japanese
Cast
Based on
Nishi then focuses his efforts on contract officer Shirai (Ko Nishimura), setting him up so that Iwabuchi and Moriyama believe him to be a thief. In the office from which Furuya jumped, Nishi reveals to Wada and Shirai that he is actually an illegitimate son of Furuya, determined to avenge his father’s death. Nishi’s interrogation and intimidation of Shirai, though, robs him of his sanity. Soon, Moriyama is able to deduce that someone connected to Furuya is orchestrating all of these events. He investigates, discovers the truth and reveals to Iwabuchi the true identity of his son-in-law.
Furuya, by jumping off the corporate office building,
Iwabuchi’s son overhears Moriyama’s information.
creating a dead end in the investigation before any of
Furious that his sister was being used by Nishi, he
the company’s higher-ups could be implicated. Following the wedding, the police question Wada (Kamatari Fujiwara) and accountant Miura about bribery of government officials by the Unexploited Land Development Corporation. As a result of the inquiry, Miura commits suicide by running in front of a truck. When Wada attempts to take his own life by jumping into an active volcano, Nishi stops Wada. Nishi convinces Wada that his superiors are unworthy of
angrily tries to kill Nishi when he returns to the house, but his shotgun blast misses as Nishi runs out the front door and into hiding. Nishi is able to abduct Moriyama and eventually force him into revealing the location of the hard evidence that will finally fully expose the corruption and all involved, once it is presented to the press. In the meantime, Wada slipped away and brought back Yoshiko in the hopes that the newlyweds will reconcile. Nishi tells his wife that he
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The Films of Akira Kurosawa
37
“A sterling Shakespearean noir” —Carson Lund
Film The Bad Sleep Well poster design
has grown to truly love her. Yoshiko accepts the truth
The film ends with Iwabuchi’s son and daughter con-
Review by Carson Lund | 9 January, 2006
about her father’s evil deeds and reluctantly agrees to
fronting and denouncing him. He then calls his superior,
1952’s Ikiru projects a propitious belief in the individu-
allow Nishi to complete his plans to expose him.
apologizing for the recent trouble but informing them
al’s ability to affect societal change—and to achieve
As Nishi calls for a press conference to be held the next day and prepares to retrieve the final evidence, Iwabuchi is able to deduce that his daughter has seen Nishi and knows where he is hiding. Iwabuchi tells her that her brother has left with his shotgun to find and kill Nishi. He asks her to tell him Nishi’s location so that he can stop her brother from committing murder, saying that he will then confess his crimes and turn himself in. Yoshiko is taken in by her father’s story and reveals to him Nishi’s location. She offers to go with him, but he drugs her with wine laced with sleeping pills. When her brother returns home, she discovers that he
that he has now handled the situation. He then states
a measure of emotional and spiritual regeneration in the
his intention to retire from the company, his and his
process—then 1960’s The Bad Sleep Well slices such
superiors’ secrets all still safely hidden from public
fanciful notions to ribbons with a swiftness and brutality
exposure. Before hanging up the phone, Iwabuchi con-
that would make Yojimbo gasp. Grim and astringent,
fuses night for day and wishes his superior a good
Akira Kurosawa’s searing condemnation of post-WWII
evening. Upon realizing his mistake he apologizes and
corporate corruption takes direct aim at his prior work’s
explains that he hadn’t slept at all the previous night.
humanistic hopefulness, burying any trace of optimism under a landslide of gutless cravenness, soul-crushing vengeance, and fatal futility. A suit-and-tie noir defined by its disgust for those who line their own pockets at the expense of the greater good, and convinced of the intellectuality of modern man’s struggle against the powers-that-be, The Bad Sleep Well—as with the subse-
had left with the shotgun only to go duck hunting, and
quent, similar High and Low—is an anxious beast, a
she then realizes the truth about her father’s plans. She
sweaty, jittery, stressed-out serving of social commen-
tells her brother what has happened and they rush to
tary with few uplifting bones in its body. And yet even
Nishi’s location. However, they arrive too late. They find
more than the funereal pall of desolation hovering over
only Nishi’s best friend and accomplice, who informs
its boardroom and back-alley action, the director’s
them that Iwabuchi has already had both Nishi and
touches of mordant wit are what turn his 1960 drama
Wada killed and disposed of all incriminating evidence.
into a gloriously black-hearted nightmare of dashed
All three are devastated by this development, and
dreams and scarred psyches, shading his expressive
though they know the truth of what has occurred, with
Tohoscope frame with a smirking cynicism that seems
no evidence to back up their story, there is nothing
to mock even the thought of altruistic intentions and
further that they can do.
happy endings.
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
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The Films
38
“They say there’s no such thing as a bad man. Only bad situations...” —Murakami in Stray Dog
AUG 31, 1963
野 良 犬
Stray Dog
Stray Dog
A family of four meets a stray dog while having a picnic
Review by Keegan Purdy | October 22, 2010
in the park. The two kids name the dog Willy and ask
Runtime: 122 min
Made before Kurosawa’s famed Rashomon, Stray Dog is
their parents if they can keep him. Unfortunately, their
Color: Black and White
a noir-style examination of responsibility and the chain
parents say no. During the next week, every member
of destruction and harm generated by the material cause
Genres: Crime, Film-Noi, Drama Language: Japanese Production Co: Toho Studios
Plot
Stills from the film
Summary
of the family keeps on thinking about Willy. When
of one moments inattention. The film takes obvious
Saturday comes, they decide to go on another picnic to
visual inspiration from American film noir, though the
see if the stray dog will appear again. When they see a
moral predicament which consumes Murakami can be
dogcatcher chase after the dog, they try to save him.
understood in a distinctively Japanese way; as a thought-
When they catch up to him, the dogcatcher says that
ful articulation of simple decency and honour reclaimed.
the dog doesn’t belong to anyone. The kids tell him that the dog does belong to them by saying that the boy’s
The loss of a samurai’s sword was the loss of honour,
belt was the dog’s collar and the girl’s hair ribbon was
which only its recovery could restore. For Murakami, his
his leash. The dogcatcher is satisfied and leaves.
aloofness resulting in the theft of his gun is a source of great shame. On first hearing of the Colt’s implication in an armed robbery, he offers his superior a letter of resignation. Rather than accept, the chief partners him with the experienced Detective Sato. A sort of master/
Cast
student dichotomy. The idea of culpability,explored to a greater extent in Rashomon (1950) is the locus of Stray
Toshirô Mifune
Dog. It also provides a moral imperative for the
Takashi Shimura
films protagonist.
Keiko Awaji
In order to redeem himself, Murakami traverses the ruins of a post-war society. His search leads him through slums and sleazy districts; lowly inhabitants desperate for money explain their rejection of morally coded behavior. The sense of duty Murakami ascribes to is starkly opposed to this, essentially, that the vicissitudes of life
>>
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
“An intelligent tale of loss and redemption”
39
This story was based on a real detective.
—Keegan Purdy
Film Stray Dog
>>
poster design
can justify larceny and violence. The trail leads to Yusa (Isao Kimura) whom Murakami shares a great deal in common with though they have chosen to take different paths. Both are veterans of the war and have been victims to theft. Yusa embodies the fall of moral righteousness in the face of persecution and misfortune. As Sato mentions at one point “a mad dog knows only a straight road”. The ability of an individual to react with wisdom in the face of a moral dilemma is diminished once one has become accustomed to the temporal fruits of vice and materialistic greed. Yusa steals to buy fine clothes, in essence, purchasing status. Stray Dog shows the blinding nature of this path to be a a very human predicament. In the film’s final sequence where Murakami pursues Yusa, the two lie side by side exasperated from the chase. The irreconcilable dualism of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ so fundamental to film noir is eroded when Yusa bursts into tears, conscious of the futility of his path. Defiance is replaced with sincerity, where “nothing is kept in reserve, nothing is expressed under disguise, nothing goes to waste”. Stray Dog is a great example of Kurosawa’s attention to questions concerning morality and honor, independent of his famed period films.
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Films
40
“I’d rather be told the cruel truth than be fed gentle lies.”
The original Japanese title for the film was “Heaven and Hell.”
—Tengoku in High and Low
Stills from the film
天 国 と 地 獄
High and Low Runtime: 143 min Color: Black and White Genres: Crime, Drama
>>
Nov 26, 1963
High and Low
Plot Summary
A wealthy executive named Kingo Gondo (Toshiro
position in the company, but cause him to go into debt
Mifune) is in a struggle to gain control of a company
and throw the futures of his wife and son into jeopardy.
called National Shoes. One faction wants the company
His plans are weakened when his top aide lets the
to make cheap, low quality shoes for the impulse mar-
“cheap shoes” faction know about the kidnapping
ket as opposed to the sturdy but unfashionable shoes
in return for a promotion should they take over. Finally,
currently being produced. Gondo believes that the long-
under pressure from his wife and the chauffeur, Gondo
Language: Japanese
term future of the company will be best served by well
decides to pay the ransom. Following the kidnapper’s
Production Co: Toho Studios
made shoes with modern styling, though this plan
instructions, the money is put into two small
is unpopular because it means lower profits in the short
briefcases and thrown from a moving train; Shinichi
term. He has secretly set up a leveraged buyout to
is found unharmed.
gain control of the company, mortgaging all he has.
Cast Toshirô Mifune Takashi Shimura Keiko Awaji
Gondo is forced out of the company and his creditors
Just as he is about to put his plan into action, he
demand the collateral in lieu of debt. The story is widely
receives a phone call from someone claiming to have
reported however, making Gondo a hero, while the
kidnapped his son, Jun. Gondo is prepared to pay
National Shoe Company is vilified and boycotted.
the ransom, but the call is dismissed as a prank when
Meanwhile, the police eventually find the hideout where
Jun comes in from playing outside. However, Jun’s
Shinichi was kept prisoner. The bodies of the kidnap-
playmate, Shinichi, the child of Gondo’s chauffeur, is
per’s two accomplices are found there, killed by an
missing and the kidnappers have mistakenly abducted
overdose of heroin. The police surmise that the kidnap-
him instead.
per engineered their deaths by supplying them with
In another phone call the kidnapper reveals that he has discovered his mistake but still demands the same ransom. Gondo is now forced to make a decision about whether to pay the ransom to save the child or complete the buyout. After a long night of contemplation Gondo announces that he will not pay the ransom, explaining that doing so would not only mean the loss of his
uncut drugs. Further clues lead to the identity of the kidnapper, a medical intern at a nearby hospital, but there is no hard evidence linking him to the accomplices’ murders. The police lay a trap by first planting a story in the newspapers implying that the accomplices are still alive, and then forging a note from them demanding more drugs. The kidnapper is apprehended in the act of trying to supply another lethal dose of
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
41
“You cannot break a man who accepts his fate” —Terrel Howell
Film High and Low
>>
poster design
uncut heroin to his accomplices. Most of the ransom
Review by Terrell Howell | July 14, 2011
money is recovered, but too late to save Gondo’s prop-
As usual with Kurosawa, strong acting, tight direction,
erty from auction. With the kidnapper facing a death
stylized visuals, and lots and lots of depth for the viewer
sentence, he and Gondo finally meet face to face.
to absorb from every single aspect.
Gondo has gone to work for a rival shoe company, earning less money but enjoying a free hand in running it.
The ending scene is quite possibly one best one-on-one
The kidnapper reveals that envy from seeing Gondo’s
conversations ever written and directed. As if throughout
house on the hill every day led him to conceive of
the film Kurosawa hasn’t delved deep into the human
the crime.
condition with Gondo’s character (Mifune) and his moral dilemma, here he goes much, much deeper. A pivotal scene that serves as the focal point of the film, and its’ title. The film’s beautiful imagery and deep, thought-provoking material is what drives this film forward.
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
42
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Films
44
Use of weather to heighten mood, most obviously rain
Dark clouds before
>>
storm and rain ©Gettyimages
Masterstroke
High and Low Stray Dog
Akira Kurosawa’s
Near the ending of the movie there’s a heavy downpour, set to increase the intensity of the situation. The symbolic usage of weather in this movie is evident in its depiction of Japan under a sunny heatwave, mak-
trademark | Weather
ing some characters anticipate the rain. The sunny weather morphs into a dark gray, cloudy sky pattern in the scene where Murakami has a feeling that something bad will happen. Near the end of the movie, when the plot starts heavily escalating, the skies unleash a big downpour. Ikiru
Rain is present during the construction site scene. The swing scene, on the other hand, is calmly accompanied by snow.
The Bad Sleep Well
Wada’s colleague accountant’s suicide occurs during a rainy day.
If there was something specific about Kurosawa, had to be related to weather conditions as metaphors for human emotions.
NATURE IS BIG AND POWERFUL
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
03 03
Contents
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
49
03 祭 り
Festival Theme The Festival Festival Schedule Calligraphy Workshop Festival Location
The Festival
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Festival
50
The futile search for meaning in the face of shifting reality
Featuring
Aug 23 | The Bad Sleep Well Aug 24 | Drunken Angel Aug 25 | High and Low Aug 26 | Ikiru Aug 27 | Stray Dogs
Festival Theme
The name Cast into Chaos encapsulates one the most common theme of Kurosawa’s films, the futility of human effort. The human spirit tested against the storm of shifting realities. The artistic expression of life’s impermanence, imperfection, and brutal randomness. Akira was a humanist. In his movies, the hero sometimes wins, sometimes they don’t. But there is always a storm/ a chaos / a struggle. It’s about common problems of common people. Their ambitions, their duties, their dreams, and failures.
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
51
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Festival
52
THE BAD SLEEP WELL
DRUNKEN ANGEL
08 | 23
08 | 24
悪 い 奴 ほ ど よ く 眠 る
Festival Schedule
酔 い ど れ 天 使
Crime, Drama, Thriller |
Crime, Drama, Romance |
A vengeful young man marries the
A drunken doctor with a hot temper and
daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order
a violence-prone gangster with
to seek justice for his father’s suicide.
tuberculosis form a quicksilver bond.
4:00 pm | Opening Ceremony
4:00 pm | Screening of Drunken Angel
5:00 pm | Screening of The Bad Sleep Well
6:00 pm | Calligraphy Performance by Souun Takeda
7:15 – 9:00 pm | Dinner
7:15 – 9:00 pm | Dinner
Special Attraction |
Special Attraction |
Japanese Calligraphy Exhibition
Akira Kurosawa’s manuscripts, props, storyboards on display
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
53
HIGH AND LOW
IKIRU
STRAY DOG
08 | 25
08 | 26
08 | 27
天 国 と 地 獄
生 き る
ノ ラ の 妖 狐
Crime, Drama, Mystery |
Drama |
Crime, Drama, Film-Noir |
An executive of a shoe company becomes
A bureaucrat tries to find a meaning
During a sweltering summer, a rookie
a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's
in his life after he discovers he has
homicide detective tries to track down
son is kidnapped and held for ransom.
terminal cancer.
his stolen Colt pistol.
4:00 pm | Talk by Cast
4:00 pm | Opening Ceremony
4:00 pm | Screening of Stray Dog
5:00 pm | Screening of High and Low
5:00 pm | Screening of Ikiru
7:00 pm | Closing Ceremony
7:15 – 9:00 pm | Dinner
7:15 – 9:00 pm | Dinner
7:15 – 9:00 pm | Dinner
Special Attraction |
Special Attraction |
Special Attraction |
Japanese Calligraphy Workshop Day 01
Japanese Calligraphy Workshop Day 02
Japanese Calligraphy Workshop Day 03
Akira Kurosawa’s manuscripts, props,
Akira Kurosawa’s manuscripts, props,
Akira Kurosawa’s manuscripts, props,
storyboards on display
storyboards on display
storyboards on display
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
“It is to suggest a path through life for those who know how to find it.” —Akira Kurosawa
The Festival
56
To express spiritual depth and chaos
Sensei Masato
>>
Kawahatsu at work Calligraphy exhibition
Calligraphy Workshop
>>
While growing up, Akira Kurosawa studied Calligraphy and Kendo swordsmanship.
Sensei Masato Kawahatsu Workshop Sensei Kawahusu’s teaching is guided by a method
Japanese calligraphy was influenced by, and influenced,
known as Shin Shin Gaku Do which helps to develop
Zen thought. For any particular piece of paper, the cal-
patience, discipline and confidence through
ligrapher has but one chance to create with the brush.
activities that nurture the balance between mind,
The brush strokes cannot be corrected, and even a lack
body and spirit.
of confidence shows up in the work. The calligrapher must concentrate and be fluid in execution. The brush writes a statement about the calligrapher at a moment in time. Through Zen, Japanese calligraphy absorbed a
The three day workshop will begin with meditation and breathing exercises followed by an introduction to Shin Shin Gaku Do Shodo Japanese calligraphy.
distinct Japanese aesthetic often symbolized by the
Participants will then practice writing on rice paper and
ensō or circle of enlightenment.
make cards using kanji characters.
Zen calligraphy is practiced by Buddhist monks and most shodō practitioners. To write Zen calligraphy with mastery, one must clear one’s mind and let the letters flow out of themselves, not practice and make a tremendous effort. This state of mind was called the mushin (“no mind state”?) by the Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro. It is based on the principles of Zen Buddhism, which stresses a connection to the spiritual rather than the physical.
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
The Festival
60
JAPANTOWN
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
61
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
62
The Festival
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
63
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
The Festival
64
Sundance Kabuki Theatre
1968
Festival Location
The Sundance Kabuki is a San Francisco entertainment
Tall bamboo stalks rise from rusted steel planters in
destination like no other. Inside the distinctive space
the lobby, which is finished with weathered, reclaimed
awaits an experience tailored to the grown-up, passion-
lumber, stone and teal-blue ceramic tile. Patrons
ate film-goer. Beyond great films and special filmmaker
can buy their tickets and pick their seats online or
events, bar, art gallery, and restaurant make Kabuki
at the lobby’s kiosks and concierge desk. Every seat
a top spot for a cocktail, beer, wine, or a delicious bite.
in the house is reserved — a rarity in American
Discover the Sundance Cinemas difference. The theater was the first multiplex in San Francisco. It has been host to San Francisco’s Cherry Blossom Festival activities, is one of a small number of theaters showing performances by the San Francisco Opera, and has screened several films for San Francisco International Film Festival and San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival as recently as 2011.
Sundance Kabuki
>>
Theatre auditorium Sundance Kabuki Theatre interior
>>
cinemas — for which patrons pay an “amenity” fee that ranges from a buck to $3, depending on the time and day (there’s no fee for the first screening of the day Monday through Thursday).
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
65
Paul Richardson, President and
ceo
of
Sundance Cinemas
“We want you to stay afterward and talk about the movie, and to be able to come here and know where your seat is and find it, and not spend time standing in lines” AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
03
Contents
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
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Akira Kurosawa
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potrait
In 1986, Kurosawa received the Akira Kurosawa Award in San Francisco International Film Festival held at Sundance Kabuki theatre San Francisco Film Society
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Sundance Kabuki Theatre inside view
Features
Screening rooms
Sundance Cinemas is committed to making its theatre
Our entrance level Screening Room Auditoriums
accessible to all guests, including those with disabilities
are luxurious, intimate ‘private screening room’ spaces
who have a need for accommodation.
with rocking chair love seats and tablettes. Carry your drink to your seat from the bar
All Sundance Cinemas theatres have ample and easily identifiable wheelchair seating areas with adjacent
Drinks and food can be brought into the designated
companion seating. Wheelchair spaces and companion
Over 21 shows, even full bottles of wine or champagne,
seats may be purchased at the box office or on-line,
that are purchased at our bars. We only use real
like any other seats in the auditorium and at no
glassware — the ultimate way to recycle!
additional cost.
Reserved seating
Assistive Listening Devices and Closed Captioning
You can pick your favorite seat online or at our box
Devices are available at the box office at all Sundance
office. Purchase your seats in advance online at
Cinemas locations free of charge. Assistive listening
sundancecinemas.com and print out your tickets at
devices are available for all films. Because some
home to completely bypass the box office line.
studios do not include caption or audio description
Art gallery Sundance Cinemas is in a unique partnership with StudioVox, an online professional network for Creatives. Artists submit their work for consideration via becoming part of the StudioVox community, where their work is promoted in a wide range of ways. Traditional concessions plus more We offer a wide variety of traditional and specialized choices at our concession stand, that are sold in recyclable or compostable packaging.
tracks on their films, descriptive narration and closed captions are not available for all films. Films without closed captions and descriptive narration are typically those from independent film studios, independent filmmakers, and/or foreign distributors.
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The Films of Akira Kurosawa
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1881 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94115 415 346-3243
AUGUST 23 – 27, 2017
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Neighborhood Attractions
Japantown After the 1906 Earthquake many Japanese and Japanese Americans relocated to the area where you see SF Japantown today. Originally SF Japantown was commonly referred to as “Nihonjin Machi” or Japanese People’s Town which spanned 30 blocks. WWII broke out and 120,000 Japanese Americans were ordered to pack up and leave. They were sent to 10 relocation camps. After the war, the neighborhood
Cultural Cuisine Cultural Entertainment Cultural Experience Cultural Shopping
changed to reflect the more dispersed character of the postwar community, from Nihonjin Machi to Nihonmachi, or “Japantown.” Urban renewal or “Redevelopment” resulted in the displacement of thousands of established residents. Scores of businesses closed, stately Victorians and other structures were moved or destroyed. 30 blocks of Nihonmachi was reduced to less than 10 blocks. The 1960’s brought the Japan Cultural and Trade Center which is now called Japan Center mall. This 5 acre property houses specialty shops and restaurants. SF Japantown is one of only three Japantowns remaining in the U.S. today.
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Cuisine
Entertainment
Experience
Cultural Shopping
Mifune
Pika Pika
Ikenobo Ikebana Society of America
Akabanaa
Isobune Sushi
Club Mari/Mogura
Kabuki Springs & Spa
Asakichi–Antique and Tea Ceremony
Ino Sushi
Do Re Mi Music Studio
San Francisco Taiko Dojo Showroom
Asakichi Cast Iron Teapots & Bronze
Izumiya
GenRyu Arts
Nagata Dance
Daiso Japan
May’s Coffee Shop
Milo Lounge
Bay Jiu Jitsu Studio
Japantown Collectibles
Cafe Hana
Mogura Lounge S.F.
Katachi
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The Films of Akira Kurosawa
References
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04 参 照
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Web
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa www.imdb.com/name/nm0000041/ www.infoplease.com/cig/movies-flicks-film/master-art-akira-kurosawa.html https://www.criterion.com/explore/3-akira-kurosawa https://www.theguardian.com › Arts › Movies › Akira Kurosawa www.kurosawamovies.com/main.html www.biography.com/people/akira-kurosawa-9370236 sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/kurosawa/
References
https://www.sundancecinemas.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundance_Kabuki www.sfgate.com/.../SAN-FRANCISCO-Sundance-Cinemas-to-buy-Kabuki-2501645.p.. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ikiru/ www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-ikiru-1952 www.imdb.com/title/tt0044741/ https://www.criterion.com/films/788-stray-dog www.hulu.com/watch/229992 kurosawainreview.blogspot.com/2009/07/bad-sleep-well-1960.html www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res... www.imdb.com/title/tt0040979/ www.willamette.edu/~rloftus/jfilm/kuroangel.html https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/drunken_angel/ www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/drunken-angel www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/.../highandlownrattanasio_a0ad69.htm https://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of.../424-the-highs-and-lows-of-high-and-low/
Something Like An Autobiography, May 12, 1983, by Akira Kurosawa Akira Kurosawa: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers) by Bert Cardullo
The Films of Akira Kurosawa
Fall | 2016
Type Trade Gothic Next LT Pro Klint Std Neue Haas Grotesk Text Pro Images Getty Images Shutterstock Santosh Kothiwada Krishnapriya Dutta Gupta Design Krishnapriya Dutta Gupta Course GR.612 Integrated Communication Academy of Art University Instructor Hunter Wimmer + Christopher Morlan Contact 383 King Street, APT 914 San Francisco, CA 94158 krishnapriyadg@gmail.com 408 643 2032
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2017 THE FILMS OF AKIRA KUROSWA CASTINTOCHAOS.COM