Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

One of the most influential international film directors of his time is Akira Kurosawa. I was introduced to one of his films in class and found myself fascinated by his use of hidden themes and artistic use of nature. Kurosawa was born March 23, 1910 and died September 6, 1998. Kurosawa was not just a film director but a producer, screenwriter and editor of his films. In his great career spanning 57 years he directed over 30 films and made his director debut, surprisingly during the Second World War. His first film was an action film titled sanshiro sugata which translates to Judo Saga which was a Kung Fu based film.

Because Kurosawa uses nature as a crucial element in his films it makes the art of his films really stand out. But what makes him in inspiration to all that seek the artistic value of films is how dedicated he is in creating his moving works of art. He is a director that is passionately involved in every aspect of the filmmaking process. In Rashomon, the class was introduced to a whole new way in which nature and storytelling could be filmed. I personally remember a scene in the beginning of film when the wood chopper is walking through the forest and as he’s walking the camera pans up at the trees with the sun rays passing through. Before Kurosawa, film makers never thought to experiment with camera shots of that nature. The work of Kurosawa can be seen in many films. For example in Rashomon the story is told four times each in a way of another person’s conception of how the samurai was killed. We see the same form of film making in kill bill by Quentin Tarantino and many other of his films.

In 1977, American director George Lucas had released Star Wars, a wildly successful science fiction film influenced by Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, among other works. Lucas, like many other New Hollywood directors, revered Kurosawa and considered him a role model (archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/). One of Kurosawa’s must influential films that he created is also known as one of the greatest “Guy” films ever made is seven samurai. The seven samurai released in 1954 is Japanese film co-written, edited and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film takes place in Warring States Period Japan (around 1587/1588). It follows the story of a village of farmers that hire seven master less samurai to combat bandits who will return after the harvest to steal their crops (archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/). I posted a small clip of the seven samurai and some other of his works. 

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1. The text book stated that only one woman director survived during the change silent films to the “talkies”. Dorthy Arzner directed the first sound picture at paramount titled the wild party. This came to be a revolutionary film for its time. The film was also hailed for its technical achievements. Before talkies woman played the role of object rather than person. During the thirties and forties women audiences made up a large portion of the studio revenue. In order for the studios to keep the money coming in they would have to make films that would appeal to women. The films the studios created what would later be known as women’s pictures. These films told stories about women’s lives and had women playing much more powerful roles than before.

2. The artist that I felt was influential during the golden age of American film is John Wayne.  John Wayne made his debut in his first major role in a western directed by Raoul Walsh, The Big Trail. By Wayne's own decision he appeared in about eighty of these horse operas between 1930 and 1939. In riders of destiny (1933) he became film's first singing cowboy. Wayne also appeared in some of the three musketeers westerns. Clint Eastwood would later state that John Wayne was an actor he very much enjoyed watching on film. Not only was Wayne a very talented actor but he was also hailed for his riding ability and inpressive western skills. Wayne rose beyond the typical recognition for a famous actor to that of an enduring icon that symbolized and communicated American values and ideals.

3.  Horror films have become a factory for remakes. In particular Dracula and Frankenstein were remade in the early 1990s.  It was in the early 1930s that American film producers, popularized the horror film by bringing to the screen a series of successful features. These films were much different than their earlier counter parts. In the 1930s there was much less violence in horror films than today. Film creators need to stay in touch with their audiences and in horror film sometime bloodier is better.

4.  Sound not only changed the technical aspects of film but it changed the way audiences felt towards the artist. Prior to the invention of the vitaphone, films were generally short, with dialogue cards inserted to give necessary bits of information to the audience. For the first time, writers became a huge part of Hollywood. The ability to have actors speak and be heard, rather than just react or mime, allowed the audience to truly connect with what was happening onscreen. Another innovation was color films. Although early color experiments had been conducted in the past, none were truly successful until the three-color camera was invented in 1932 by Technicolor. The audience could connect to film in a whole new way. Not only could they hear what was taking place on film but they could see what was happing in color. These two inventions changed the art of making film forever.

5. What I would like to discuss is how the golden age of Hollywood created what is known today as celebrities. Some very famous actors from this time include Clark Gable, John Wayne, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman; these were some of the names that became American icons due to film. Audiences loved to watch famous actors and actress on film there would be lines out the doors of theaters when a famous name was in a film. These celebrities of their time were looked up to by children and some became American heroes. If we only had that today, most actress and actors are so over paid they don’t even have a sense of reality.