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.