Akira Kurosawa

Started by xerxes, January 10, 2003, 12:56:53 AM

0 Members and 4 Guests are viewing this topic.

cine

Wait, so are you saying the Magnificent Seven isn't any good?  :?
I'm saying there's a difference between remaking something and completely taking the structure of something else and calling it an influence. That's more than an influence.

modage

no I LIKE Magnificent Seven, but you dont see him being revered the way Leone is for doing it.  it seems like if someone who is considered a great artist is borrowing from someone its an 'homage'.  but if they suck its a 'rip off'.  like if tony scott wants to rip off the music from badlands for his tarantino script its an 'homage'.  but if someone you dont like, like lucas steals kurosawas wipes, its a 'rip off'.  not that tony scott is a great artist, but you see what i mean?  if tarantino is doing it, or someone respected, its seen as an 'homage' and is given credit for being such.  if kurosawa is taking john fords ideas its an 'homage', if lucas takes kurosawa's its a 'rip off'.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

cine

Quote from: themodernage02if kurosawa is taking john fords ideas its an 'homage', if lucas takes kurosawa's its a 'rip off'.
There's a difference between an homage and a structure. Lucas using Kurosawa's entire structure for Hidden Fortress is NOT a fucking homage. So I think you keep confusing those two. I own the DVD where Lucas talks about Hidden Fortress and how much he loved it when he was a film student trying to study movies. He basically tiptoes (at least how I gathered it) around the fact that he used the entire structure for Star Wars. Again, there's a difference between remakes, homages, and taking structures and saying you're influenced by the film the structure was used for.

modage

so what?  and Leone took Kurosawas entire structure for Dollars?   Tarantino took Malicks whole structure for True Romance?  he did something entirely different with it, so what is the difference?  Kurosawa didnt INVENT that structure.  he probably stole it from somewhere else just not as obvious.  nobody gives him any flack.  so is it, it doesnt matter if you're ripping off people, as long as theyre obscure?
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

MacGuffin

Quote from: CinephileThere's a difference between an homage and a structure. Lucas using Kurosawa's entire structure for Hidden Fortress is NOT a fucking homage. So I think you keep confusing those two. I own the DVD where Lucas talks about Hidden Fortress and how much he loved it when he was a film student trying to study movies. He basically tiptoes (at least how I gathered it) around the fact that he used the entire structure for Star Wars. Again, there's a difference between remakes, homages, and taking structures and saying you're influenced by the film the structure was used for.
But what mod-age is saying is Leone did the same in "stealing" the structure with his westerns and Sturges "stole" the structure of "Seven Samurai" for "Magnificent Seven" and no one bats an eye. Lucas is singled out because most believe he is a hack. But because Sturges and Leone have more credibility, it's looked over. In fact, as stated on IMDB, Kurosawa sued Leone.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

cine

But Lucas is a hack partly because he doesn't call Star Wars a remake, which is what Leone and Sturges did!
Edit: Then I wish Lucas was sued too. The bottom line is that more people perceive Leone and Sturges' films as remakes whereas Lucas has always made it seem like Star Wars all his and nobody else's.

modage

so if you fess up, its not stealing?  what does that matter.  on the interview on the Hidden Fortress disc he admits to using that film as an influence on SW by making the story from the POV of the two losers.  does that absolve him?  if you're taking someones ideas, (which EVERYBODY DOES), does it matter if you are acknowledging them in making it more credible?  i'd rather have an 'homage' than a straight remake.  especially now when remakes are cranked out as brand names, i'd rather someone just take those ideas and run with them to make something new.  but yeah, like macguffin said.  if someone who has credibility does it, its okay, and if someone who doesnt, its not.

also: anyone else feel free to join the discussion on either side.  i think its a very facinating point and one i'm interested in finding out peoples opinions on.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

xerxes

Quote from: themodernage02if you're taking someones ideas, (which EVERYBODY DOES), does it matter if you are acknowledging them in making it more credible?  

i think it's always nice when someone acknowledges the influences of someone else, so yeah, i think it does matter.

The Silver Bullet

I saw Stray Dog the other day and loved it [of course].

Kurosawa's greatest gift, I feel, was probably his ability to make something remarkably pure out of something remarkably simple.
RABBIT n. pl. rabĀ·bits or rabbit[list=1]
  • Any of various long-eared, short-tailed, burrowing mammals of the family Leporidae.
  • A hare.
    [/list:o][/size]

Ravi

Has anyone seen Runaway Train?  It is based on a screenplay by Kurosawa.  I read about how he wanted to make a story based on an article he read about a train that wouldn't stop, but since I hadn't heard of him doing such a film I assumed it was a scrapped idea.  I later saw it in the Kurosawa section of a local video store but I didn't know if it was any good.

Ghostboy

I just saw Throne Of Blood this evening, and I can't for the life of me understand how they did that climactic arrow shot (you know what I'm talking about if you've seen it).

For maybe the first hour of the film, I was thinking that it was good, but that it brought little new to the story of Macbeth. But those last forty minutes are an amazing accomplishment. Kurosawa spends so long with the initial setup that, when everything begins to fall apart, you feel all the more caught up in the escalating spiral of insanity...like Mifune, you have no idea what's going on or who's attacking from where. The intensity of the editing and choreography in that  final arrow attack reminded me of a medieval version of the Wild Bunch siege. And those trees...wow. That shot made the movie for me.

For the record, I just noticed the debate above, and I'll side with themodernage completely. I think there's definitely a double standard. I also don't think Lucas is a hack (or he wasn't, in any case, back then), and I think Star Wars is as legitimate an homage as The Magnificent Seven, whether its acknowledged or not.

Stefen

I just watched high and low again last night. That movie is aces. I love the way it is kind of two movies in one. In the beginning you have this uneasy feeling, like claustrophobia. Then the second half is just fun and exciting. I need to see more Kurosawa movies.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

samsong

Quote from: RaviHas anyone seen Runaway Train?  It is based on a screenplay by Kurosawa.  I read about how he wanted to make a story based on an article he read about a train that wouldn't stop, but since I hadn't heard of him doing such a film I assumed it was a scrapped idea.  I later saw it in the Kurosawa section of a local video store but I didn't know if it was any good.

Runaway Train suffers from some 80's-isms that make it feel dated and features a terrible performance from Eric Roberts.  Otherwise it's an excellent film... great entertainment that doesn't compromise intelligence or depth, and in that sense is very Kurosawa.  Of course it isn't on the same level as Kurosawa's other work, but what films are.  Check it out.  It's worth your time.  The third act is amazing.

Ghostboy

I've been on a bit of a Kurosawa kick lately. Anyway, I watched Hidden Fortress a few nights ago, and while I enjoyed seeing the obvious parallels to Star Wars, I did think those parallels were only circumstantial, and you can't call Star Wars a remake of it the way you can with Seven Samurai and Magnificent Seven. Hidden Fortress was terrific, btw -- the first Kurosawa film I've seen that could be considered more of a crowd pleaser than anything else.

I also saw High And Low the other night, which was even better -- and this was the first of his where I was really blown away by how he placed people in the frame. I've heard references to this talent of his before, but with this film I immediately saw why. The blocking was absolutely extraordinary.

tpfkabi

what about the film that was recently released by criterion?
i think it was Ikiru? but i might be wrong.
anyway, i was really surprised that the Hasting's here had it. i think whoever orders the videos there really likes Kurosawa because Throne of Blood is there to and several of the Criterions are there to buy.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.