Akira Kurosawa

An Emperor and a Master

Image Courtesy: filmreferences.com

Akira Kurosawa is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in cinema history. It is a testimony to his genius that he was able to break the language barrier and was able to entertain and communicate with millions of cinema lovers all over the world including yours truly. Born in 1910 he made around 30 movies in a career spanning five decades from Sugata Sanshiro (1943) to Madadayo (1993) before he passed away in 1998.

Kurosawa’s father was the director of a junior high school operated by the Japanese military. He was a man who had a western outlook and inculcated in his children the same outlook. He used to take Kurosawa out to see western movies and may have influenced his outlook to movies from an early age itself.

Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org

In 1936 Kurosawa began his career in movies as an apprentice of Kajiro Yamamoto. He made his first movie at the age of 33. His earlier movies were mainly nationalistic and propaganda movies made under the watchful eyes of the government during the world war days. It was not until he directed the ‘Drunken Angel’ in 1948 that he came into his own. Kurosawa himself has said that he discovered himself with this movie. Incidentally this was also the movie which saw the master working with Toshiro Mifune for the first time; in my opinion one of the greatest actor-director collaborations of all time.

From then on through the 50s and 60s Akira Kurosawa achieved the zenith of his craftsmanship. Masterpieces came one after another and with such amazing regularity that he became the undisputed master of Asian cinema. Three of his most acclaimed movies; Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954) all came during this period. This was followed by adaptations like Thorne of blood (from Macbeth), Lower Depth (from Maxim Gorky’s play of the same name) and The Bad Sleep Well (from Hamlet). He also made such great entertainers like Hidden Fortress (1958), Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962). This was followed by movies which were more or lees a social commentary like High and Low (1963) and Red Beard (1965).

After Red Beard Kurosawa acquired a reputation of being dictatorial in his approach and was called an Emperor by some. He subsequently found it difficult to get work and funding for his pictures. This is reflected by the sad fact that he made just 7 movies in the next 2 decades after Red Beard. Of these his Dodesukaden (1970) was such a failure that he even tried to commit suicide. He had to make the Russian Dersu Uzala (1975) in the meanwhile, his only non-japanese movie, in a bid to do some work. It was only through the help of his famous admirers George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola that he was able find the necessary funding for Kagemusha (1980). But even there he was asked to make cuts of about 20 minutes to the movie. In 1985 Kurosawa made Ran (adapted from King Lear) which is widely considered by some as his last masterpiece. He made three more movies before his death; Dreams (1990), Rhapsody in August (1991), Madadayo(1993) though they are all considered to be the master’s lesser works.

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Kurosawa was a master of the narrative. When you see some of his movies the he made at his peak you can see the various styles of narratives that he has used. In Ikiru he tells the story from different timelines. He shifts between the past, the present and the future with such effortless ease that it never confuses the audience. In High and Low the movie is clearly divided into two acts with nothing but a train sequence connecting both parts of the story. But the best of them all is Rashomon. He tells the story from the perspective of four different people giving the audience the desired effect of guessing which the accurate narration of events is.

Kurosawa also showcased many themes and genres that are used in movies even today. He used the classic team building and practice routines in Seven Samurai. His Yojimbo must be one of the greatest Westerns ever although it is set in 16th century Japan. It was later remade as A Fistful of Dollars in Hollywood. The Hidden Fortress is a classic action/adventure movie which was the inspiration for George Lucas’s Star Wars.

He also tried to raise questions about the moral and emotional complexities of man. Rashomon showed that man’s perspective is clouded by his own ego. Red Beard showed the sufferings of the poor and their struggle for survival. High and Low was a dark reminder of the dangers of the inequalities in society. Ran showcased the destructive nature of man’s ambitions. Kagemusha showed the effects of image and the blind belief in it. And Ikiru showcased the shortness of life and the importance of living it fully and meaningfully.

Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org

Kurosawa is a master of the technique of film making too. In Throne of Blood, in the final scene in which Mifune is shot by arrows, Kurosawa used real arrows shot by expert archers from a short range, landing within centimetres of Mifune's body. He was the first to use the telephoto lens to give a flat view of the shot. His sometimes used elaborate and grand shots to give the audience breathtaking visuals in the background. Several of his shots in Ran were almost painterly. He used various natural elements to telling effects like the rain in Rashamon and Seven Samurai, the snow in Ikiru, the wind in Yojimbo and the oppressive heat in High and Low.

He was a perfectionist who spent enormous amounts of time and effort to achieve the desired visual effects. Some of his techniques were innovative and expensive, sometimes even time consuming. He dyed the raid water black with ink to get the desired effect of heavy rain in Rashomon. He built an entire castle set in Mt. Fuji which was later destroyed in the climax. He demanded that the entire cast live in the sets of Red Beard to give it the proper lived in feel. He would give his actors their costumes 2 weeks in advance so that they would look properly worn out. He would wait for weeks to get the right cloud formation. Production for Red Beard took 2 years to complete which ultimately fractured his relationship with Toshiro Mifune.

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Despite all this there is no denying his genius. And like most other geniuses people forgets their eccentricities because their work more than makes up for it. His work will be remembered for generations to come. His works have influenced many. Direct influences can be found in The Magnificent Seven, A fistful of Dollars, Star Wars, Outrage, even in India’s biggest hit of all time Sholay and many more. Kurosawa was a master of his craft and will be remembered as one of the true Emperors of cinema.

Reviews of Akira Kurosawa's Major works

Rashomon (1950)	Ikiru (1952)	Seven Samurai (1954)
Hidden Fortress (1958)	Yojimbo (1961)	High And Low (1963)
Red Beard (1965)	Kagemusha (1980)	Ran (1985)
Rhapsody In August (1991)

The serpent and the snake

One thing we all must agree to is that rock bands certainly do have a way with their names. I mean, come to think of it who would listen to some snake hissing for 20 minutes unless it’s by the rock band named ‘whitesnake’? I for one would have passed out and reached the right side of jesus on hearing a snake hiss for fraction of a sec. So naturally the only snake I like is whitesnake.

Formed by deep purple david coverdale not necessarily in response to comrade richie blackmore’s formation of ‘rainbow’, what was most interesting about whitesnake is that their early songs were mostly covers of famous blues numbers. And it was this blue streak indeed that gave the snakes their first accord. A beautiful cover of bobby bland’s ‘aint no love in the heart of the city’ made it done for them. Early albums featured such blues along with some singles earlier featured in coverdale’s solo albums.

Being formed in 1977, the band certainly became emboldened with the glam rock scenario of the 80s and the whitesnake’s albums became much rockier and their antics..much crazier with all the glam elements present including protruding crotches.

Despite of that a list of famous musicians long enough to stretch from lal kila to the WTC or whats left of it joined the snakes as guest musicians. The list includes jon lord who is one of my favourites. So at least due to sympathy for me, listen to snake songs featuring lord, awright?

For those who wanna get snake bitten , my recommendations are the albums ‘trouble’( featuring jon lord) and ‘ready an’ willing’. After that u r in eden.

Peace!

Earth Day

Earth day 2007

Earth day flag image courtsey: wikipedia.org

The burning issues.

The ozone layer that protects the living things from the harmful rays of the sun is fast depleting leaving gaping holes. The mountainous icebergs on the Polar Regions are melting and crumbling in unprecedented rates, as a result low lying land-mass face threats of getting submerged in to the sea. Tropical forests all vanish leaving no trace. The plastic “the wonder material of the 20^th century has almost grown to a monster challenging the environment. Increasing vehicles pollute the globe by emitting carbon dioxide in unprecedented scale.

The blame game!

Image courtsey: china.metcn8.com

These are all words we hear everyday, undeveloped world blames the developed nations and call them eco criminals. The rich nations in turn accuse the third world nations for not setting standards for manufacturing thereby causing more pollution.

Lighting a candle.

U thant image courtsey: uniclima.org.pe

As the blame game is going on planet earth is getting chocked and on the verge of suffocation. Let us see what can be creatively done to improve the situation and what is going on all around the globe to meet the evils caused by pollution. If not for introspection and correction “the Earth Day” means nothing. Let us imbibe the spirit of this day as it is like lighting a candle, rather than blaming darkness.

A day many events.

April 22^nd has much significance as the day is “Vernal Equinox” (when the sun crosses the equator about between 21^st and 22^nd of April). This day is significant as it is the birth anniversary of Eddie Albert a TV star as well as an early environmentalist. The birth anniversary of Julius Starling Morton- the founder of the arbor-day (arbor means tree, that is celebrated in Nebraska as national tree planting day) also coincides in April 22^nd. One more strange thing is that April 22^nd is Vladimir Illich Lenin’s birth anniversary- the former Russian premier- but Lenin is not known for his affinity to environment.

A day for Mother Earth.

Image courtsey: aesi1.com

On April 22, 2007 we observe a day by the name “Earth Day” - a rather unusual one. Even though living on the very earth, people seldom think about it as earth has been here ever since all were born. There is the relevance as April 22^nd is here to make people think that they are very much a part of this globe by name earth and earth’s well being is as important as the welfare of our own children. It was on February 26, 1971 UN Secretary General U Thant signed a proclamation to the effect that all the coming 22^nd April will be observed as Earth’s day.

Ringing Japanese peace bell.

As a ritual it has become a tradition that the UN Secretary General rings a Japanese peace bell marking the onset of the Earth-Day. This bell has been donated by the Japanese as a good will.

A spaceship that keeps us warm!

On 21^st March 1971 Mr. U Thant delivered a beautiful speech comparing earth as a spaceship spinning around in frigid space carrying a very delicate cargo that is living things. The author may quote his own words “May there be peaceful and cheerful earth days to come for our beautiful spaceship as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animal life”

Pioneers of environmentalism.

John Mc Connell image courtsey: earthsocietyfoundation.org

On a UNESCO conference of environment held on 1969, John Mc Connell first introduced the idea of a global holiday by name “The Earth Day”. In the same year he designed the flag for the day with earth and its atmosphere embedded on it. Proclamation for the First Earth Day was done by the Mayor of San Francisco Mr. Joseph Alioto on March 21, 1970.

The “great” oil spill.

The immediate provocation was the great oil spill that occurred in Santa Barbara in 1969 that set the circumstances conductive for radical actions which were overdue. The drastic impact of the spill infuriated Senator Gaylord Nelson; he flew to Washington and initiated actions to frame effective laws enabling government to take urgent steps for environmental protection. That was just the beginning, thereafter more and more legal bodies have been set to tackle disasters which may occur in future.

There is only one earth.

Gandhi image courtsey: worldpeace-conference.net

The present wave of environmental activism has its roots in these steps taken by the pioneers who initiated the process. There may be many planets but there is only one earth on which the destiny of generations to come have to find shelter. There are enough for everyone’s needs, but not for one’s greed. It seems perhaps a little bit of Gandhism alone can save this planet, simple living and high thinking- to which Gandhi was the role model - may show the way, lead kindly light! Wishing all an optimistic but realistic

“Happy Earth Day”!!!

Rhapsody in August (Hachigatsu no kyōshikyoku)

Remembrance of a horror

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Akira Kurosawa’s movies in the later stages of his careers were starkly darker than his earlier ones. In Rhapsody in August he tires to tackle the Nagasaki atom bomb dropping and its impact on three different generations. It shows us how three different Japanese generations and an American views the bombing and its effect on human life.

The movie is mainly said from the viewpoint of four children who come to visit their grandmother. Their parents had gone to visit a long lost brother of the grandmother. The grandmother’s lost sibling is in his death bed now and wants to meet his last surviving blood relative before he dies. However the grandmother’s memory has become increasingly selective with age and she does not even remember the name of such a brother. So she sends her son and daughter (the children’s parents) to visit them instead. She does this so that the grandchildren are left in her care and she could spend time with them during their summer vacations.

Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org

The children, to begin with, are thoroughly modern and westernized. They walk around in their jeans and t-shirts with American logos. They are in awe of their rich American cousins and wishes to spend their vacation at Hawaii. But a trip to the nearby Nagasaki changes their attitude to America. They realize that their grandfather had died in the bombing while working at a local school. They also realize how tough it must have been for their grandmother to lead life from then on as a single mother of two. The children grow increasingly resentful of America. They begin to feel and understand an event which they had known only through text books and as numbers.

The grandmother relives her past by way telling stories of it to her grandchildren. Through her stories, which are sometimes factual and sometimes mythical, she introduces the children to the beauty of the land and the sufferings of people in the aftermath of the bombing. She says that she was resentful towards America for a long time but has now taken the attitude that the real blame should go to War and not to the country. She is of the opinion that countries will do anything to win wars.

Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org

The grandmother’s children harbor no ill wills whatsoever to the Americans. They are in fact happy to have found a rich relative back in Hawaii. They scheme and plan to get the grandmother to go to the US so that they can take up jobs at their cousin’s pineapple factory. They seem to neither care nor have any great feeling for the tragedy and have almost forgotten it.

The grandmother ultimately relents to visiting Hawaii when her brother and his son Clark (half Japanese and half Caucasian) request her repeatedly to visit them. She however says that she will visit only after the anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing, her husband’s death anniversary as well. This takes the American family by surprise as they had not known that the grandmother’s husband had died in the bombing. The grandmother’s own children feel that their mother had squandered a golden opportunity for them. They felt that the American do not like to reminded of the event.

Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org

Clark however turns out to be polite and apologetic about the bombing. He manages to strike a bond with the grandmother and even participates in the memorial service on the day of the anniversary. His stay is cut short when the news of his father’s death reaches. The grandmother too remembers her brother at that time and is devastated that she did not visit him earlier. This has an effect on her mental stability and a thunderstorm soon afterwards have her reliving the horrors of that fateful day when the atom bomb was dropped in Nagasaki.

Kurosawa tries to show the impact of the bomb on the lives of the people who survived it. Some of the scenes are poignant and moving. The sequences were the children learn more about the bombing, where the survivors pay tribute to their classmates, the utter destruction symbolized by the twisted metal of a jungle gym in the school yard all stay with you even after you have watched the movie.

Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org

But that is not to say that the movie is a masterpiece. I found the movie really tough to watch as the drama was a bit too low key and the pace a bit too slow for my liking. There is a definite bias in Kurosawa’s interpretation of the event. There is a definite finger pointing towards the Americans as being responsible for dropping the bomb while conveniently forgetting the events leading up to it. One can argue that the old lady does not harbor any resentment towards the Americans. But even those moments are made to be less profound than the accusatory moments.

I am one of those who strongly believe that the master’s later works pales in comparison with his earlier ones. Rhapsody in August however still shows glimpses of Kurosawa’s mastery over the medium. Nobody can capture beauty or take a shot that is imprinted in your mind for the rest of your life as Kurosawa can. It just proves that a genius and his work will always be remembered just like major events. No matter how good or bad they are.

Reviews of Akira Kurosawa's Major works

Akira Kurosawa

Rashomon (1950)

Ikiru (1952)

Seven Samurai (1954)

Hidden Fortress (1958)

Yojimbo (1961)

High And Low (1963)

Red Beard (1965)

Kagemusha (1980)

Ran (1985)

Rhapsody In August (1991)

Biodiesel and Elephants

Biodiesel to be cheaper by the grace of Elephants !!!

Elephant image courtsey: geocities.com

Elephant dung contains a fungus..........

Dung, no more shit! It is amorphous gold.

Please don’t ask questions like who, when, how and where, these are only known to the “Reuters” who reported it. Somewhere in Netherlands (as per the reporters) most probably on last Thursday some scientist/s (names not released) has/have discovered a sort of fungus in the elephant dung which is capable of digesting (disintegrating in to basic components) plant cellulose and making it fit to take part in the fermentation process. It is said that this process will be useful in producing bio-fuels. The significance of this discovery (if the report is confirmed) is discussed in the following paragraph.

20% v/s 80%.

Elephant and dung image courtsey: gallery.hd.org

At present when biofuels are produced from biomass like sugarcane, corn etc. In the conventional process as 80 percent of the materials being made of cellulose (since it does not breaks down) go waste as cellulose as such does not take part in fermentation process. At present there is no economically viable process to disintegrate plant cellulose and making it to take part in the process of fermentation. In sugarcane producing countries like Brazil and India this waste is used as fuel or sent to paper mills to be crushed in to pulp.

Biodiesel can be made 50% cheaper.

Sugar cane image courtsey: sparror.cubecinema.com

The discovery of this fungus in the elephant dung may be capable of millions of tonnes of waste in to ethanol thereby adding much value to the sugarcane or corn. Ultimately the farmers are benefited as their produce fetching greater price. Users of biofuels may get this product in half the price even if farmers are paid more and the refiners get better margin. The difference is not small 80% of the waste which is burnt raw gets converted in to much sought after biofuel v/s just 20% at present. Burning cane waste for power may turn similar to burning currency notes for the purpose in the near future.

Waste is wealth.

The significance of this discovery is not limited in just sugarcane or sweet potato but the entire biomass like sawdust, dry leaf that litters the roads, straw etc may be turning in to money spinners and disposing of the street waste may be no more the burden on the part of the local bodies as they will not be littered, even if a piece of paper dropped carelessly may be grabbed by the onlooker! The following is a true story which will happen in 20^th May 2010!

The story of a just policeman!

Policeman image courtsey: marcorsyscom.usmc.mil

Location M.G. Road Ernakulam, Kerala state, India, time 9-30 in the morning, street crowded as usual. An old man found quarreling with a one middle aged person; reason came to be known as the middle-aged took some paper lost by the old man. The loser claiming that the waste paper belonged to him which he had accidentally dropped. As the quarrel progresses policeman interferes taking possession of the paper driving both claimants away by threats of dire consequences. When claimants vanish the policeman puts it his in his pocket go home and tells his wife “Darling, I managed a piece of waste paper today let’s make some biofuel and fill our scooter”.

Another true story one week after publishing the blog.

Blogger image courtsey: nadadotcom.com

The author sitting in his living room sees some people crowded in the neighborhood, he went to see what was going on and found somebody stirring in a large copper vessel (which contained some dry leaves put in water) on the stove. On enquiry I came to know that he was making biofuel after reading my blog (the author felt a sense of pride as it was a good thing to have admirers along with some fear as if his experiment fails anything could happen!). That man also pointed to the elephant dung he has stocked for use! His plan was simple when the water is boiled let it cool add some dung and leave the concoction to ferment for one week, boil collect the vapor in a bottle and pour it in the car.

Witch potion maker image courtsey: printactivities.com

Every elephant has his day!

Elephants are very much related with Indian cultural celebrations like temple festivals, in these programs they are taken to temples to temples thereby inflicting much sufferings in to these poor animals. If they are kept for their dung at least they may better fed (as more feeds mean more dung!). It may be elephant’s day coming as the old adage goes “every elephant has his day”.

The Hidden Fortress

A Simple Entertainer by Akira Kurosawa

Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org

Akira Kurosawa’s movies always carried some meaning in them. Most of the times he was using his movies as a medium to convey some meaningful message. This is why if you look down the list of movies that he had made ‘Hidden Fortress’ is sure to stand out. This is because for once Kurosawa wanted to have fun with it all and wanted everyone who watched it to have fun too. So you get ‘The Hidden Fortress’ (The Japanese title is Kakushi toride no san akunin meaning the three villains of the hidden fortress) which is an action/adventure/comedy.

The story is narrated almost entirely from the point of view of two peasants Tahei and Matakishi. They had set out to join a three way war between rival clans: Akizuki, Hayakawa and Yamana. But unfortunately they reached the war too late and to top their misery they are mistaken to be members of the defeated Akizuki by the victorious Yamana and are made to dig graves all day for the dead. They somehow manage to escape from there and that is when we meet them.

Image Courtesy: thegline.com

During their travels they discover that a reward has been set for the head of the Akizuki Princess Yuki. They also discover by chance some gold hidden within firewood which they understand to be the Royal Property of Akizuki. During their efforts to discover more gold they meet a man who acts as a bully. They tell him that they are trying to get to Hayakawa by passing right through Yamana as they believe that it would be easier to cross the borders of Akizuki-Yamana and Yamana-Hayakawa than crossing the borders of Akizuki-Hayakawa.

The bully is impressed with this idea and reveals himself to be General Rokurota Makabe, a great samurai general of Akizuki. The peasants however do not believe him. They also encounter a beautiful 16 year old girl whom the General claims as his woman and also informs them that she is mute. In reality she is Princess Yuki and the General had instructed her not to speak because her imperious manner of speech would give her away.

The general gets the peasants to work for him and carry the load of firewood and gold by inciting their greed. He promises them an equal share of the gold and that’s what drives them to go through the arduous journey ahead. His real intention is to rebuild the Akizuki clan using the gold as seed money. Thus the small group sets off on their journey through enemy lines and the rest of the movie is about their adventures during the same.

Image Courtesy: lovehkfilm.com

Unlike in his earlier movies Kurosawa does not spend too much time in developing the characters. He therefore tells the movie from the point of view of the two peasants. This frees him from the necessity of developing the characters and just concentrating on their adventures. There is no great character shift either. The General is all heroic, the princess is all regal and brash, and the peasants are bumbling fools right through to the very end. Maybe one can argue that the peasants become better friends and have gotten a hold on their greed by the end of the movie. But even that is not emphasized because we see that these two guys were always good friends and the reward that they get in the end is too insignificant to be fighting over.

The movie also has elements of ‘The prince and the Pauper’. The princess, by donning the disguise of a commoner is able to see the life of normal people in a better light. In the princess’s own words, “I was able to see the beauty and the ugliness of man”. She is also able to realize the importance of kindness to others. The slave girl that she rescues later protects her and is even ready to sacrifice herself for her. She is even able to change the mind of General Hyoe Tadokoro, whose life General Makabe had spared after a duel in which Makabe had defeated Tadokoro. Tadokoro later on helps them escape and even joins their ranks.

Image Courtesy: thegline.org

Toshiro Mifune in this movie is majestic. After Seven Samurai he now gets a chance to play an over the top character. The difference here is that he is the hero who is all brave and valor instead of being the foolish, hooting farmer in Seven Samurai. His presence electrifies the screen and you just can’t take your eyes off him.

This is an out and out fun movie. George Lucas has said many times that his Star Wars was inspired by this movie. A direct reference can be found in the similarities of the characters of Tahei and Matakishi with R2D2 and C3P0. The movie has everything in it; action, adventure, comedy and drama. Even the way the group deals their troubles along the way has everything in it. They have to rely on their cunning, valor and sometimes even on plain dumb luck to get through. The cinematography of this movie is absolutely stunning for its era. Overall the master lets his hair down and wants us to do the same while watching this movie.

Reviews of Akira Kurosawa's Major works

Akira Kurosawa

Rashomon (1950)

Ikiru (1952)

Seven Samurai (1954)

Hidden Fortress (1958)

Yojimbo (1961)

High And Low (1963)

Red Beard (1965)

Kagemusha (1980)

Ran (1985)

Rhapsody In August (1991)