Hello to everyone who has been following this blog for many years - I'm still blogging, I'm just moving over to https://www.claireheffer.com/blog - please continue to follow and let me take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been kind enough to visit over the years. May the lists continue...
Showing posts with label rice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rice. Show all posts
Friday, 9 November 2018
Sunday, 23 September 2018
Tuesday, 19 September 2017
Thursday, 3 August 2017
Thursday, 29 June 2017
Saturday, 5 September 2015
FILM 1373: SEVEN SAMURAI
TRIVIA: Akira Kurosawa's original
idea for the film was to make it about a day in the life of a samurai,
beginning with him rising from bed and ending with him making some mistake that
required him to kill himself to save face. Despite a good deal of research, he
did not feel he had enough solid factual information to make the movie, but
came across an anecdote about a village hiring samurai to protect them and
decided to use that idea. Kurosawa wrote a complete dossier for each character
with a speaking role. In it were details about what they wore, their favorite
foods, their past history, their speaking habits and every other detail he
could think of about them. No other Japanese director had ever done this
before.
After months of research, all of
the seven major characters in the film wound up being based on historical
samurai.
First use of a scene which is now
commonplace in cinema: The approaching horde coming into view as they crest a
hilltop, specifically when Kikuchiyo sees the mounted bandits approaching.
This was the first film on which Akira Kurosawa used
multiple cameras, so he wouldn't interrupt the flow of the scenes and could
edit the film together as he pleased in post-production. He used the multiple
camera set-up on every subsequent film.
The movie is set in 1586. We learn
during the scroll scene that the real Kikuchiyo was born in year two of the
Tensho era (1574) and is now 13 years old. Japanese convention considered a
child to be one year old when he was born and advanced his age one year each
new year.
Filming had to be stopped several
times due to a shortage of horses for the final battle sequences.
The three writers, Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni, wrote the
final script over 45 days taking no phone calls or visitors, with few
exceptions. The constant writing took a toll on their bodies and sickness was
rampant in post-war Japan; at one time Kurosawa wound up in the hospital with
roundworms.
The favorite film of producer George Lucas.
Director Trademark: Akira Kurosawa:
[names] Kikuchiyo is a girl's name made up of two parts, like Betty Sue
in America. That's why the samurai laugh so hard at the name. Obviously ToshirĂ´ Mifune's character
is illiterate, and it's a very subtle thing that the other samurai choose to
tease him about the age and not choosing a girl's name! Kiku translates to
Chrysanthemum and Chiyo to one thousand generations. This is in fact one of
several occasions in which Mifune's character in a Kurosawa film has a name
composed of a plant and a number of years.
Sunday, 19 October 2014
FILM 1224: GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES
TRIVIA: Isao Takahata was the only
living animator involved on the project who had survived bomb blasts.
The fruit drops that Setsuko eats
were made by the Sakuma Confectionary Company, which in real life was
established in 1949 (four years after the events in this movie took place). A
few years ago, Sakuma released limited edition tin cans that resembled the one
seen in the movie. Some variations of these tins also had a picture of Setsuko
looking through her tin for the last drop.
This is the only Ghibili theatrical
feature film to not be part of the Disney-Tokuma deal.
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
Thursday, 27 March 2014
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Monday, 8 July 2013
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Saturday, 13 April 2013
Thursday, 13 September 2012
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