XXI. The 30 Films of Akira Kurosawa: Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) [1954] (by Lewis Saul)] (Part 1)

Ed note:  For the next several weeks, composer and film aficionado Lewis Saul has agreed to supply us with in-depth commentary about the films of Akira Kurosawa, now showing in an extended festival at the Film Forum. Even if you're unable to stop by the Forum, we think Lew's insights will deepen your appreciation of these important movies.

Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) [1954]

PLAYING on January 29th and 30th at The Film Forum

This is Kurosawa's 14th film.

Two hundred and seven minutes is 3:27. If AK did his job, it will seem like a very short three-and-a-half hours!

Galbraith: "A 16th century rural farming village learns bandits plan to invade and steal their crop. They hire seven ronin to protect them: Kambei (Takashi Shimura), their leader; Kikuchiyo (Mifune), a wild but brave warrior; Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), a samurai with limited ability but whose affability will boost morale; Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi), an expert swordsman; Shichiroji (Daisuke Katô), who with Kambei survived many battles; Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), a wise samurai; and Katsushiro (Isao Kimura), disciple to Kambei. The samurai teach the farmers how to protect themselves, and the bandits are vanquished. But the price of freedom is heavy. Homes are lost and several farmers die in the attacks, as do four of the samurai." [p. 173].

Shinobu Hashimoto (eight films with AK) and Hideo Oguni (12) were as usual excellent collaborators! "After Ikiru," says Hashimoto in Galbraith, "we wanted to write a screenplay about a single samurai. We decided to show one day of a samurai's life, from the time that he woke up, prayed with incense, spent time with his family, went to the castle, and so on. At one point during the day he would make some kind of mistake, and at the end of the story he would commit seppuku" [p. 170].

After working on this for some time (along with Producer Sôjirô Motoki, and Production Supervisor, Hiroshi Nezu), Hashimoto told Kurosawa that he didn't think the idea would work. Kurosawa was furious about the time lost, but thankfully Hashimoto's ideas went into his script for the incredible 1962 Kobayashi film Seppuku (Harakiri).

The new Criterion DVD is a spectacular achievement:

• DISC ONE: The film, part I
• • All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer with an optional Dolby surround soundtrack;
  • Two audio commentaries: one by film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie; and one by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck;
  • Theatrical trailers and teaser;
  • Gallery of rare posters and behind-the-scenes and production stills;
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
• DISC TWO: The film, part II
• • All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer with an optional Dolby surround soundtrack;
  • A 50-minute documentary on the making of Seven Samurai, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
• DISC THREE: The supplements
• • My Life in Cinema, a two-hour video conversation between Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima from 1993, produced by the Directors Guild of Japan;
  • "Seven Samurai"; Origins and Influences, a new documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that impacted Kurosawa's masterpiece
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Kenneth Turan, Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, and Stuart Galbraith IV; tributes from Arthur Penn and Sideny Lumet; and a reminisence by Toshirô Mifune

Working our way backwards, the booklet itself is really a thing of beauty: Turan's essay concerns the epic nature of this production. For example, in the six weeks at the ryokan (inn), they took no phone calls and had no visitors (except Mifune). "Preproduction lasted three months and the film's 148 shooting days were spread out over an entire year, four times the span that was originally budgeted" [p. 10].

Cowie speaks of the film "grammar" of the Western. And did Kurosawa's hero, John Ford, actually pay a bit of homage back to the "student"?? -- "The burial of the samurai Heihachi takes place on a hillside, with the mourners silhouetted against the sky like those in many a Ford western. Indeed, Wayne's irascible reaction to the funeral service for his brother and sister-in-law in The Searchers (1956) is so similar to Mifune's at Heihachi's burial that it's possible Ford was influenced by Kurosawa's scene, shot almost three years earlier" [p. 14].

Kemp speaks of life in 16th century Japan, while Chiao on Kurosawa's early influences.

Silver's essay is entitled "Kurosawa's Pictorial Approach to Seven Samurai" -- " ... using an elaborate  pictorialism, Kurosawa is able to externalize and personify certain otherwise abstract relationships in his narratives" [p. 27]. Or as Richie said in his commentary to Rashômon: "Composition can forward meaning."

My man Galbraith's essay is about all the amazing film released in 1954. His conclusion foresees the up-and-coming disaster in well-written prose: " ... Toho produced a lavish, oversize sales book in English prominently featuring Mifune as Kikuchiyo, sword in hand, captured in a midair pose, flush with excitement for the battle to come, much like the Japanese film industry at large" [p. 35].

The Penn and Lumet tributes are very nice, and the Mifune reminisence is filled with terrific anecdotes from the shoot.

• After the initial script idea didn't work out, the next one also was considered to be unusable. It was AK himself, while looking over some of their research material, came across a small article about a real-life incident in which peasant farmers hired samurai to protect their village from bandits.
• Kurosawa created an actual registry of 23 village families, making up a total population of 101. He made up a family tree and gave copies to the extras, whom he instructed to work and live together like real families during production.
• Yoshio Tsuchiya (Rikichi) was a medical student turned stage actor who was visiting Toho one day when he heard about the audition for this role. "Frankly, I'd rather see films than be in them, and the very day of the audition I skipped it and went to a pachinko parlor. About the time the auditions were finished I went back to the studio and went to the lavatory. There was this huge guy in the urinal next to me doing his thing. A few days later I was invited by Toho to meet with Mr. Kurosawa, and when I met him, he turned out to be the big guy in the men's room!" [p. 182].
• This was Tsuchiya's first film. "I had no idea how long it took to shoot a movie and asked a friend who said he thought about a month -- but since this was Kurosawa, perhaps two months. Two months passed. Three months passed. We still had a lot to shoot. I started to want to leave and go mountain climbing. I told the chief of the acting section that I wanted to take ten days off. He panicked and told the studio head, and the studio head told Mr. Kurosawa. Kurosawa said, 'what are you thinking?! You can't run off and do anything like that on your own. Everybody is working hard.' He taught me the rules of filmmaking. He also understood the attraction of going mountain climbing more than anyone else. Naturally, we started talking about mountains. A few days later he said, 'why don't you stay at my house? You can stay there as long as you'd like. And there will be good food there for you to eat.' I said, 'But ... I have my own house. Besides, I'm trying not to gain any weight.' 'No! I'm worried about your leaving me. You can go to the studio with me each day. Yes. It is better'" [pp. 182-3].
• He lived with AK for nearly two years.You probably know Kurosawa's nickname was "Tenno" or "The Emperor." Apparently, he even bossed his father-in-law around: "I was aware I was doing nothing around the house and tried to help out sometimes. Mr. Kurosawa said, 'No, talk with me instead,' and he never let me do anything. I saw Yoko (AK's wife)'s father sweeping in the garden. I said, "I should be doing this.' Mr. Kurosawa said to me, 'No, he needs the exercise.' [p. 183].
• If you don't think Bokuzen Hidari (Yohei) is hilarious, maybe this will make you laugh:
  
  
  
• Ultimately, five separate locations stood in for the village.
• Four weeks of rehearsal; shooting began on May 27, 1953 with the fight between Rikichi and Manzo (Kamatari Fujiwara) at about the 0:17:00 mark ...
• Production difficulties: scheduled to wrap on August 18, 1953, less than one-third of the script had been shot, and Kurosawa had already gone through the entire budget (probably around $150,000 to $200,000) ...
• ... it seemed that there were three possibilities: 1) that Toho would back Kurosawa and give him more time and money; 2) that they would replace him with a hack director (Kunio Watanabe); or 3) shelve the film indefinitely.
• Zen-like, AK went fishing in the Tama River where Minoru Chiaki came to visit, finding his good friend and boss strangely calm. "Toho isn't going to waste the money they've already spent," he told Chiaki. "They're going to listen to me as long as my movies keep making money" [p. 187].
• As 1954 began, Toho was wondering if this film would ever be completed. They tried pressuring Kurosawa to no avail. He had a brilliant plan up his sleeve -- he delayed shooting the final battle until the last days of the production. 'I waited until the end to shoot the climax on purpose,' he said. 'I knew Toho would have said, 'That's it. You're done shooting,' even if I had only shot a portion of the scene'" [p. 188].
• A classic tale of pre-CGI filmmaking:
• • "Production resumed on October 3rd. While shooting the battle at the bandit fort, Toho's publicity department had invited some reporters to watch the filming, without telling Kurosawa! Chairs were set up some distance from the set, which was about to go up in flames. Naturally, he was furious. 'You idiots,' he screamed at the publicity guys. 'Show them the completed picture! You're not supposed to show it to them while we're making it!' Throwing his script down, he stormed off the set. The next morning he returned, but the weather had become dry. Tsuchiya had to approach the flames, desperate to rescue his kidnapped wife from the burning shack. He knew something was wrong -- the fire spread way too quickly ... the heat was so intense. Nevertheless, he withstood the flames until they became unbearable. Kurosawa, meanwhile, was standing next to the camera some distance away and could only see that Tsuchiya was missing his marks! As the cameras rolled in this 'one-take' situation, Tsuchiya jumped into the pond and burst into tears. Kurosawa yelled 'Cut!' while Tsuchiya sobbed uncontrollably as the set burned to the ground. He had become so devoted to Kurosawa and the film that he was racked with guilt over spoiling the take. 'While I was telling him it was okay,' Kurosawa said, 'his face began to swell -- it was blistering up with burns'" [pp. 187-8].
• 0:00:32 (Disc 1). See the little circle within a circle and the numbers "988" (probably a "this film passed code" stamp, I imagine)? I believe Criterion adapted this and used it as a little logo for the DVD with a similar circle within a circle which says: "a film by Akira Kurosawa" in both languages.
• There are not enough superlatives to describe Fumio Hayasaka's magnificent score, one of his last before he died. The only problem occurs when the director thinks he knows better than the composer (see below).
• The opening music -- pounding, insistent drums, vaguely imitating the taiko. I also hear a piano in there, accompanying the lowest drum tones ... what is great is that the music never moves into any kind of melodic "overture-y"-type of music for the remainder of the credit sequence -- only the continuous sinister thumping!
• 0:00:56. A measure of Kurosawa's deep respect for Hayasaka. It is believed that this is the first time a Japanese film composer ever received a stand-alone credit.
• After that, the credit sequence often strikes me as somewhat bizarre. Shimura follows Mifune ... well, I guess that can't be helped; but third in the credits is
• 0:01:18. Keiko Tsushima (her only film with AK) -- Shino, an important role to be sure -- but third most important? Even stranger is
• 0:01:23. Yukiko Shimazaki (also sole appearance in an AK movie) (Rikichi's wife) who follows at fourth -- wait a 'sec -- she has zero dialogue, and screams a few times.
• I love the diagonal design of the Japanese characters -- a sensational look to kick off a pretty sensational film!
• 0:04:02. The first overlook of the village -- an incredible shot. We can see fires coming from several of the dwellings, and future axial cuts will provide even more detail -- emphasizing that there are people living there, although we have not yet met them.
• 0:06:25. "So we can kill defeated samurai but not bandits?" Rikichi says to Manzo, starting up an argument which we really do not understand first time through. Re-watching Kurosawa is such a rich experience for moments like these. Much later we will see what they're talking about ...
• 0:06:35. And look who breaks up the fight! -- Mosuke (Yoshio Kosugi), saying "this is no time to fight amongst ourselves." He himself will later start a fight amongst his own people.
• 0:07:17. Another mystery. This lovely crane shot shows Rikichi continuing his fight with Manzo. "Have you forgotten how low we had to stoop for the rice we're eating now?" The group immediately stops the whimpering and remains silent as Rikichi leaves the group for his own space. What's going on? We won't find out for quite some time, actually ...
• 0:08:08. This male chorus sounds very Russian and tragic. It seems to re-occur at moments of ominous happenings ...
• 0:08:37. As the group crosses the bridge, Hayasaka adds brass to the voices -- prefiguring the "samurai theme" coming up soon!
• 0:08:48. Note the lovely triple axial cut on the water wheel (#2 at 0:08:52 and #3 at 0:08:55).
• 0:08:57. Kokuten Kôdô is Gisaku, the old man. The music stops, replaced by the sound of the thumping of the water wheel. The younger farmers continue to argue off-camera, as Gisaku sits stoically.
• 0:10:27. Look carefully. The second samurai, moving left to right, is a future superstar -- Tatsuya Nakadai in his very first film appearance! Hayasaka's introduces a variant of the upcoming "samurai theme."
• 0:11:10. The "how-dare-you samurai" is Gen Shimizu. If there is a #1 Kurosawa theme, I would paraphrase it down to "never give up!" The hopeful music is shut off and -- humiliated -- the farmers are back to the Russian male choir music ...
• 0:12:38. After our first rain, we follow the farmers into their little shack. The only sounds are the long, single gong-like notes strummed by the blind minstrel (Sôjin Kamiyama [what a face! he was in 50 films between 1917 and 1930!]).
• 0:15:48. Although I can't quite figure out his name, character or real, the samurai who wakes up and speaks to the farmers is the same guy who gets killed in the duel with Kyuzo. I'm almost certain. I could be wrong.
• 0:17:31. Rikichi and Manzo are at it again! We finally learn something about last year's deal with the bandits, as Rikichi asks Manzo if he is willing to "give them" his daughter?
• 0:18:17. A quick observation I've made about a particular Kurosawa technique. Here is our introduction to the first samurai -- Kambei -- and I suppose if I asked you right now if you remember his entrance -- and you really think you remember this film -- you will probably (unless you're a complete geek like me!) remember him entering through a passageway, facing the camera! But actually, the first time we see him is in the cut previous to this one, as several of the four farmers are reacting to his sudden presence! We just see his back for a moment before Kurosawa reverses the angle 180 degrees, and then follows him over to where he sits to begin his shaving routine.
• The fact is, Kurosawa seems to use this technique (quickly showing a movement, motion or action in the previous cut and then letting the action or motion play out in the next one) with great frequency. (I first noticed this in the cuts where Yusa throws the gun at Murakami in Nora inu [Stray Dog] {1949}).
• 0:18:32. The grandfather of the kidnapped boy (interestingly -- this detailed story has absolutely nothing to do with the eventual story!) has just handed Kambei a razor. Without any hesitation, the ronin cuts off his topknot. For most samurai, this would be the equivalent of committing suicide (see Seppuku) ...
• 0:19:26. A gorgeous shot which Kurosawa uses to introduce us to the second samurai! It begins as a 6-shot, with a back row of Yohei, Mosuke, and two extras; in front, Manzo and Rikichi -- all staring at Kambei, towards the camera. Suddenly, Katsushiro walks into the back row of the shot. The woman extra tells Mosuke about the kidnapped child and the group breaks up.
• Another effective axial cut -- this time a double -- at 0:19:56 and 0:20:02, as Kurosawa shows us the young samurai with the larger group and then pushes in for more intimacy! Very effective, although he usually does it in threes.
• 0:21:10. The third samurai is introduced. (Notice the inverted formula: both the second and third samurai we meet are the last two to join the group!) We see Kikuchiyo from the back, but he quickly turns around as he already senses that Katsushiro is going to annoy him for the rest of the film! (he bares his teeth!)
• 0:21:44 begins a series of ECUs which give us non-verbal clues to the personalities of the two ronin.
• "Composition can forward meaning." I mentioned this sublime phrase by Donald Richie in his commentary to Rashômon above. By "meaning," I believe he is including the way a filmmaker develops a character's personality, too. I believe the technical axial cuts I am about to describe, also forward the meaning as composition in a deeply personal way.
• 0:22:26. Kikuchiyo pushes his way through two layers of people (0:22:29), kicks over a bucket and sits down to watch Kambei, who is now at the door of the shack where the kidnapper is holding the child. An axial cut (0:22:39) completely humanizes Kambei -- who truly looks like a monk now -- and takes Kikuchiyo out of the frame.
• The kidnapper (Eijirô Tôno, seven films, mostly much bigger roles than this one!) has been freaking out and Kambei has now got the door open and is about to throw in the rice balls.
• 0:23:11. Now in a triple axial cut, Kurosawa will show us what kind of impression Kambei is making on everyone else (particularly Kikuchiyo, who will be literally left speechless by Kambei's heroics!) This first cut shows Kikuchiyo in the foreground, with at least 30 people in the background, including Katsushiro.
• 0:23:14. The second cut moves past Kikuchiyo and puts the crowd in sharp focus;
• 0:23:15. The third cut moves tight on 12 people -- the priest and five of our farmers. Everyone is anxious for a good outcome.
• This entire irrelevant-to-plot sequence is so beautifully filmed and actually develops quite a bit of character for the two big leads (Shimura and Mifune).
• 0:25:00. Immediately following a wipe left, Kambei rubs his bald head for the first time. He will do it nine more times throughout the course of the film. It is a very naturalistic gesture that is frequently commented on and Kurosawa made sure that Shimura's hair grew out in continuity.
• 0:25:43. Second time.
• 0:27:00. Kikuchiyo pushes his way forward to Kambei and Hayasaka finally brings out the Kikuchiyo "theme" (sax and bongos). His phallic sword seems poised to smash the camera lens (no danger, telephoto)!
• 0:28:40. We never saw it happen the first time, but the gambler (Jun Tatara) has told us of how the farmers fed a samurai a meal of rice and sake and then were turned down. As they cook up a pot of rice, he tells them a repeat performance is in the works with this new one.
• 0:31:09. And it seems that it is! Although Kurosawa shows us Kambei thinking it over respectfully, he ultimately declines, saying: 1) trustworthy samurai are hard to find; 2) all you have is food to offer as payment; and 3) only those who want to fight "for the hell of it" will join. He adds his own personal reasons for turning them down: "I'm sick of fighting. Age, I suppose." Rikichi cries as Kambei gets ready to leave. The Russian male choir music sneaks up for the third time.
• 0:32:09. Note how the gambler's voice quakes with emotion at the dynamic in play. He seems to genuinely feel for the farmers, in direct opposition to his insulting speech. And Kambei, in turn, is completely moved by the fact that the farmers are eating millet in order to feed samurai.
• 0:33:16. Two of the four farmers have returned (Mosuke and Manzo) and are telling the others about the samurai. How many? "Shichinin!" says Mosuke. "Shichinin!" echoes the crowd. Wipe left ...
• 0:33:31. "Hmm. Shichinin!" says the old man. There is something wonderful in the way the wipe interrupts the wonderment in the three different pronouncements of this film's important number.
• 0:35:54. Kurosawa teases us. This man (Sôkichi Maki) certainly would have made a perfect member of the team -- but he declines.
• 0:38:25. Part of the reason for these timings is to show how carefully Kurosawa is developing the characters -- here we finally meet the fourth samurai -- Gorobei.
• 0:39:33. Kambei rubs his stubbly head again (#3).
• 0:40:24. Look how happy Yohei and Rikichi are! (Gorobei is strong.)
• 0:40:31. Look how unhappy Yohei and Rikichi are! (The rice was stolen.)
• 0:41:53. ECU on rice kernels as coins bounce down. Very powerful.
• 0:42:39. Kambei returns with the fifth samurai -- his old pal, Shichiroji.
• 0:44:44. Gorobei discovers the sixth samurai -- Heihachi. Watch how he moves his katana away from Gorobei at one point! And then Gorobei mentions the bandits ...
• 0:45:56. ... and Heihachi completely misses the log!
• 0:47:56. "Too bad ... it's a draw." Although Kyuzo, our seventh samurai, disagrees, I tend to side with the "loser" -- it sure does look like a tie to me! (watch in slow motion as both sticks seem to land on the opponent's neck at the exact same instant. Perhaps Kyuzo ducked his) ... in any case, nearly an hour of movie is gone -- and we have finally met the last of our seven samurai, although it will still be a while more until he officially joins the group ...
• 0:49:38. The beautiful slow-motion shot of the losing ronin falling to the ground. Notice the birds chirping throughout this mostly silent scene!
• 0:49:51. As the huge crowd rushes towards the previous scene, a solitary woman holding her child rushes by in the opposite direction.
• 0:51:16. Heihachi introduces himself -- " ... a modest warrior of the 'Wood-Shop' school." Gorobei chuckles in amusement; Kambei doesn't laugh at all.
• 0:51:28. Notice the person (who?) making puppet shadows on the wall, as Kambei and Gorobei talk.
• 0:51:40. Kambei rubs his head again (#4). Listen to the solo cello playing the samurai theme! Poignant.
• I enjoy pointing out cuts which -- to my sensibilities -- are beautiful stand-alone film frame paintings! (Someone once said that you could take any random frame of an Ozu film and blow it up to make a beautiful painting!) If "composition can forward meaning" these cuts are absolutely pregnant with the stuff!
• 0:52:19. It begins with a sort of master six-shot -- in the foreground Rikichi frame left and Yohei frame right, in effect framing the other four: Shichiroji, Kambei (back to camera), Heihachi and Gorobei. Playing with his long lenses, he then breaks it down into three distinct sub-cuts:
• 0:52:23. A three-shot of Shichiroji, Gorobei and Heihachi;
• 0:52:27. A two-shot of Katsushiro and Kambei;
• 0:52:31. Return to the three-shot. At the very end of the cut, Heihachi looks up -- he sees something! (Hopefully, you sharp-eyed filmfans are noticing how Kurosawa does this all the time now! The characters always see what's going on before we do!)
• 0:52:39. So Kyuzo and Heihachi have made eye contact ~ but it doesn't seem as if anyone else in the room has noticed him! Some attentive samurai!
• 0:53:18. This cut lasts an eternity of 46 seconds -- a relatively long cut for this section -- as the rest of the group convinces Kambei to take Katsushiro along. Kambei rubs his head again (#5).
• 0:55:02. Katsushiro -- clearly Kambei's disciple already -- has the initiative to suggest the "stick test" on Kikuchiyo. Kambei rubs his head again (#6).
• 0:55:10. Another technique worth observing, as it becomes a regular feature of future Kurosawa films -- as here, filming an object (the sticks) in fairly tight close up and then having a human hand creep into the frame to pick it up.
• 0:55:11. And then a cut of great fluidity with much action. Katsushiro stands, the gambler ("first coolie", in most character descriptions) facing him, his back to the door; Yohei is holding his big rice jar (not one to repeat a mistake) and exits frame left, while the coolie is outraged and chases after Katsushiro frame right, now ready to pounce on the unsuspecting drunk "samurai" about to enter!
• 0:58:18. In what year does this film take place? Nowhere in the dialogue is the actual year ever stated. Nevertheless, it is a simple matter of addition in this case. The year is 1586. (1574 [Kikuchiyo's DOB, according to the document] + 12 [something about the counting of the "year" in the womb] = 1586.
• Notice how -- other than Kambei -- Heihachi is the only one who really seems to get the joke!
• This is another of those tempo-changing longer cuts -- 1:03 here! It plays out leisurely and ends with a delicious visual joke. Drunk Kikuchiyo is yelling "dumb samurai" and Kyuzo sees what's coming -- he quickly puts down his own sword, which he was holding in his right hand, and grabs Kikuchiyo's long sword just a tad before the drunken would-be ronin can reach it. A lengthy game of "keep-away" follows, scored with Kikuchiyo's theme ...
• This entire section is noteworthy for Nakai's delicious through-the-bars cinematography!
• 1:01:12. I'm not totally positive about what I'm looking it. Are those the tops of the fire-lookout-towers?
• 1:01:46. An establishing shot of the village is a powerful reminder of what this is really all about, and takes our minds back to the very opening scene ...
• 1:01:51. We are introduced to the lovely Shino from behind. [I love the "Star of David" on her skirt!]
• 1:01:57. A straight axial cut takes us in even closer! She sees something and turns around.
• 1:02:59. The 23-second cut of dad running after daughter with a razor is so many things at once: terrifying, amusing, ironic, selfish, paternal, etc. Can you not just taste the dust?
• 1:03:38. Again, I'm not certain of the name of either character or actor, but the farmer who is speaking to Mosuke (I believe he is the same one who sees the bandits from behind the wood in the very first scene) mentions the Manzo mystery again: " ... Manzo knows those samurai better than anyone." Mosuke runs into Manzo's house and we Manzo sitting quietly and Shino in the background, sobbing. This is the first of another triple axial cut!
• 1:04:20.#2 and
• 1:04:22. #3.
• 1:05:35. Here's another deservedly famous sequence -- and I keep thinking what Richie says: "composition can forward meaning." Here the eight men (six samurai, two farmers) are sitting high atop a rocky perch, eating rice balls. Chiaki looks as if he's about to slide into oblivion, doesn't he? And this is the director's "best friend"??!! In any case, he stands up and points at something.
• 1:05:42. It is Kikuchiyo, far below them. The waterfall adds to the visual excitement. He takes almost all of his clothes off (oh how those girls must have swooned in 1954!) and wades into the water.
• A fish story:
• • "We were on location at a spot called Aitsubo, in Nagaoka, on the Izu Peninsula, shooting the scene where the samurai are eating rice balls on the boulders above the waterfall, and Kikuchiyo, who has nothing to eat, jumps in and grabs a fish. We had to shoot from where he leaps in the river to where he emerges with the fish in a single cut, which meant that I had to carry the fish with me when I entered the water. The problem was, I was half-naked, and the only place I could hide it was in my loincloth. I was supposed to pull the fish from the river, shout, 'Caught it!' and laugh madly as I waved it in front of the samurai. The prop man warned me to hold the little funa carp we were using gently -- if I squeezed them too tight, he said, they would fight their way free. I was too gentle, though, and the first two fish slipped through my fingers. So I grabbed the next one good and hard and, sure enough, it thrashed once or twice and was gone, just like that. Since these were the only three fish we had brought, we had to stop filming. 'To hell with this,' I said. I grabbed a fishing pole and started waving it about, feverishly trying to catch one of the ones that got away. But hooking a fish is not that easy. Then in the midst of all the confusion the prop man raced back from Numazu with some more live fish that he'd brought, trout this time, since he hadn't been able to lay his hands on more funa. Well, quicker is better, we decided. If the funa thought they'd be headed back inside my loincloth, there was no way they'd let themselves be hooked!" [DVD booklet, pp. 47-8].
• 1:06:10. Watch Mifune's left hand -- perhaps it is here where he pulls out the fish. And so, fish in hand, he does indeed laugh madly as he waves it in front of the samurai. But -- remarkable, check it out -- Kurosawa's blocking -- even here in the wilderness -- is honed to perfection. Look how Mifune stands -- occupying the entire left half of the frame, while the samurai high above fill up the right half! Really splendid film composition ...
• 1:07:18. The village from high above -- even higher than the previous shots! However, you can still make out activity and tiny little human figures.
• 1:07:26. Rikichi shouts, the camera pans left just in time to watch the tiny little human villagers scurry like rats into their shacks. This is what "epic" means, I guess ...
• 1:09:44. Mifune says he improvised the kicking of the sand like a dog routine here ...
• 1:09:45. The sound of the thumping of the water wheel is again accompanied by the Russian male choir music.
• 1:11:28. One of favorite reactions in the film. As the old man sits, eyes closed in shame (Kambei had just pointed out that the villagers' reaction was a pretty big insult to even slightly desperate ronin such as themselves!), he suddenly is startled (along with everyone else) by the sound of the "bandit alarm."
• Wonderful fast cutting -- twenty plus cuts in the 80 seconds between the above and
• 1:12:37. Kambei: "Who sounded the alarm?"
• 1:12:48. "I did!" Is this the same cocky, overcome-with-awe wannabe from above who could not even speak to Kambei at first? No, Kikuchiyo may be 13 in name ~ but here he shows some real internal growth. Never looking up (literally) at the other "real" samurai for approval, he scolds the farmers for their ridiculous attitude. The audience feels this new-found confidence and realizes the huge initiative that Kikuchiyo just took. (Being from the farmer class himself, of course, he knew the result ahead of time.)
• 1:13:28. Finally, he turns towards the samurai, makes a face, and
• 1:13:39. They all laugh. They are finally seven. The film (73 minutes in) ... is about to begin!!!
• 1:14:55. Rikichi freaks out. "I don't have a wife." Continuing the mystery.
• 1:15:52. A fade-to-black opens up on a brand new angle of the village -- closer than previous shots, a slightly raised crane shot ... Katsushiro, Kambei and Gorobei enter the frame from the right (you know who else fills frames like that, come to think of it? -- Renoir!) and look at
• 1:16:00. The map! A wonderfully clever device which helps the (attentive) viewer make the visceral visual connections (take that, William Safire!) in future scenes where the filmic geometry is always crystal clear!
• 1:16:18. And then the whole process repeats itself. Again, the three enter the empty (humanless) frame and walk down the road just indicated by Shimura's finger on the map in the previous cut!
• 1:16:34 et seq. Writers and viewers often marvel at Kurosawa's ability to so sharply delineate the characters of these seven ronin and moments like these show how he actually does it -- visually! From the very beginning of this sequence, we can plainly see that Shichiroji is an extremely capable and resourceful man! Logs and twine have already been laid out on the ground as we see him and the farmers under his command coming in with a new load. The dialogue underscores all this -- but is the visual which makes us feel it! Kurosawa holds on Shichiroji and his men as they put down their loads ...
• 1:18:30. Katsushiro lingers for a moment to observe his hero, Kyuzo, teaching the recruits how to use a spear.
• 1:18:36. Reflects Katsushiro's POV.
• 1:19:57. Kambei rubs his head again (#7) -- it's really growing back!
• 1:20:26. Another gorgeous camera movement, worth mentioning. Kikuchiyo is drilling his troops -- spearmen -- as Kambei's group walks by behind the men. The camera faces the men at about a 45º angle. Presently, the camera moves another 45º and we are suddenly behind a large group of young children, watching Kikuchiyo in awe!
• 1:21:30. Kikuchiyo points to Yohei and says, "first in line -- step forward!" Yohei looks around, blankly. "I'm talking to you!" Kikuchiyo screams, pointing his sword for emphasis. Yohei (Bokuzen, brilliant -- see above!) looks to his left at the empty space, more confused than ever ...
• 1:21:37. Kikuchiyo's Yohei imitation has the kids laughing. Without a really kind word ever spoken between them (that we know of!), it is amazing how strongly we feel the developing affection between the two mismatched "warriors" -- but by the time Yohei dies, I am certain that the viewer feels it -- magnificently!
• 1:23:57. Musical disaster looms. Right before this cut begins, Hayasaka has some lovely, quiet harp plucking as background, as Katsushiro explores his feminine side! (Of course, I know that there is nothing unmasculine about flowers, especially in Asian cultures -- just the opposite actually!) He adds a flute, fluttering down a harmonic minor scale, as
• 1:24:22. Katsushiro (ECU) plops down into a bed of flowers (strangely reminiscent of the ending of Stray Dog). A bolero-type rhythm begins pulsing underneath -- we're still okay -- and a nice flourish as he
• 1:24:47. Sees Shino. He asks her if she's a girl. (Shakes her head, no.) Then he asks her if she's a boy. (She nods affirmatively. I always wished she had said "no" to that question, too -- just to see how Katsushiro would react! Okay, yes, now I'm getting silly.)
• 1:25:14. The bolero continues, quietly. "This is no time to be picking flowers!" he screams, brandishing the beautiful blossoms he had been carrying for the past minutes. He throws them to the ground with little evident sense of the irony involved. Instead, his instinct is to fight her (him) until he discovers her true sex (at 1:25:56, a nice overhead shot) ...
• 1:25:30. ... And here is the musical moment that is so jarring I cannot fail to wonder ... nevermind ... but listen and compare for yourselves: right at this point, Hayasaka has horns playing long, diminished chords over the underlying rhythm -- exactly as he wrote for the woodcutter's scene in Rashômon! It is not "similar" ~ it isn't "vaguely" like the music in the 1950 film -- it is exactly the same! Grr.
• The music also takes on the unfortunate insistent suggestion of sounding very close to Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé Suite.
• The entire "samurai booty" scene (1:26:41 to 1:33:05) is a perfect example of how the story is told not only through dialogue -- but through careful manipulations of the emotional weight of certain ways Kurosawa frames his compositions.
• Do the farmers and the samurai truly know the score at this point? The old man comes to see them and it seems clear that they do. Kambei smiles as he rubs his now stubby head again (#8).
• 1:38:15. Occasionally, Kurosawa seems compelled to introduce a new character who is so wretched-looking that we feel ashamed of ourselves for not remembering how absolutely cruel and horrible this entire situation really is! The old grandma does the trick.
• 1:39:19. Interesting: Kikuchiyo's reaction to grandma's suffering is almost exactly the same as Mifune's character Sutekuchi, the thief in Donzoko (The Lower Depths) [1957], (playing January 31st and February 1st) has to the suffering of Asa, the tinkerer's wife (Eiko Miyoshi, eight films with AK!) ...
• 1:42:12. Told of the need to give up the three houses and the mill, the old man reacts in horror. Up till now, he has been quite Zen-like in his composure towards everything ... but here Kurosawa shows us that every human being will react according to how he is affected by events. It is a powerful cinematic moment. Particularly because Kambei is holding a baby in his arms -- a nice parallel with a future scene ...
• 1:42:55. The first item on the IMDb goof page for this film concerns this scene -- the contributor claims that we can see dolly tracks behind the circled group. Indeed, it looks like dolly tracks, albeit crude ones -- parallel logs? -- but I see the same sort of thing in the very first scene when the farmers are all in a similar circle -- there it just looks like a pit with some logs lying there. Kurosawa (or should we say Teruyo Nogami, who was in charge of such things) very rarely made this kind of "mistake."
• 1:43:45. Remember this? "0:06:35. And look who breaks up the fight! -- Mosuke (Yoshio Kosugi), saying 'this is no time to fight amongst ourselves.'" Here he tries to start a mutiny!
• Kambei -- Mr. Nice Guy nearly without exception up until now -- does not react kindly towards Mosuke's shenanigans! The threat is unmistakable (as he returns his katana to its sheath!) and Kikuchiyo hammers home the point by straightening up one of his spearsmen before the FTB and
• 1:46:39. INTERMISSION.

Continue reading

Comments

[DL]

I saw "The Seven Samurai" this afternoon. Only one word for it: magnificent. (Right: Hollywood thought of that.) I loved every minute and was amazed that three and a half hours went by so fast. BTW it's been very interesting to go to the Film Forum for the early afternoon showings. There's a fine sense of camaraderie in the audience.

[Lewis Saul]

I truly hope this festival inspires folks to go out and check out all the great Kurosawa out there now -- when I first discovered him (1999), it was still difficult or impossible to see many of his films in any medium! The 3-disc DVD of this film is one of the great achievements in home video...

[DL]

Thanks for pointing out the "wipe" technique, Lew.

[George Young]

What does the rain signify?

[Lewis Saul]

Well, AK uses it a lot, doesn't he?

Basically it doesn't really "signify" anything -- but is just an important atmospheric element in creating a mood.

One thing AK said (can't find the page # right now) was that he really wanted to show something that most Hollywood westerns never showed -- obviously, SoCal and the West are pretty much sunny all the time (not that it NEVER rains!) ... but Kurosawa felt that the final showdown in a driving rain would better show the sloppy, ugly, muddy nature of war and how it is never tidy and things don't always go as planned! (people slip, swords break, etc.)

In other films, he uses it for different purposes -- but always DRAMATIC!