Kurosawa Akira (cont.)

[Ted Mills]

>I am interested to know if fellow list members have seen the
>several documentaties on Kurosawa.  There is one made by Chris Marker.
>Obayashi made in 1990 a piece on the making of Dreams available on
>video.  I wonder if these films add to our appreciation of Kurosawa.

I have what seems to be a 10th generation dub of Marker's "A.K." shot
during the filming of "Ran." As with the other Marker documentaries I've
watched (Tokyo Days, Sunday in Peking, and Sans Soleil) "A.K." is more
about Marker and his obsessions (Asia, memory, film itself) than its
subject. Kurosawa is never seen in any typical talking head interview
(whether he refused to give one is unsaid), but shown directing and walking
about the exterior sets on the side of Fuji, while his tales of childhood
are relayed to us by shots of a tape recorder playing his interview (with
Marker?). The desolate location and the long duration of the shots
emphasizes the strange business of making a film (at times it feels like an
anthropological study). It really stood in opposition in feeling to
"Something Like an Autobiography" which I had recently finished reading.
Kurosawa's book makes his shoots sound warm and friendly, but "A.K." feels
very earnest, his trusty crew with many film's experience under their belts
working with A.K. as a sort of secret group. It's certainly fascinating,
but I got very little idea about the man himself, as opposed to a
traditional "behind the scenes" documentary.

Ted

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Ted Mills
Santa Barbara, CA                         "You're as strong as
Stoopid ol' USA                             your weakest link"
>>mills at rain.org<<                              - Mark E. Smith

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