AK

[Alan Kita]

I find it surprising how much lack of respect there is for Mr. Kurosawa
in Japan.  If there is respect for Mr. Kurosawa in comes in the context
of "great" American directors -- that Kurosawa served as a model for
Spielberg and Lucas, etc.

I understand there is definitely a big difference on how national cinema
is viewed in Japan and practically other cinemas in the world.  In
Japan, film doesn't seem to be considered a "highly artistic form" if
not even an artform.  Film also doesn't have the academic support. 
Although the U.S. film industry is the most commercial and capitalistic,
films could be considered art (enough to have museums, cinematheques,
etc., dedicated to their presentation) and even academic.

I think this is one of the reasons why Kurasawa' greatness can only be
defined in terms of how his influence had on the Euro-American cultures,
instead of how much of a pioneer he truly is in Japan.

if the people in Japan cannot see his films, or old films of any other
director, they will not appreciate the artistic values that can be found
in film.

Someday, there will be a National Theatre for Films - if only the
distribution system can get a clue.

Alan Kita
California USA

Yeh Yueh Yu wrote:
> 
> Re:  the death of Kurosawa.
> 
>         I too think it's strange that a list of 200+ subscribers doesn't have
> more to say about Kurosawa.  But that's because I include myself in the
> silent majority of people who really don't feel like saying anything.  A
> few possibilities for why this could be:
> 
>         -The subject of Kurosawa is just too big.  As HC Li mentioned, there
> are at least three Kurosawas--early, middle, and late--and attempts to
> sum up his career are bound to diminish his stature.  Besides, why stop
> at three?
> 
>         -Kurosawa scholarship has become something of a cottage industry, at
> least in America.  College professors go for tenure by submitting
> erudite books and articles about AK, and maybe there's a certain
> reticence about pronouncing on a film artist who has generated such
> voluminous  commentary (mea culpa).  But did he give us pleasure? That
> is the real question.
> 
>         -Even though he is dead, the culture-vultures are still circling.  If I
> were to swoop down and try to say something definitive about Kurosawa,
> it would count, in my mind, as formal acknowledgement of his death.
> (Maybe you too would rather not be a vulture.)  Grief is not the issue
> because I didn't know the man--though I did once shake his hand.  Yet
> for the time being, the appropriate response (for me) is silence.
> Regarding AK, enough from me.  Some other time, perhaps . . .
> 
> Darrell Davis
> Hong Kong