J340 Seven Samurai Discussion: Yoshimoto pp. 234-245
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Second 25 Years: |
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First 20 years of his career:1. Do you have an idea why the pattern of his output may have changed?
Yoshimoto p. 245 gives a clue:
Did Seven Samurai change the state of jidaigeki from the 1950s on?
Answer, in a word, NO:
Too big, too costly to become a business model for Toei. 210 million yen = 7 x the typical budget. So Toei abandoned jidaigeki and went with Yakuza films.
Kurosawa went on to make films for Toho amd had great box office success with Yojimbo (1961) and
Sanjuro (1962). But the market for jidaigeki was drying up. TV could do it cheaply and adequaltely if not in anyway well!!
But let us remember:
Director Frank Capra wrote that only the morally courageous are worthy of speaking to their fellow human beings for two hours in the dark. Kurosawa possessed this courage. His cinema is deeply formalistic, yet those forms are simply his means to an end that he regarded as paramount. That end is the recognition of common humanity and of common suffering. Few filmmakers had the drive, the overpowering sense of responsibility, and the gifts necessary to take viewers on this journey. Kurosawa did and, in doing so, he showed what cinema might yet accomplish.
Stephen Prince, The Warrior's Camera, p. 358.
And what a joy it was to see Seven Samurai on the big screen in Ford Hall. The quality of the Criterion Collection DVD was quite amazing.
But....
Some other Yoshimoto Questions:
2. Does Kurosawa adhere to the generic conventions of jidaigeki or "historical dramas"?
Not really; if he does incorporate some, he usually transposes them into dramatically new and different settings to foreground their generic conventions.
What does he gain from this?
A "metacritical" distance from/relationship with this popular genre. (235)
3. Kurosawa writes that "An action film is often an action film only for the sake of action. But what a wonderful thing if one can construct a grand action film without sacrificing the portrayal of humans." (240) How successful do you think he is?
In Kambei, we see an ideal leader; he doesn't care for all of the formalities of hierarchy or the symbols of his status. That is why we see him cut off his topknot and shave his head. The outward symbols fo his status do not define who he is; rather, it is what he carries within himself. And why he doesn't want Katsuhiro groveling to him and asking him to take him on as a disciple. He is humble--sure I've fought lots of battles, he says, but always on the losing side. That's the kinda guy I am; you don't want to be following me!
In Katsuhiro, an idealistic youth yet to experience the world. Gorobei is skilled, the first to join; he is street smart; he knows when an ambush is coming. He joins because Kambei interests him. he seeks the compnainship of others who can teach him something.
Heihachi, of the "Wood Chop" school of swordsmanship, is hillarious; he downplays all his skills but he lifts the spirits of everyone around him. Shichiroji, Kambei's former right-hand man, is a survivor who is loyal. Kyuzo is the impeccable master swordsman; but he is also a samurai with compassion. Kikuchiyo, the Mifune character, is part clown, part hero, but without him can the peasants and samurai become allies? Can the bridge be created?
These are all individuals with particular qualities which are never spelled out but visually presented to us through their actions. Often Kurosawa resorts to close up of faces when he wants to motions like desperation, joy, fear, determination. These close ups are wiondows to the character's interiority. (Yoshimoto, 242)
4. So Kurosawa radically transforms the genre incorporating new types of sword fights--he demythologizes legends in search of realism. His jidaigeki are not necessarily historically accurate but he creates the feel of authenticity by his attention to detail and to character. Jidaigeki can only be a fictious representation of the historical past, anyway, so it is not impossible to situate a film in the Sengoku or Warring States period which features individual heroism. And while the group is clearly paramount, there need to be individuals of strong character within it.
5. Kurosawa eschews the standard approach of choreographing swordfights as most jidaigeki did. They are not beautiful--they go by rather quickly; everything is fast, rapidily moving--but they suggest this is battle for survival. Yet Yoshimoto still finds moments of poetic beauty in these brutal battle scenes, Do you recall some?
Kambei standing upright firing his bow and arrow to fell a mounted bandit. How cool is he? And Kikuchiyo--and all of them--fighting in the rain and mud to the death. It is not glorious or heroic, perhaps; nor is it what we necessarily expect to see; but it is what Kurosawa shows us. Brilliantly!
6. Overall, thematically, what do you see going on in Seven Samurai?
Of course, in the end, Seven Samurai is about working together, fighting as a team that makes victory possible. (Remember the Lego Movie theme song: "Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you are part of a Team!") Obviously "groups" and "harmonious" working relationships are prized in Japan--there can be no "I" in this team--but it seems that in Kurosawa's worldview, harmoninous working groups are useless unless they are founded on strong individual characters who can act coureagously and compassionately.
Going back to the early postwar years, Kurosawa believed that individuals had to be strong in order to stand up against the power of the state so it cannot compel people to do things they know they should not, as had happened in the 1930s. In Seven Samurai he finds a comfort zone: compentent, skilled, intelligent, brave individuals joining forces to bring about a result that no single individual could accomplish. But the point is it is done so that people--including the "masses," the peasants, can live with more freedoms. Nobody should be oppressing them. So, going forward, Japan needs both individuality, strength, creativity and freedom.
7. The "people" or the "masses" in Kurosawa films. What do you see? What is the message?
In Ikiru, Kurosawa has "the people" represented by the women of Kuroe-cho who band together and come to City Hall to make their requests and ultimately, they wil not take NO for an answer. They assert themselves. In Seven Samurai, we the the "people" represented by the peasants who run here and there to look and observe, and are almost always captured in groups. Ultimately, this is their fight and they DO step up; the vicotry is theirs; they really win the day and the samurai understand that. In turn, the samurai act as they should with nobility, courage, and a sense of moral purpose. That is what Kurosawa demands of his heroes. Success/Victory demands sacrifice. The samurai were willing to do this.
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