MovieChat Forums > Kumonosu-jô (1961) Discussion > how kurosawa shot it

how kurosawa shot it

posted 12 years ago by molypocho
4 replies | jump to latest

Just finished watching this.

My rating: 10

I am wondering if anyone knows how this film is perceived within the timeline of cinema. I know Breathless is considered a "landmark film", and Ebert states specifically: "Modern movies start here". I believe him. The acting found in Breathless feels like a leap beyond the fetters of theater, and the camera feels free, as though its frame does not draw the limit of existence: Instead the camera acts as a spectator within the world. But I just saw Throne of Blood, and it felt as though Kurosawa was one step ahead of his day's standards (Bergman, Fellini, Hitchcock), and perhaps a stepping stone to Breathless. He consistently wants his audience to ask what lies beyond the camera's frame. Anyone agree? I am no film historian and relatively ignorant in such areas as film's manifold progress. Please speak up!

[–] HaraldNordgren 12 years ago

There is no explicit starting point for modern cinema. It evolved continuously all the way from the beginning.

Early movies that showed that cinema could be much more than just filmed theater:
The General (1926): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017925/
Metropolis (1927): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/
Some scenes from The Crowd (1928): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018806/
The Man with a Movie Camera (1929): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019760/
À propos de Nice (1930): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021576/
Las Hurdes (1933): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023037/

[–] molypocho 12 years ago

Haven't seen any of those movies, so thanks for the sugestions. I agree.

[–] kalelabud 8 years ago

i might add "suspense" (1913). what a film!

[–] JoshuaDysart 12 years ago

It's fascinating that you see a comparison between the naturalism in the acting of Breathless versus the high NOH theatrics of Throne of Blood. I do agree that cinematically, Kurosawa was not just ahead of his time (strikingly so) with his camera work and editing style, but that he remains modern even today because his signature techniques are not wildly in practice. The telephoto lenses that compress the image into flat paintings. The axial cuts, the panning cuts. The motion. The French New Wave, with its jump cuts and stuff went on to become the order of the day in Hollywood. But Kurosawa's vision for the mechanics of how to shoot and cut a film remains unique. Cool post!