MovieChat Forums > Akahige (1968) Discussion > The well shot

The well shot

posted 18 years ago by araber42
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I was fortunate enough to see this a couple years ago at a Kurosawa festival in Dallas and I loved it (along with every other Kurosawa film I've seen).

One bit that blew me away was the shot from inside the well. The girls are crying and screaming into the well, and just as you realize you're looking at their reflection in the water, the camera rotates up to point up the well and at the girls themselves. I could hear a few gasps from the audience, indicating I wasn't alone in thinking that was an amazing sequence.

Does anyone know how they pulled that shot off? Is there a featurette on the DVD that talks about it (like Roshomon has for the forest chase)?

[–] CastAFew 18 years ago

That was one of many memorable shots from this movie. It starts with the camera near the top of the well- but inside it (seemingly) briefly pointing up at the women. The camera then slowly pans down until we are looking at the mirror-like reflection of the women in the water at the bottom of the well. After a single tear falls into the water we fade to black.

A lovely scene indeed but the camera never pans back up to the women. I envy you for having seen this on the big screen! I've only seen the DVD.

"Ryu-san, you don't quite look your character's age."

[–] franklinlj 18 years ago

I think the opening of the resturant sketch in Monty Python's 'And Now For Something Completely Different' was inspired by this. Graham Chapman looks around a resturant, smiles, walks towrd us, then the camera pulls back showing we have been watching him in a mirror. That troupe liked to use the structure of whatever media they were working in to mess with you.