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10 KUROSAWA CLASSICS IN 35MM PRINTS
January 15 – 25, 2016
Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles 90028
AKIRA KUROSAWA RETROSPECTIVE
Born in 1910 to a family descended from samurais, Akira Kurosawa initially intended to be a painter, but was taken along another path when he saw an ad in a newspaper for assistant director positions at Photo Chemical Laboratory film studios (later to become Toho Studios). He applied and was accepted, soon working with director Kajiro Yamamoto, under whose guidance he flourished. Kurosawa began by writing highly original screenplays such as WRESTLING RING FESTIVAL and THE STORY OF A BAD HORSE. After various attempts at directing his own feature, it finally came to pass in Yokohama in 1942 with SANSHIRO SUGATA. “After the tests were done and we were ready to shoot, with the cameras rolling I gave the call for action, ‘Yoi, staato!’ (‘Ready, start!’) The whole crew turned to stare at me. Apparently my voice sounded a little peculiar. I had done plenty of second-unit directing for Yama-san, but, no matter how much experience you have, when you finally reach the point of directing your own first film you are in a state of extreme tension. But from the second shot my tension disappeared; everything just felt exciting, and all I wanted to do was hurry on.” – Akira Kurosawa, Something Like an Autobiography.
And hurry on he did with such initial films as THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, SANSHIRO SUGATA PART II, NO REGRETS FOR OUR YOUTH and DRUNKEN ANGEL (the latter being the first of his fruitful collaborations with powerhouse actor Toshiro Mifune and dynamic composer Hayasaka Fumio), and his superb STRAY DOG. Since bursting upon the international film scene in 1950 with his 11th-century period film RASHOMON, winner of the Grand Prix at the Venice International Film Festival and the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar, Kurosawa was placed firmly into the top ranks of world filmmakers. His films accomplish what only the masters manage to do, a seamless marriage of compelling entertainment with challenging, brilliant and unique aesthetic expression. The influence of the culture of the West on his films is considerable, and in turn Kurosawa’s influence on the films of the West and, indeed, world cinema is vast and incalculable. When he died in 1998, cinema lost one of its greatest visionaries.
With a new 4K version of RAN arriving soon in theaters, we’ve gathered some of Kurosawa’s most popular and fascinating works for your enjoyment. His highly influential THE SEVEN SAMURAI, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS and the action-packed chanbara YOJIMBO helped inspire THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, STAR WARS and A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, respectively. His “Macbeth” adaptation,THRONE OF BLOOD, remains among the finest screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. Dark crime dramas THE BAD SLEEP WELL and HIGH AND LOW pack punches that still leave audiences reeling. And in RED BEARDand IKIRU, Kurosawa tells moving tales of compassion and hope amidst illness and death.
January 15-24, 2016
LLOYD E. RIGLER THEATRE at the Egyptian Theatre.
6712 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
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