10 Most Insanely Perfectionist Film Directors
4. Akira Kurosawa Brought The Specter Of Death To His Historical Epics
Akira Kurosawa is probably the best known Japanese director of all time and a man who has left an indelible mark on the cinema of his home island as well as the world.
While Kurosawa is a towering figure of cinema many will recognise him first for his enormous influence on giants of Western film like Sergio Leone and George Lucas, both of whom were immensely inspired by Kurosawa’s work. Kurosawa’s films were often Japanese historical epics, portraying a violent and fractured Japan in works such as Yojimbo and Seven Samurai.
However the fact that Kurosawa’s on-set nickname ‘Tenno’ translates to ‘Emperor’, you should have some idea of the feats accomplished and risks taken by Kurosawa in order to leave such a mark on the cinematic world.
For example in 1957’s Throne of Blood Kurosawa’s used real arrows for a scene in which Toshiro Mifune’s character is executed, leading to the terrified actor dodging actual death on set.
To make the period seem authentic Kurosawa would go about constructing massive sets, plopping down an enormous castle on Mount Fuji for 1985’s Ran which was then burned to the ground for the sake of a single scene. Kurosawa would construct elaborate sets like he was playing the Sims and some, such as the enormous shantytown in ‘Red Beard’ were used for only one or two shots.