Kurosawa Flyer A3_4

© 1957 Toho Co., Ltd.
ILL
S W N IN
F I L MH OW A L T
BE S IGIN MA
R
O
FOR
M
35M
Screening Schedule
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Throne of Blood
(Invitational)
14-Sep-10
7:00pm
15-Sep-10
10:00am
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
16-Sep-10
10:00am
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
17-Sep-10
10:00am
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
18-Sep-10
10:00am
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
19-Sep-10
10:00am
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
Title (English)
Screening Date Time
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail
The Bad Sleep Well
To Live (Ikiru)
Judo Saga (Sugata Sanshiro)
The Most Beautiful
High and Low
The Hidden Fortress
Drunken Angel
Sanjuro
Red Beard
Stray Dog
In The Woods (Rashomon)
No Regrets for Our Youth
Seven Samurai
Yojimbo (a.k.a. The Bodyguard)
Judo Saga Part 2 (Zoku Sugata Sanshiro)
One Wonderful Sunday
Dodes’kaden
The Lower Depths
I Live in Fear
UP Film Institute
Screening Date
22-Sep-10
23-Sep-10
24-Sep-10
25-Sep-10
27-Sep-10
28-Sep-10
29-Sep-10
30-Sep-10
Judo Saga Part 2 (Zoku Sugata Sanshiro)
Stray Dog
4:30pm
7:00pm
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail
The Lower Depths
Sanjuro
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
Seven Samurai
In the Woods (Rashomon)
One Wonderful Sunday
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
Yojimbo (a.k.a. The Bodyguard)
Red Beard
1:00pm
4:30pm
High and Low
The Hidden Fortress
No Regrets for Our Youth
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
Judo Saga (Sugata Sanshiro)
To Live (Ikiru)
The Bad Sleep Well
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
Title (English)
Time
Throne of Blood
I Live in Fear
4:30pm
7:00pm
Dodes’kaden
The Most Beautiful
Drunken Angel
1:00pm
4:30pm
7:00pm
is a prolific and multiawarded Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor whose career
spanned 57 years with about 30 films to his credit as director. He entered the
Japanese film industry in 1936, following a brief, unsuccessful career as a painter.
He made his directorial debut during the Second World War with the popular
action film, Sugata Sanshiro (a.k.a. Judo Saga, 1943). After the war, the critically
acclaimed Drunken Angel (1948), in which Kurosawa cast then-unknown actor
Toshiro Mifune in a starring role. His film, Rashomon, which premiered in Tokyo
on August 25, 1950, and which also starred Mifune, became the surprise winner
of the 1951 Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1990, he received
the Academy Lifetime Achievement Award for his accomplishments that
have inspired delighted, enriched and entertained audiences and influenced
filmmakers throughout the world. Posthumously, he was named “Asian of the
Century” in the category of Arts, Literature, and Culture by American Asian Week
magazine and CNN, cited as – “One of the [five] people who contributed most
The Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM)
located at the 12th Floor, Pacific Star Building
Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, cor. Makati Avenue, Makati City 1226
with telephone numbers (632) 811-6155 to 58
fax number (632) 811-6153, and
email address at [email protected].
to the betterment of Asia in the past 100 years. Kurosawa died of a stroke in
Setagaya, Tokyo, at age 88.
in cooperation with
“Throne of Blood”
(Kumonosu-jō)
B&W / 1957 / 110 min.
Synopsis: The film
transposes the plot of
William Shakespeare’s
play Macbeth to
medieval Japan. Coming from a great victory
after defeating the lord’s enemies, Mikio and
Washizu are invited to visit their lord in his castle.
On their way, they meet a spirit, who foretells
their future and predicts great things with
their descendants. Driven by his wife, Washizu
murders the lord and eventually becomes the
successor of the castle, but his evil deeds haunt
him back.
“In the Woods”
(Rashomon)
B&W / 1950 / 88 min.
Synopsis: This
landmark film is a
brilliant exploration
of truth and human weakness. It opens with
a priest, a woodcutter, and a peasant taking
refuge from a downpour beneath a ruined gate
in 10th-century Japan talking about rumors of
a samurai’s death. The reconstruction of what
happened as witnessed by the robber, the
samurai’s wife, a spiritualistic medium speaking
on behalf of the deceased samurai and a
woodcutter. Only two things about the incident
seem to be clear, that the samurai’s wife was
raped and her husband died. However, the other
elements radically differ as the four participants
or witnesses relate their own stories and no one
knows who is telling the truth.
“Judo Saga”
(Sugata Sanshiro)
B&W / 1943 / 81 min.
Synopsis: This first
effort by Japanese
director Akira Kurosawa
was originally released
as Sugata Sanshiro. The film, made under
reasonably smooth conditions despite the war, is
based on a best-selling novel about the creation
of Judo. The film mostly explores the relationship
between the creator of this form of self-defense
and his faithful protege.
“The Most
Beautiful”
(Ichiban Utsukushiku)
B&W / 1944 / 85 min.
Synopsis: It is a 1944
propaganda drama film
written and directed
by Akira Kurosawa. The film is set in an optics
factory during the Second World War. The film
depicts the struggle of the workers at a lens
factory to meet production targets during World
War II. They continually drive themselves, both
singly and as a group, to exceed the targets set
for them by the factory directors.
“Judo Saga
Part 2 “
(Zoku Sugata
Sanshiro)
B&W / 1945 / 82 min.
Synopsis: It is based on the novel by Tsuneo
Tomita. Judo Saga Part 2 was filmed in early
1945 in Japan towards the end of World War II.
In the 1880’s, a martial arts student continues
his quest to become a Judo master, from that
discipline’s founder. Eventually, he learns
enough to demonstrate his skill in a boxing
match between American and Japanese
fighters and then finds himself the target of a
revenge mission undertaken by the brothers of
the original film’s villain.
“The Men Who Tread
On the Tiger’s Tail”
(Tora no O wo Fumu
Otokotachi)
B&W / 1945 / 58 min.
Synopsis: It is based
on the kabuki play
Kanjinchō, which is in turn based on the
Noh play Ataka. The film stars Hanshiro Iwai,
Susumu Fujita, Kenichi Enomoto, and Denjirō
Ōkōchi. The film was initially banned by the
occupying Supreme Commander of the Allied
Powers (SCAP) due to its portrayal of feudal
values. It was later released after the signing
of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952.
“No Regrets
for Our Youth”
(Waga Seishun ni
Kuinashi) B&W /
1946 / 110 min.
pull himself together long enough to save the
life of young hoodlum Toshiro Mifune. The
doctor feels that, by saving the hoodlum, he is
retrieving a portion of his own lost youth and
idealism. In this film, Kurosawa exposed the
seamy underworld of Japanese society and
their fight against tuberculosis.
“Stray Dog”
(Nora Inu)
B&W / 1949 / 122
min.
Synopsis: The
setting for this Akira
Kurosawa film noir
is Tokyo in the late 1940s, its streets blasted
by war and its economy in collapse. When
Murakami, a young detective, loses his gun to
a thief, he must descend into a hell teeming
with shady characters to retrieve it. Soon
Murakamis pistol turns up as the weapon in
the murder of a woman, leading the guiltridden rookie to seek help from his senior
officer, Sato (Takashi Shimura). Together,
Murakami and Sato must hunt down the killer
before he strikes again.
“To Live” (Ikiru)
B&W / 1952 / 143
min.
Synopsis: It is based
on the Takigawa
incident of 1933. The
film stars Setsuko Hara, Susumu Fujita, and
Denjirō Ōkōchi. Fujita’s character was inspired
by the real-life Hotsumi Ozaki, who assisted
the famous Soviet spy Richard Sorge and he
became the only Japanese citizen to suffer the
death penalty for treason during World War
Two.
Synopsis: The film
tells the existential
struggle of one
ordinary man in his
desperate search for purpose. Upon learning
he has terminal stomach cancer; a low-level
government bureaucrat (Takashi Shimura)
leaves his job for 30 years. His journey
begins when he actually starts “living” with
people in the society and his inspiration to
do something meaningful -- to leave a legacy,
however small, that makes the world a better
place.
“One Wonderful
Sunday”
(Subarashiki
Nichiyōbi) B&W / 1947
/ 108 min.
“Seven Samurai”
(Shichinin no
Samurai)
B&W / 1954 / 207
min.
Synopsis: It is a 1947
Japanese film cowritten and directed by Akira Kurosawa. Yuzo
and his financée, Masako, spend a Sunday
together in Tokyo. Between them they have
35 yen and are determined to make it last. The
film was made during the Occupation and
shows some of the challenges facing post-war
Tokyo. It is notable in the Kurosawa canon
because Masako breaks the fourth wall near
the end of the film.
Synopsis: Set in
16th Century Japan,
the film follows the plight of a defenseless
farming village that lives in constant fear of
marauding bandits. The farmers know that
when their crops are harvested, the thugs
will attack; a group of farmers begs Kambei
(Takashi Shimura), a brave elder samurai, and
his young eager apprentice, Katsushiro (Isao
Kimura), to defend their terrorized village
from bandits. Encountering various nomadic
warriors on the streets, Kanbei slowly put
together his team of swordsmen, recruiting
Shichiroji (Daisuke Katô), Gorobei (Yoshio
Inaba), Heihachi (Minoru Chiaki), Kyuzo
(Seiji Miyaguchi) and Kikuchiyo (Toshiro
Mifune) to complete the group. Together they
consolidate the village’s defenses and shape
the villagers to fight. Eventually, the villagers’
warriors launch a preemptive strike against
the bandits, and begin a series of intense
conflicts that culminates in a rain-soaked
final battle--without a doubt, one of the most
stunning sequences in cinema history.
“Drunken Angel”
(Yoidore Tenshi)
B&W / 1948 / 98 min.
Synopsis: A 1948
Japanese film directed
by Akira Kurosawa. It
is particularly notable
for being the first of a total of sixteen film
collaborations between director Kurosawa and
actor Toshiro Mifune. It stars Takashi Shimura
as an alcoholic doctor, running a flea-bitten
clinic in the slums of Tokyo. Shimura tries to
I Live In Fear
(Ikimono no
Kiroku)
B&W / 1955 / 113
min.
Synopsis: Kiichi
Nakajima (Toshiro
Mifune), an elderly foundry owner
convinced that Japan will be affected by an
imminent nuclear war, resolves to move his
family to safety in Brazil. His family decides
to have him ruled as incompetent; they
are fearful about the loss of the family’s
fortune. Nakajima’s ardent wish gained Dr.
Harada (Takashi Shimura) sympathy as he
act as counselor to the old man’s conviction
who is still terrorized by the memories of
past and has great anxieties for the future.
“The Lower
Depths” (Donzoko)
B&W / 1957 / 125
min.
Synopsis: An
adaptation based
on the play by
Maxim Gorky wherein the film’s setting was
changed to Edo-period Japan. It is a comical
tale focusing on the daily tribulations of
a group of lower-class people living in a
small tenement. Osugi (Isuzu Yamada),
the landlady, bickers with Okayo (Kyôko
Kagawa), her sister, over the man they
both want--Sutekichi (Toshiro Mifune),
the thief. Other characters in the close
confines include a priest (Bokuzen Hidari),
an ex-samurai (Minoru Chiaki), an actor
(Kamatari Fujiwara), and a gambler (Koji
Mitsui). By setting the film in one room
and a small adjoining courtyard, Kurosawa
emphasizes both its claustrophobic premise
and theatrical origins. Unlike Jean Renoir’s
version, Kurosawa’s film follows Gorky’s play
faithfully, making this film a much darker
one and perforce eliminating Renoir’s
happy ending.
“The Hidden
Fortress”
(Kakushi-Toride no
San-Akunin)
B&W / 1958 / 139
min.
Synopsis: The film
begins with two bedraggled peasants,
Tahei and Matashichi (Minoru Chiaki and
Kamatari Fujiwara) escaping the aftermath
of a battle. While trying to make their way
home, they meet and begin to travel with
General Rokurota Makabe (Toshiro Mifune).
The general is trying to transport the
princess of a defeated royal family, Princess
Yuki (Misa Uehara), and what remains of
their wealth to safe territory in secret.
The peasants mostly impede his mission,
sometimes trying to run off with the gold.
They are later joined by a farmer’s daughter
(Toshiko Higuchi), whom they acquire at
an inn from a slave-trader, or procurer.
Together, the five make an arduous and
desperate trek through enemy territory,
transporting a treasure of gold that the
princess and the general hope to use to
rebuild the princess’s military to one day
retake her land and rebuild her realm.
“The Bad
Sleep Well “
(Warui Yatsu Hodo
Yoku Nemuru) B&W
/ 1960 / 151 min.
Synopsis: In this
engaging drama,
acclaimed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa
deftly splices together the nuances of
hypocrisy, old feudal misconceptions
lingering in modern corruption, and
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The rotten corporate
world is taken on by Koichi Nishi (Toshiro
Mifune), looking for revenge in the death
of his father. Koichi is a private secretary to
a government official, and in the opening
scene, at Koichi’s wedding to the official’s
disabled daughter, a special cake is brought
in which jolts those present -- it reminds
them of the suicide that paved the way
for their current positions of power. Then
the police arrive and arrest one of the
wedding guests. Unknown to the others,
Koichi is the hidden force behind all the
strange happenings that begin to sting their
consciences and ruin their lives. Ghostly
figures and would-be killers in the dark
streets contrast with shining corporate
offices as the plot maneuvers to its tragic
conclusion.
“Yojimbo (a.k.a
The Bodyguard)”
(Yōjimbo)
B&W / 1961 / 110
min.
Synopsis: It is a 1961
jidaigeki (period
drama) film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It
is the story of a ronin (masterless samurai),
portrayed by Toshiro Mifune, who arrives
in a small town where competing crime
lords make their money from gambling.
The ronin convinces each crime lord to hire
him as protection from the other. By careful
maneuvering and the use of his sword,
he brings peace, but only by encouraging
both sides to wipe each other out in bloody
battles.
“Sanjuro”
(Tsubaki Sanjūrō)
B&W / 1962 / 96 min.
Synopsis: It is a
sequel to Kurosawa’s
previous film
Yojimbo, with Toshiro
Mifune reprising his role as a wandering
ronin. The film is largely based on Shūgorō
Yamamoto’s short story “Peaceful Days”
(Nichinichi hei-an), the story begins when a
group of loyal but hapless samurai is trying
to rescue their master, the Chamberlain,
from the clutches of a ruthless rival. Their
initial impulsive rescue attempts fail, and
they seem to be doomed until the shabby
but brilliant swordfighter Sanjuro offers his
help.
“High and Low”
(Tengoku to
Jigoku)
Partially Color /
1963 / 143 min.
Synopsis: Based
on King’s Ransom,
an “87th Precinct” novel by Ed McBain,
the film narrates a modern noir about the
dilemma of a wealthy industrialist’s crisis
after putting up a ransom for a kidnapped
boy he thought was his son, wherein the
kidnappers mistakenly snatched the son
of his driver. As a man forced to make
impossible decisions, he must decide
whether the other man’s child is equally
worth saving.
“Red Beard”
(Akahige) B&W /
1965 / 185 min.
Synopsis: The
film depicts the
relationship
between a town
doctor and his new trainee, wherein a
young Dr. Yasumoto, returned to Edo after
graduating from a Dutch medical school
in Nagasaki. He presented himself at the
public clinic managed by Dr. Niide (Toshiro
Mifune) known as the Red Beard because
of the color of his beard. Dr. Yasumoto
didn’t find anything to his liking and started
to refuse hospital procedures hoping to
earn dismissal for his misbehavior. As Dr.
Yasumoto struggles to come to terms with
his situation, Dr. Niide brings him along to
rescue a sick twelve-year-old girl and then
assigns the girl to him as his first patient.
Through his efforts to heal the traumatized
girl, Dr. Yasumoto begins to understand
the magnitude of cruelty and suffering
around him as well as his power to ease that
suffering, and learns to regret his vanity and
selfishness.
“Dodes’kaden”
(Dodes’kaden)
B&W / 1970 / 140
min.
Synopsis: The
first color film
by Kurosawa
set in a contemporary Japanese rubbish
dump intertwining tales of life of various
characters living in the dump. These
occupants include, among others, a father
and son living in their vehicle but dreaming
of a house, a young girl who takes out her
feelings about her abusive uncle on a local
delivery boy and a pair of alcoholics and
their beleaguered wives. Through their
stories, the intersection of life and fantasy,
and the sadness it can cause becomes
apparent. The film title refers to a Japanese
onomatopoeia for the sound made by a
tram or train while in motion (“Do-desu-kaden do-desu-ka-den do-desu-ka-den”). The
sound is made by the boy as he makes his
daily faux-tram route through the dump.