American Cinematographer - April 1986 - 69
In the 57 year
history of the Acad¬
Awards, there has been only
one previous occasion when a
cameraman from Japan has been
emy
nominated for
an
Oscar. That
was
in 1970, when Sinasku Humeda, Masamichi Satoh
and Osami Fuyara shared an Oscar
nomination with Charles Wheeler,
ASC, for Torn! Tora! Torn!
That, of course, was
more
of a melding of cinemagraphic efforts by Wheeler and
his Japanese counterparts than a
15 years ago,
collaboration. Wheeler told the vi¬
sual story from the American per¬
spective, while Humeda, Satoh
and Osami shared responsibility
for principal photography for the
sequences
which tell the Japanese
side of the raid on Pearl Harbor.
Ran is a different story.
Takao Saito, Masahura Ueda and
Asakuzu Nakai collaborated to
help audiences around-the-world
visualize an epic story about
feudal Japan directed by Akira
to
Kurosawa. The central character is
powerful but aging warlord who
decides to appoint the eldest of his
a
three sons to rule over the territo¬
ries which he has spent a lifetime
conquering.
The "great lord" orders
his other sons to serve as faithful
vassals, and proclaims that he will
retire with
his faithful, if sometimes
reluctant companion, present.
rected
In addition
to
establish¬
ing the basis for the story,
Kurosawa uses this opening se¬
quence to introduce the "look,"
which characterizes Ran. There is
extremely wide master shot re¬
vealing the scope of the plains,
framed by whitecapped mountains
an
far off in the distance. The images
are
a
crisp, clear and sharp providing
sense
illusion.
of
reality rather than
scenes
like this.
Left: A
once serene
kingdom falls into
chaos
is
as
the castle
destroyed.
ravage
so
Kurosawa, who has di¬
serves as
They all play prominent roles in
the unfolding story.
East are captured
magnificently in
tined to become adversaries. This
use of color provides threads of
visual continuity as they identify
banners and clothing associated
with the various armies which will
later roll through the plains and
the castles of the territory
painstakingly joined by the
great lord.
Pageantry
and color of the Far
Splashes of black, white, blue and
yellow characterize the costumes
of characters who are clearly des¬
personal bodyguard
trusted samuri. The an¬
nouncement is made on a rolling
plain with only the great lord, his
sons, several neighboring war¬
lords, and a court jester, who
a
of 30
Above:
Slate gray clouds roll
leaden sky, and swirls of
dust in the background give visual
hints of a gathering storm.
across a
more
than 30 films
(Rashomon, Seven Samuri, etc.)
during the past 40 years, has often
been quoted as saying "the essence
of cinema is showing people what
they want to see."
He uses the camera as an
unobtrusive observer. The pointof-view fs that of an impassive par¬
ticipant. Kurosawa, at age 75, has
the patience to wait for nature to
provide settings which he visual¬
izes in his mind's eye. His atten¬
the smallest details is
tion
to
in
willingness
a
time and
to
reshoot
seen
scenes
Kurosawa's film crew
extension of the direc¬
and the imagery that he is
serves as an
tor
painting with light and shadows.
Point-of-view is established by
precise composition and careful
placement of cameras, often at eye
level.
There is very
vious
cept
movement
in
a
of
little ob¬
cameras
few selected
ex¬
sequences
again until everything is
perfect.
April 1986
American
Cinematographer
67
American Cinematographer - April 1986
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