Tatsuya Nakadai

Yojimbo (用心棒) is a 1961 jidaigeki film by Akira Kurosawa, in which a ronin, portrayed by Toshiro Mifune, arrives at a small town with competing crime lords making their money from gambling, and convinces each crime lord to hire him as protection from the other. By careful political manoeuvring and the use of his sword, he brings peace by encouraging both sides to wipe each other out. The film's look and themes were inspired by several sources, including John Ford's western film conventions including the canonical t ...

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• Yojimbo film - Trivia
• Yojimbo film - External link

Read more here: » Yojimbo film: Encyclopedia - Yojimbo film

Kurosawa said that all of the technological progress of the 20th century had only taught people how to kill each other more efficiently, and in this film he shows that forces of violence and destruction, once unleashed, destroy all in their path:[1] "What I was trying to get at in Ran, and this was there from the script stage, was that the gods or God or whoever it is observing human events is feeling sadness about how human beings destroy each other, and powerlessness to affect human beings' behavior." -- Akira Kurosawa^{See also:}

Ran film, Ran film - Plot, Ran film - Background, Ran film - Cast and Characters, Ran film - Production, Ran film - Reception, Ran film - Footnotes

Read more here: » Ran film: Encyclopedia II - Ran film - Background

Based on Shugoro Yamamoto's novel Peaceful Days, the film tells the story of a group of loyal but hapless samurai who are 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 scruffy but brilliant swordfighter Sanjuro (played by Mifune) offers his help. Mifune's Sanjuro is an anti-hero — a shabby, cynical character, who perplexes the samurai to whose aid he comes, chal ...

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Sanjuro, Sanjuro - Plot summary, Sanjuro - Personnel, Sanjuro - Director, Sanjuro - Writers, Sanjuro - Cast, Sanjuro - Music

Read more here: » Sanjuro: Encyclopedia II - Sanjuro - Plot summary

Kurosawa said that all of the technological progress of the 20th century had only taught people how to kill each other more efficiently, and in this film he shows that forces of violence and destruction, once unleashed, destroy all in their path:[1] "What I was trying to get at in Ran, and this was there from the script stage, was that the gods or God or whoever it is observing human events is feeling sadness about how human beings destroy each other, and powerlessness to affect human beings' behavior." -- Akira Kurosawa^{See also:}

Ran film, Ran film - Plot, Ran film - Background, Ran film - Production, Ran film - Reception, Ran film - Cast, Ran film - Footnotes

Read more here: » Ran film: Encyclopedia II - Ran film - Background

At the start of the film, Hanshiro Tsugumo shows up at the house of a feudal lord, Kageyu Saito, looking for a suitable place to commit seppuku. At the time, it is told, it was fairly common for disgraced samurai to make the same request, or threat, in order to receive a pittance from the lord of the house. To discourage Hanshiro, Kageyu Saito recounts the story of another ronin, Motome Chijiiwa, who made the same request earlier in the year and was forced by the samurai retainers of the house to go through with the threat. Tsugumo is not discouraged, however, and looks determined to pr ...

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Harakiri film, Harakiri film - Plot, Harakiri film - Themes, Harakiri film - Main cast

Read more here: » Harakiri film: Encyclopedia II - Harakiri film - Plot

It is thought that title is derived from the science fiction short story by Harlan Ellison "The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World". This work is named by the editor. Originally, the work was called "Socrates in Love" (Japanese: Koi suru Sokuratesu) by the author, which is why the English version of the manga and the novel use this title instead of "Crying Out Love in the Center of the World". In Japan, the movie's title ("Sekai no Chūshin de, Ai wo Sakebu") is abbreviated "Sekachū" (セカチュー), supposedly rhyming with the popular cartoon ...

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Socrates in Love, Socrates in Love - Synopsis, Socrates in Love - Main characters, Socrates in Love - About the title, Socrates in Love - Secondary works, Socrates in Love - Movie version, Socrates in Love - Dorama version

Read more here: » Socrates in Love: Encyclopedia II - Socrates in Love - About the title

Kurosawa originally cast the boisterous Shintaro Katsu in the title role. He left the production, however, before the first day of shooting was over – either fired or left of his own accord (stories differ) – and was replaced by Tatsuya Nakadai, who had appeared in a number of the director's previous films. A little known fact is that George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola are credited at the end of the film as Executive producers (international version). They convinced 20th Century Fox – when the original producers, Toho Studios, could not afford to complete the film – to make up the shortfall in the budget i ...

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Kagemusha, Kagemusha - Plot, Kagemusha - Background/Production, Kagemusha - Reception, Kagemusha - Cast, Kagemusha - Quotes, Kagemusha - Screenshots

Read more here: » Kagemusha: Encyclopedia II - Kagemusha - Background/Production

In the later years of his career, Kurosawa got little respect from many Japanese filmmakers and the industry. A glaring sign of this was Japan's failure to submit Ran for competition in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Oscars. Kurosawa had not attended the Tokyo Film Festival, where the film premiered, and many people felt the snub to Ran was payback. The film's producer and financier, Serge Silberman, tried to get it nominated as a French co-production (which it was) but failed. American director Sidney Lumet hel ...

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Ran film, Ran film - Plot, Ran film - Background, Ran film - Cast and Characters, Ran film - Production, Ran film - Reception, Ran film - Footnotes

Read more here: » Ran film: Encyclopedia II - Ran film - Reception

The epic directorial style involved the use of lush and expansive locations, the mountains and plains of Hidetora's kingdom were shot at Mount Aso, Japan's largest active volcano in Kyushu. Kurosawa, was granted permission to shoot at two of the country's most famous landmarks, the ancient castles at Kumamoto and Himeji (the third castle being a filmset built on the slopes of Mount Fuji, which was razed in the film). Kurosawa would often shoot a scene with three cameras simultaneously, each using different lenses and angles. Many long ...

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Ran film, Ran film - Plot, Ran film - Background, Ran film - Cast and Characters, Ran film - Production, Ran film - Reception, Ran film - Footnotes

Read more here: » Ran film: Encyclopedia II - Ran film - Production

In the film, the King Lear character is replaced with Ichimonji Hidetora, the Great Lord, an aging warlord. In place of Lear's daughters, Hidetora has three sons - Taro, Jiro, and Saburo (who fulfill the equivalent roles of Goneril, Regan and Cordelia respectively). Hidetora decides to give control of his kingdom up to Taro, the eldest son, while Jiro and Saburo will be given the Second and Third Castles. Jiro and Saburo are to support Taro. However, Saburo criticizes Hidetora's plan, claiming that he is a fool to think they will be able to ...

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Ran film, Ran film - Plot, Ran film - Background, Ran film - Cast and Characters, Ran film - Production, Ran film - Reception, Ran film - Footnotes

Read more here: » Ran film: Encyclopedia II - Ran film - Plot

In the later years of his career, Kurosawa got little respect from many Japanese filmmakers and the industry. A glaring sign of this was Japan's failure to submit Ran for competition in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Oscars. Kurosawa had not attended the Tokyo Film Festival, where the film premiered, and many people felt the snub to Ran was payback. The film's producer and financier, Serge Silberman, tried to get it nominated as a French co-production (which it was) but failed. American director Sidney Lumet hel ...

See also:

Ran film, Ran film - Plot, Ran film - Background, Ran film - Production, Ran film - Reception, Ran film - Cast, Ran film - Footnotes

Read more here: » Ran film: Encyclopedia II - Ran film - Reception

In the film, the King Lear character is replaced with Ichimonji Hidetora, the Great Lord, an aging warlord. Instead of daughters, he has sons: Taro, Jiro, and Saburo (who is the equivalent of Shakespeare's Cordelia). Hidetora decides to give control of his kingdom up to Taro, the eldest son, while Jiro and Saburo will be given the Second and Third Castles. Jiro and Saburo are to support Taro. However, Saburo criticizes Hidetora's plan, claiming that he is a fool to think they will be able to get along peacefully. Tango, one of Hidetora's servants, comes to Saburo's defense ...

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Ran film, Ran film - Plot, Ran film - Background, Ran film - Production, Ran film - Reception, Ran film - Cast, Ran film - Footnotes

Read more here: » Ran film: Encyclopedia II - Ran film - Plot