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Seven Samurai
is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who seek to hire samurai to combat bandits who will return after the harvest to steal their crops. At the time, the film was the most expensive film made in Japan. It took a year to shoot and faced many difficulties. It was the second-highest-grossing domestic film in Japan in 1954. Many reviews compared the film to the Western film genre. ''Seven Samurai'' is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films in cinema history. Since its release, it has consistently ranked highly in critics' lists of greatest films, such as the BFI's '' Sight & Sound'' and Rotten Tomatoes polls. It was also voted the greatest foreign-language film of all time in the BBC's 2018 international critics' poll. It is regarded a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a Filmmaking technique of Akira Kurosawa, bold, dynamic style strongly influenced by Western cinema yet distinct from it. He was involved with all aspects of film production. Kurosawa entered the Cinema of Japan, Japanese film industry in 1936, following a brief stint as a painter. After years of working on numerous films as an assistant director and scriptwriter, he made his debut as a director during World War II with the popular action film ''Sanshiro Sugata'' (1943). After the war, the critically acclaimed ''Drunken Angel'' (1948), in which Kurosawa cast the then-little-known actor Toshiro Mifune in a starring role, cemented the director's reputation as one of the most important young filmmakers in Japan. The two m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoshio Kosugi
was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 120 films from 1924 to 1967. Career First appearing on stage as a shingeki actor, he was initially recognized for his role as Yasha in ''The Cherry Orchard''. He made his film debut in the 1920s and appeared in a number of films by Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema .... Filmography References External links * * 1903 births 1968 deaths Japanese male film actors Japanese male stage actors Actors from Tochigi Prefecture {{japan-film-actor-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese History
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventions were introduced from Asia. During this period, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese ''Book of Han'' in the first century AD. Around the 3rd century BC, the Yayoi people from the continent immigrated to the Japanese archipelago and introduced iron technology and agricultural civilization. Because they had an agricultural civilization, the population of the Yayoi began to grow rapidly and ultimately overwhelmed the Jōmon people, natives of the Japanese archipelago who were hunter-gatherers. Between the fourth and ninth centuries, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government, nominally controlled by the Emperor of Japan. The imperial dynasty es ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sengoku Period
The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as the period's start date, but there are many competing historiographies for its end date, ranging from 1568, the date of Oda Nobunaga#Ise campaign, Omi campaign, and march to Kyoto, Oda Nobunaga's march on Kyoto, to the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1638, deep into what was traditionally considered the Edo period. Regardless of the dates chosen, the Sengoku period overlaps substantially with the Muromachi period (1336–1573). This period was characterized by the overthrow of a superior power by a subordinate one. The Ashikaga shogunate, the ''de facto'' central government, declined and the , a local power, seized wider political influence. The people rebelled against the feudal lords in revolts known as . The period saw a break ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Action (genre)
Action fiction is a literary genre, genre in literature that focuses on stories involving high-stakes, high-energy, and fast-paced events. This genre includes a wide range of subgenres, such as Spy fiction, spy novels, Adventure fiction, adventure stories, tales of terror, intrigue ("cloak and dagger"), and Mystery fiction, mysteries. These kinds of stories utilize Thriller (genre), suspense, the tension that is built up when the reader wishes to know how the Conflict (narrative), conflict between the protagonist and antagonist is going to be resolved or the solution to a mystery of a Thriller (genre), thriller. The intricacies of human relationships or the nuances of philosophy and psychology are rarely explored in action fiction, typically being fast-paced mysteries that merely seek to provide the reader with an exhilarating experience. Action fiction can also be a plot element of Literature, non-literary works such as graphic novels and film. Genre fiction Action genre is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samurai Cinema
, also commonly spelled "''chambara''", meaning "sword fighting" films,Hill (2002). denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. ''Chanbara'' is a sub-category of ''jidaigeki'', which equates to period drama. ''Jidaigeki'' may refer to a story set in a historical period, though not necessarily dealing with a samurai character or depicting swordplay. While earlier samurai period pieces were more dramatic rather than action-based, samurai films produced after World War II have become more action-based, with darker and more violent characters. Post-war samurai epics tended to portray psychologically or physically scarred warriors.Silver (1977), p. 37. Akira Kurosawa stylized and exaggerated death and violence in samurai epics. His samurai, and many others portrayed in film, were solitary figures, more often concerned with concealing their martial abilities, rather than showing them off. Historically, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epic Film
Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a heroic character. An epic's ambitious nature helps to set it apart from other genres such as the period piece or adventure film. Epic historical films would usually take a historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting, lavish costumes, an expansive musical score, and an ensemble cast, which would make them extremely expensive to produce. The most common subjects of epic films are royalty and important figures from various periods in world history. Characteristics The term "epic" originally came from the poetic genre exemplified by such works as the '' Epic of Gilgamesh'' and the works of the Trojan War Cycle. In classical literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of heroes upon which the fate of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, distribution, and education. It is sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and partially funded under the British Film Institute Act 1949. Activities Purpose The BFI was established in 1933 to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and the moving image generally, and their impact on society, to promote access to and appreciation of the widest possible range of British and world cinema and to establish, care for and develop collections reflecting the moving image history, heritage and culture of the United Kingdom. Archive The BFI maintain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatrical Rental
A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is frequently used, especially in the context of the film industry, as a metonym for the amount of business a particular production, such as a film or theatre show, receives. The term is also used to refer to a ticket office at an arena or a stadium. ''Box office'' business can be measured in terms of the number of tickets sold or the amount of money raised by ticket sales (revenue). The projection and analysis of these earnings is greatly important for the creative industries and often a source of interest for fans. This is predominant in the Hollywood movie industry. To determine if a movie made a profit, it is not correct to directly compare the box office gross with the production budget, because the movie theater keeps nearly half of the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wesleyan University Press
Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist. History and overview Founded (in its present form) in 1957, the press publishes books of poetry and books on music, dance and performance, American Studies, and film. In 1965, Wesleyan sold its American Education Publications, a division of the press that published Weekly Reader, ''My Weekly Reader'', but the university retained the scholarly division. All editing occurs at the editorial office building of the press on the Wesleyan campus. Publishing (printing) now occurs through a consortium of New England college academic presses. Wesleyan University Press joined The Association of American Publishers trade organization in the Hachette v. Internet Archive lawsuit which resulted in the removal of access to over 500,000 books from global readers. The press is notable among prestigious ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toho
is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Toho is best known for producing and distributing many of Ishirō Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya's ''kaiju'' and ''tokusatsu'' films as well as the films of Akira Kurosawa and the anime of Studio Ghibli, Shin-Ei Animation, TMS Entertainment, CoMix Wave Films, and OLM, Inc. The company has released the majority of the highest-grossing Japanese films, and through its subsidiaries, is the largest film importer in Japan. The Doraemon film series, distributed by Toho since 1980, is the highest-grossing film series and anime film series in Japan. It is also one of the highest-grossing non-English language film series. Toho Company Limited logo with full name in native language Toho's most famous creation is Godzilla, featured in 33 of the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asakazu Nakai
was a Japanese cinematographer born in Hyōgo Prefecture, best known for his work with Akira Kurosawa. In 1950, he won the Mainichi Film Award for Best Cinematography for '' Stray Dog''. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on the film '' Ran'' (1985), being the oldest nominee ever in that category. Selected filmography * 1943: '' The Song Lantern'' * 1946: '' No Regrets for Our Youth'' * 1947: '' One Wonderful Sunday'' * 1949: '' Stray Dog'' * 1952: '' Ikiru'' * 1954: '' Seven Samurai'' * 1955: '' I Live in Fear'' * 1957: ''Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese epic ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of English dramatist William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' (1606) fr ...'' * 1961: '' The End of Summer'' * 1963: '' High and Low'' * 1965: '' Red Beard'' * 1975: '' Dersu Uzala'' * 1985: '' Ran'' References External links ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
