A jidai geki (period film) set during the civil war of the sixteenth century. A young princess is trying to travel across war-torn territory with her clan’s treasure accompanied by a loyal samurai (Mifune) and two oafish peasants. This film is notable for the way Kurosawa brings some complexity to what could have been a conventional chambara (sword-play film). He overlays satire, Shakesperian contrasts between clown and hero and references to the American western on more traditional elements such as Noh music and story-structure close to fairy tale. Kurosawa also makes what Noel Burch regards as distinctively Japanese use of the wide screen (Cinemascope) proportions in decentred compositions which, like some traditional Japanese painting, frequently emphasises the shape and boundaries of the frame. Also available on VHS and 16mm.
Credits: Producer, Masumi Fujimoto ; director, Akira Kurosawa ; writers, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni, Ryuzo Kikushima, Kurosawa ; photography, Ichio Yamasaki ; music, Masaru Sato.
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Susumu Fujita.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
F000057
Languages
English
Japanese
Subject category
Foreign language films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
35mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)