Kurosawa changed the historical background of the film from Scotland in the Middle Ages to the Sengoku period in Japan. He studied the structure of the fortresses of the Warring States Period and found that some fortresses used maze-like forests as protective barriers. This kind of forest was called "spider-foot forest". Once the intruder entered the forest, it seemed as if he could not get out of the spider web. The name of the movie comes from here.
The Sengoku period was the era when Noh was produced, and Kurosawa also used a lot of Noh elements in the film. For example, wherever the lines in the play use poetic style, he uses Noh lyrics instead. In the design of the set, a simplified set of Noh music was adopted. In terms of performance, the actors in the film also used Noh’s highly stylized body language and performance movements. For example, the Asakusa’s expressionless body played by Isuzu Yamada’s kneeling posture came from Noh, and also used Noh when walking. The basic skills in the play "smooth the bottom". Noh actors wear corresponding masks and perform the kind of people represented by the masks according to the program. Therefore, Kurosawa showed each of the main actors in the film a Noh mask similar to the type of role he played, and asked them to perform. The expression on the mask is blended in.
In terms of photography, Akira Kurosawa, who has been engaged in painting and is familiar with traditional Japanese painting, borrowed from the characteristics of large areas of white space in traditional paintings and arranged the composition of the film. When shooting, he strictly required the posture of each character. Prevent the balance of the picture from being destroyed
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In order for the film to conform to the description of the castle in the Japanese ancient scrolls as a whole, Kurosawa requested that the outer walls of the castle and the soldier's armor be painted black. The lacquer must be specially made according to the samples he found in the museum, which can also be caused by the large amount of fog in the film. The ink painting effect is consistent
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