The newly revised version of "Seven Samurai" was released in 1991, and the magazine "Literature Spring and Autumn" published the record of the trip between Kurosawa Akira, director Yoji Yamada, and writer Inoue Oh. . Yamada Yoji recalled how he watched "Seven Samurai" at a movie theater in Shibuya, Tokyo. The seats in the cinema were taken down during the war and have not been restored. Yamada stretched his neck among the crowded people and watched the three-hour movie. Inoue had no money to pay the university tuition and was dropping out of school to work in his hometown in Northeast China. He watched this "new concept" period drama in a movie theater in Morioka City and was shocked by it.
As Inoue Xia said, this is a frequently watched movie. There are countless interesting plots and memorable dialogues. The details that flash by, and even the supporting role of only one shot, after knowing the story behind the scenes, they all have different meanings.
——In a small mountain village in a troubled time, in order to resist the burning, killing and looting of robbers, the whole village decided to hire a few warriors to protect the village. The villagers went to the city to find suitable candidates, ran around, and on the condition of "satisfaction with white rice", they made up seven ronin warriors. Among them are the farmer Kiku Chiyo (Mifune Toshiro) who pretends to be a samurai, and the hairy boy Katsushiro (Kimura Ko) who has not yet started his training. The other five people also have their own stories. The lead Kanbei (Shimura Joe) is the survivor who always suffered defeat, his entourage Shichiroji (played by the all-around supporting role Kato Daisuke who often appears in Ozu and Naruse movies), and Goro, the art of war noh. Hebei (Yoshio Inaba), the cold-hearted lonely swordsman Kuzo (Miyaguchi Seiji), and the humorous and open-minded Heihachi (Chiaki Mi). Under the command of Kanbingwei, they led the villagers to fight with forty bandits for three days and finally wiped out all the enemies. The Seven Samurai also paid the price of four lives. In Kanbei's words: "Victory is not the samurai, but the farmers."
"Seven Samurai" from the leading role to the dragon set, the appointments are all talents. The actors of the seven samurai are regulars in Kurosawa's movies. The lineup of the villagers is not inferior. The elder of the secluded waterwheel hut (Gaotang Guodian); the hateful Liji (Tsuchiya Yoshio) whose wife was looted by thieves; the timid and peaceful (Zuo Buquan); and the selfish and self-interested man who was dedicated to protecting his daughter. (Fujiwara Kamazu). They were all famous and indispensable in the Japanese film industry at that time. Even the pipa entertainer who played only a few minutes (Karen Ueyama, who was active in Hollywood during the silent film era under the stage name Sojin), the vendor who sold steamed buns at the inn (Atsushi Watanabe, one of Takeshi Kitano’s most admired actors), and The thief (Eijiro Higashino) who was killed by Kanbei sword was a well-known character at the time. Many years later, Nakadai Tatsuya, who replaced Toshiro Mifune as the first actor in Kurosawa's movie, was only 23 years old at this time. The Ronin he played was only a passing scene. (Mitsani Koki reproduced the scene from Nakadai to the "Seven Samurai" cast audition in "History of My House") The
first time I watched "Seven Samurai", I couldn't help but be attracted by Kiku Chiyo who jumped up and down. It is said that among the roles played by Mifune Toshiro, Kiku Chiyo's character is the closest to his own character. Kurosawa was full of praise for Mifune's acting in "Seven Samurai." There was a scene of weeping, and Mifune asked the director for instructions: "Can I have a runny nose while crying?" The director agreed, because it showed his peasant nature even more. As soon as the camera turned on, Mifune really cried and shed a thick nose, which made everyone amazed. It's a pity that this shot was cut off in the end. There is also a scene where Kikuchiyo goes fishing in the river to satisfy his hunger, which is also an idea that Mifune thought of himself. The fish was hidden in the crotch beforehand, and when it was hidden in the river water, it quietly took it out and made it look like it had just been caught. After reading too many behind-the-scenes rumors, and then watching this scene, you will find that the details are a bit piercing.
Kanbingbei played by Joe Shimura is particularly intriguing. His goodness needs to be experienced slowly. An old man who had fought countless defeats, but survived by mistake, his facial expression was lax, but his eyes were always so gentle. Kurosawa had already assigned this role to Joe Shimura at the stage of conceiving the script. Perhaps only he can embody this image of a samurai who combines love and majesty so appropriately. Previously, Shimura Joe played the leading role in "The Desire of Life", playing a terminally ill civil servant. The two contrasts, his acting skills are even more impressive.
Zuo Buquan is also a charming character actor. The cowardly and indisputable Yopei finally died under the sword of a bandit in the melee, and sighed before his death: "I only watched by the side, why is this?..." (The fate of onlookers since ancient times?)
Katsushiro, the youngest of the samurai, had a love affair in the tight plot. According to Yoshio Tsuchiya, who played the role of farmer Liji, when he first arrived on the crew, Tsuchiya couldn't understand why Kimura always stared at him bitterly. After inquiring, I found out that his role originally belonged to Kimura. Kimura didn't like the character like Katsushiro. However, he played this innocent and upright young samurai very competently. Kimura was over thirty at the time, much older than Tsuchiya Yoshio. In Kurosawa Akira's words, Katsushiro's wig is only beautifully worn by Komura. In addition to filming, the crew has done experiments and tried Katsushiro's hair sets on the heads of Nakai Asaichi, Nogami Teruyo, and Kurosawa Akira. The result was that the three people's comical images turned everyone on the scene with laughter. NS.
Keiko Tsushima plays the role of Shino who is in love with Katsushiro, but suffers from a disparity in status. I have watched several movies of Keiko Tsushima before, and I have always felt that her appearance is too mediocre among the many beauties of the same time, and she always acts as a foil. But Shino in "Seven Samurai" is so plump and attractive, exuding wild charm. This is probably due to Kurosawa's unique photography technique. Shino's scorching eyes staring directly at her lover was the result of using several mirrors to reflect the light into her eyes. This is the unique secret of the Kurosawa crew since "Rashomon". Tsushima burned his eyes because of this.
There are also the lonely swordsman Kuzo, the warrior expert Goro Beibe, the cheerful and humorous Heihachi, and even the old lady who staggered to avenge her family with a hoe, all have endless behind-the-scenes stories.
The people and things in these films are an indispensable part of Kurosawa Akira's work. The famous and unnamed staff behind the work are also an existence that cannot be ignored for the film master Akira Kurosawa.
In a special collection of Kurosawa Minutes in "Movies", there is a group photo of Kurosawa's crew. The time was probably during the filming of "Seven Samurai". In the photo, I can recognize director Kurosawa Akira, photographer Nakai Asaichi, deputy director Horikawa Hirodori, and Changji Nogami Teruyo. Kurosawa was just in his early forties, wearing a mountain climbing hat, standing between the two cameras, tilting his head and looking up at the upper left-he hadn't worn the signature sunglasses at that time. The young Teruyo Nogami stood in front of him with a serious expression, looking in the same direction as the director, holding a pile of books of different sizes in his arms. Although nearly sixty years have passed, this photo still exudes a warm and harmonious atmosphere. Kurosawa Akira’s face does not have the violence of the legendary "Movie Emperor". "The master of the movie, with a smile on his face, stood calmly among the crowd. That was the golden age of Kurosawa movies.
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