Excerpted from "Toad's Oil"
This year, before the strike started, we established the "Film Art Association", a colleague organization.
The five people are Kajiro Yamamoto, Mikio Naruse, Chikichi Taniguchi and I, a total of four directors, plus producer Shojiro Bengi.
The strike started as soon as this colleague organization was established, so there was no activity during the strike. After the strike ended, I came out of Toho and started filming with this organization as my foothold.
The first film was "Duel in a Quiet Night" for Dae Young Company.
The 195-day strike put my family's livelihood in question, and the situation forced me to shoot as soon as possible.
When I was an assistant director, I used to write scripts for Daeyoung, and because of this, I decided to make a film here first.
The script was written by Chikichi Taniguchi and I. The main character is Toshiro Mifune.
Since Mifune first appeared on the screen, almost all the roles played are rogues. I thought that at this stage, he should expand his artistic field a little bit, so I decided to make him play an intellectual image with a strong sense of ethics that is completely different from his previous roles.
The role was decided in this way, and even Daying Company was surprised, and many people were worried about it. However, the three ships did a great job.
His demeanor in this film is completely different from that of the past, from the mental state to the physical actions, it fully shows the distress of the tragic protagonist. To be honest, at this point, even I was greatly surprised.
There is a tendency in the film industry that when an actor succeeds in a certain role, he is firmly confined within the framework of that role.
On the director's side, it's a matter of convenience, to save effort, but for the actor, it couldn't be more unfortunate.
Actors play only one role as if they are stamped over and over again, and nothing can be accumulated.
If the actor is not often given new roles and new tasks, he will die soon like a plant that stops watering as soon as it is planted.
The most memorable thing about filming "The Duel in the Quiet Night" was what happened during the climactic scene.
This scene is to say that the protagonist hides the secret of the past in the depths of his heart and is extremely distressed. He can't bear the pain and is determined to reveal the secret. The scene used a five-minute long shot, which was unprecedented at the time.
The night before the official shooting, both Mifune and Kiiko Chiishi, who played opposite him, were too excited to sleep well.
I also had the feeling of the eve of the decisive battle, and it was difficult to fall asleep.
The next day, it was about to be officially filmed, and the air in the studio was very tense. I stood with my legs spread apart and watched between the two lamps.
The scene between Mifune and Chiishi was indeed tense as the final battle. The performances of the two of them tended to become white-hot every second, with sparks flying all over the place. I couldn't help but sweat for them. After a while, Mifune burst into tears, but the lights on my left and right sides rattled.
It turned out that my body was trembling, and the lights were also trembling through the wooden boards under my feet.
Immediately I thought, oops, just sit in a chair and watch. But it was too late.
I wrapped my arms tightly around my body, trying not to let it tremble as much as possible, but when I looked towards the camera, I couldn't help but froze.
The photographer looked at the viewfinder and steered the camera, but he burst into tears. Presumably because tears often blocked his vision, he kept wiping his eyes with his left hand.
I was really panicked.
Even the photographer couldn't stop the tears, which showed how successful Mifune and Qianshi's performance was. But if the photographer can't see the scene and goes out of the frame, it's all over. At this time, I wanted to see both the actors' performances and the photographers, and of course, I was watching the photographers more.
I never thought that a picture could take so long.
When the tearful photographer said OK, my heart was relieved.
At this point, the tension in the studio still lingered, and I forgot to say OK as if I was drunk.
This shows that I am still young.
Now, no matter how moving the scene, how realistic the actors are, I can watch it calmly. However, it was too calm and seemed too cold.
Me, Mifune, and Chiishi were all young at the time, so they were so excited that they were able to shoot such a scene. Now, if I were to shoot a scene like that again, I'm afraid I won't be able to do it.
In this sense, Duel in the Quiet Night is unforgettable for me. It was also my first work after I left Toho, and I always felt like it was my second debut, which is why it is so unforgettable.
The film crew of Daying Company warmly accepted me, who failed the strike and left.
Daiei's Tokyo Studio is located in Chofu near Koshu Ancient Road. The Tama River flows quietly beside it. The hotels and restaurants on the riverbank are all quaint and unpretentious. The studio also had the same look and feel as the old studios of the past. Although a little clumsy, it was generous.
Also, while any studio at the time was different, one thing was the same: the people who gathered here were all fascinated by movies. So, even though I was new here, I didn't feel any strangeness with my colleagues in the filming crew. The work was extremely smooth, and I was very handy.
Just seeing the film crew of Dae Young, I can't help but think of the Toho film crew who were fired due to the strike, and their fate.
View more about The Quiet Duel reviews
