fortunate to be able to watch it in a screening room before its premiere. I remember that all those who commented at that time commented on it. We were absolutely impressed by it. We did look forward to it, but we did not expect it to be so shocking. .
All of Kobayashi's films are worthy of evaluation. As we know about his early works, he refused the government's order to ban the filming of what the original Japanese army did. He filmed a masterpiece of more than 9 hours of trilogy-"Human Conditions", he exposed the brutal side of the Japanese military and political rule, was banned by government officials at the time. He still confronts the authorities in a unique way. He has always been unwilling to compromise. No one has ever promoted Japanese movies like he did, and bends his head to the authorities like he "refuses". ("Due to the ruthless policy of the shogunate to eliminate the feudal clan, countless samurai lost their masters and were displaced. How can the nipples of robes appreciate their misery?")
I firmly believe in the excellent screenwriter Hashimoto Shinobu. One of them is through him. The script written for this movie. For example, his previous work "Rashomon", he wrote a lot of excellent scripts, these are classic works, controversial works. He did not use any pen and ink in the script to express the concept of this person, only buried this person's emotions under the plot, through the kind of self-evident comments, this is a kind of expert level, which makes Hashimoto Shinobu among the best. Among the best screenwriters, you can find this in all of his works, especially this masterpiece of his painstaking effort, "The Abdomen". ("In short, this glory called the samurai is just a ridiculous hypocrisy")
Most of the costume dramas, samurai dramas, and Sengoku period dramas set the era in the later period of the feudal shogunate in Japan in the early 19th century, and Masaki Kobayashi's The background of the time the film was shot is probably an earlier period before 1660. The reason before this is because the mansion in the film no longer exists after 1664. The samurai, daimyo, and shoguns we are looking at now have a very strong hierarchical structure, so the interesting point is that Kobayashi asked the actors to attack the mansion, which can be compared to the path he chose, because he knows that attacking generals. What will happen-I don't want to say, but it is indeed like a road of no return to the Japanese government.
Of course, Kobayashi's rigorousness should also be mentioned. He said that the film is neither a martial arts nor a martial arts samurai movie, but the more you watch, the more you discover that this is a samurai movie entirely.
There are two traditional ways to shoot Japanese movies in that era. One is to show the crazy melee of the Warring States period. This is very popular. What we see here is a new kind of film, which is very rare, through realism. The technique of expressing folk heroes is the film "Cutting the Abdomen"-cutting abdomen, cutting abdomen due to incompetence, and cutting abdomen for honor. This is a long story, and the film does not say much about it-when it is necessary for some reason You must never shirk when cutting the abdomen. There is a reason for cutting the abdomen in the film: it is not a real samurai sword, but a bamboo sword, to be matched with a girl. It is a shame to the samurai not to be worthy of a real samurai sword, so he must accept the punishment of the abdomen cut—— This is not only a kind of samurai's home, but also a kind of punishment, the two are fused together. For many complicated reasons, the young man was forced to use a bamboo knife to complete the cross cut. In the movie, the details of the cross-cutting are not released. In fact, when he wants to end this, he wants to do the cross-cutting. This is an indefensible way of suicide. Another samurai who helped him finish the abdomen and stood by did not help him. Beheading, he can only bite his tongue and commit suicide. This behavior is insulting, because it tarnishes the meaning of Bushido. It is like a cowardly behavior. It can be seen as a deception of death and a deception of those in power. They know What you should do, if you do, it is shameful, you have defiled them, you are shameful. Of course, the definition of a samurai requires consideration of honor and the correct way of doing things. They know this very well, and they also pay great attention to their own image. In the beginning, what the samurai did to maintain the image was to pay attention to the headdress, which is his symbol at this time, so the protagonist in the film did not kill the opponent, but cut off his top bun, and showed the bun in front of everyone. This has many implications, one of which is humiliation, so they call for sick leave and wait for the hair to grow back. This is also a humiliation to the entire system. ("Regardless of the technical difference, the samurai's top bun is taken away, it is no different from his head being chopped off. This humiliation cannot be compensated even in death.")
Masaki Kobayashi is very wise. He uses the joy of family to let the characters survive rather than die. At the same time, he firmly believes that a person's behavior must meet the requirements of society. This requires some kind of symbol of worship, that is, a set of armor in the film— —We see it from time to time. There are many ways to interpret the worship symbol-it is very majestic, very powerful, and scary, but in fact it is empty and hairy inside, symbolizing the ruler-although majestic, but completely empty ; Another kind of thinking about armor is that he also means the past, the road leading to the past, the persistent control people in the film are all the past-the samurai we see, the daimyo is like being bound by a rope, The ruled is drawn by the thick lines of society-so it is better to use a set of armor as a symbol, empty and full of majesty, than to use a painting as a symbol. The armor was shown again at the end of the movie, implying that the "armor" was finally full, even though it was empty.
Regarding the end of the film, a tragedy expert said: Everything we saw in the film was erased and not recorded. Although this samurai proved his righteousness and won his grievances, these have meanings. It’s just worthless. None of this can fight against the power of those in power. There is a feeling of helplessness. In the end, all the beauty and all the courage we see in the film are meaningless-I think That's it, let it become a shocking movie.
In short, this movie is worth discussing, and it has won a lot of praise. I think it is the ultimate model in all Japanese movies, and it occupies an indisputable position in the annals of history. It is a recognized classic movie.
Masaki Kobayashi interview artwork
Reporter: re-release the film, because you and Miyajima on the tragedy shared sensitivity, one can define your aesthetic style to the next, but for the screen Adds vitality. After the security provisions were revised in 1960, strikes began, and Japan’s politically unstable atmosphere created a sense of disappointment over whether politics could save mankind. In the film, Chien Chiwa seeks a woman to end in tragedy, and it feels like the director is like a sword war. One of the members, the last scene left a deep impression on me!
Kobayashi: Hmm... this is one of my most important movies, and it also clarifies my aesthetic thoughts. My mentor Aizu Bayi has been very useful since then.
Reporter: It can be seen that your imagination, innate perception, and worldview as a director are all gathered here. Especially the house. When he entered the house of Ini’s house, you used those wonderful doors. Those were really magnificent from the aesthetic point of view. They will never be seen again after the Mizoguchi Kenji era. The art directors are Tokaosumi and Shige Masada, they are extremely talented! In addition to admiring Nakadai Tatsuya's acting talent, but also to talk about the soundtrack Takemitsu Toru, who has contributed a lot.
Kobayashi: Very talented! The genius lineup makes this film perfect. Indeed, especially the screenwriter Hashimoto Shinobi, what a perfect lineup, maybe the director is not enough (referring to himself)
Reporter: Regarding the soundtrack, I heard that there is a section that is from the beginning of the door to sitting down. For 15 seconds, using western music style, it was very difficult to score at that moment, so he introduced traditional pipa music, which made me shudder and impressed.
Kobayashi: Yes, I am very impressed... At that time Akira Kurosawa was making "Heart Stick" and "Heart Piercing Sword"... I want to be different from them, it can be said to challenge them... Keisuke Kinoshita hates the script, he He thought it was too cruel and inappropriate for the public. He didn’t even watch it... Later, he took my shoulder privately and said, yesterday I watched it on TV. It’s a great movie...
Reporter: Kinoshita always said that the movie is Life is condensed, I’m sure he finds it so unacceptable to express the truth and horror of life... At the moment Qian Qianyan asked her to use a bamboo knife... I heard that it caused a lot of controversy when it was released in Cannes, and there were many whistles... …
Kobayashi: But when the humanity of Zhongda's role was shown, he won applause. Of course, its right and wrong became the focus of future discussion. The reporters disputed this fiercely.
Reporter: There are many ways to end human life, but the way of death in this film does add weight to life. Even the philosophy department of your alma mater can hardly touch such a deep understanding of life. For you as the director, this is indeed a unique insight.
Kobayashi: My basic aesthetic is influenced by Keisuke Kinoshita and Bayi Aizu. No matter when I make a movie, I am aware of this. When I make a movie, I want everyone to say after watching it. Great movie.
Reporter: You spend all your effort on every detail, even whether the sliding door matches the door frame, and the corrugation... Although cruel, it is indeed charming...
Kobayashi: Do you know where the idea of shooting suicide with a bamboo sword came from? I couldn't find a good idea at that time. I rarely drank, but I got drunk one night and became sober after returning home. If I let him Fall on the blade, that's all right, this becomes the foundation of the whole scene. Miyajima Yoshio’s way of shooting is daunting, this guy likes to be cruel! But it was Toru Takemitsu's music that really saved this cruel scene.
Reporter: Toru Takemitsu found that it was a challenge to let traditional Japanese music and Western music coexist with pipa tunes and heat.
Kobayashi: After watching for many days, I think he got the inspiration of which music to use after integrating the character's appearance and behavior.
Hashimoto Shinobu’s interview was recorded
during the collaboration with Akira Kurosawa in "Seven Samurai." I planned to shoot a movie about samurai because I was interested in suicide by incision and wanted to know how they did it. When cutting the abdomen into the abdomen, you must cut straight and cross-cut (cross-cut). After the cross-cut, twist and then lift. This is a technique. Then stretch your head and wait for the assistant's fatal blow. Later, after reading Longkou Yasyan's "The Story of a Wandering Man", I found that I had always wanted to make this story. But it was too cruel to determine how to make it, so it shelved it again. Later, at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, I saw a poster of Polish director Cavalenovic’s "Devils and Nuns" (with a cross) at the seaside. This poster was very fresh and not available in Japan. At this time, I thought about cutting abdomen. What kind of poster would this movie look like—I looked at the sea, and the image of a lonely sitting samurai jumped into my mind, and just like that, I could do it... I
came back from Cannes and started writing. I thought of one of the seven samurai Kurosawa who came out of prison and asked him to cut his belly. He would definitely be angry and yelling. I thought this was a good idea-so I began to describe how this samurai was angry and yelling during the belly-cutting ceremony.
I had a script and finished it in 11 days. If I want to criticize the destruction of the samurai, it is not the original intention of my creation, but the anger of a ronin during the abdominal cutting ceremony. Without this anger as the focus, the film would not be created. When it comes to the main theme of the film, it feels completely different from the audience. "Slitting the Abdomen" has never been advertised as satirizing the authorities until the completion of its production. From the perspective of writing, the subject is very concise. That is, the painful wailing of a samurai during the belly-cutting ceremony, that's it, it's very simple, but it is hyped as the focus.
I often heard that the film used too much retelling, which is very unsuitable, but I always think that it is not a retelling, as long as it develops in the direction of the script. Directors and screenwriters hate back narration, usually the structure is not good, and they are regarded as only going backwards and not moving forward. They are both annoying and no one likes-but I think that if the plot is improved, it should not be called back narration, then you You can use it as much as you want.
The title of the movie was reduced. It turned out to be "Cut the Abdomen: The Book of Ikea Kaku". Masaki reduced it to "Cut the Abdomen", which caused a wave of waves in the film company. Masaki was very stubborn and refused to change his name. His stubbornness exceeded that. Kurosawa never compromises. He said: If I did that, the film would not be what I thought it would be. He is so tough.
The film was shot in Kyoto, twice a day, never three times. Every time I deal with lighting and other things from scratch. This is a big production. Tamba Tetsuro is still nervous about it. He often talks about the weird Masaki. That stubborn Masaki always said, it’s cloudy today, so let’s go back to Tokyo. If the weather is bad, there will be no show. Even if it’s fine, he will get off work. He let them wait in Kyoto for a week because he always thinks that the clouds are not suitable. , Danbo said he had never met such a selfish bastard. Zhongda is in very good condition. His performance made the film. He is very involved in the film and is worthy of appreciation.
Every shot in the movie cannot be discarded...
View more about Hara-Kiri reviews
