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Dodes'ka-den (1970)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Shot by Takao Saito · Music by Tōru Takemitsu · Ratio Academy ratio · 140 min
How it was made
- Kurosawa formed the Club of the Four Knights production company with fellow directors Keisuke Kinoshita, Masaki Kobayashi and Kon Ichikawa to get the film made; it was their only joint production.
- It was Kurosawa's first colour film and the first time he worked with cinematographer Takao Saito, who went on to become his cinematographer of choice for the rest of his career.
- Kurosawa shot in standard 1.37:1 ratio on 35mm rather than the anamorphic widescreen he had used since 1958, reportedly because he disliked how anamorphic lenses rendered colour; it was also the first time he used zoom lenses.
- Filming took only 27 days, finishing two months ahead of schedule, a sharp contrast to the two years spent on his previous film, Red Beard.
- Kurosawa initially drew the murals covering the walls of Rokuchan's house himself, but decided they looked too 'grown-up' and had schoolchildren draw them instead.
- During a difficult nine-minute single-take scene, an actor kept forgetting his dialogue; rather than losing his temper as he reportedly once did, Kurosawa calmly said 'let's try it again' each time.
Elsewhere
More by Akira Kurosawa
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