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Shrew
The All-Star Rock n' Breakdance Electronic Band from Shenzhen
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 1:36 am Post subject: |
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I actually remembering reading an essay on Kurosawa's use of rain in Seven Samurai, claiming that it was Kurosawa's replacement for blood. Being restrained by the social moors of the 1950s, Kurosawa couldn't depict the fight in the appropriately realistic and horrifying fashion, so he covered the actors in mud instead.
Kurosawa actually gets extremely bloody as his career goes on, although most of his bloodshed looks rather fake compared to our modern miracles of exploding heads. Ran in particular suffers from "red paint" syndrome, but it helps if you think of it less as "blood" and more as "red". However, the ending of Sanjuro is pretty damn shocking, even by modern standards. _________________
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Yvl
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 1:50 am Post subject: |
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However, the ending of Sanjuro is pretty damn shocking, even by modern standards.
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Hoo, yeah, I remember that. Our teacher i9n my film class pointed that out as the single part of the class we would remember the most. I honestly was more of a fan of what happened after that, what with the conflicting emotions and what have you. _________________
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Ujitsuna
Red Shoes Dance
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 9:51 am Post subject: |
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Shrew wrote: |
I actually remembering reading an essay on Kurosawa's use of rain in Seven Samurai, claiming that it was Kurosawa's replacement for blood. Being restrained by the social moors of the 1950s, Kurosawa couldn't depict the fight in the appropriately realistic and horrifying fashion, so he covered the actors in mud instead. |
Really? That is really fascinating, I feel the rain usually adds the tension and sadness into the battles that might otherwise be replaced by the overused effect of blood - and in those days blood was emulated so badly. Even when actors aren't fighting, the rain can do so much to give a feeling of anticipation or show how a recent event has unsettled everyone else.
Shrew wrote: |
Kurosawa actually gets extremely bloody as his career goes on, although most of his bloodshed looks rather fake compared to our modern miracles of exploding heads. Ran in particular suffers from "red paint" syndrome, but it helps if you think of it less as "blood" and more as "red". However, the ending of Sanjuro is pretty damn shocking, even by modern standards. |
Tatsuya Nakudai's heart explodes! People are still using effects like that to this day, the most prime and obvious example is something like the Kill Bill series where blood just flies eveywhere regardless of what is happening. Never have I seen an example of a a man's chest exploding like that though, must've been such a gory concept when it was first made.
Heres a piece of trivia that made me laugh:
Wikipedia wrote: |
For the infamous 'blood explosion' in the films ending, the hose they attached to the actor was so strong that it nearly lifted him off the ground and it took all his might to finish the scene. |
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Shrew
The All-Star Rock n' Breakdance Electronic Band from Shenzhen
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 5:48 am Post subject: |
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Really? That is really fascinating, I feel the rain usually adds the tension and sadness into the battles that might otherwise be replaced by the overused effect of blood - and in those days blood was emulated so badly. Even when actors aren't fighting, the rain can do so much to give a feeling of anticipation or show how a recent event has unsettled everyone else. |
Well, the rain of course has its own merits. You can't just take out the mud and ever-present drone of the rain and put in buckets of blood and constant gunfire without altering the mood. However, I do believe they both present the same basic meaning: war's an inglorious, ugly act. In many ways the final battle of Seven Samurai is the period's Saving Private Ryan.
I don't think you can argue one's better than the other though, just that they're different approaches to the same topic. _________________
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Ujitsuna
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Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 11:42 am Post subject: |
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I'm not saying one is better, but I am saying one is overused and the other seemed a lot fresher to me - even if it was older. |
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