| Akira Kurosawa(1910-1998)has served independently as an director for 30 films of his life,and was widely acclaimed not only in Japan,but also won a lot of awards at major international film festivals.On the one hand,his masterpiece such as《Rashomon》 and 《The Seven Samurai》prevails an important place in the history of world films;his filming techniques have influenced directors all over the world,and have had a great impact on the creation of Genre Movies represented by Hollywood,and he has been described as ing techniques have influenced directors all over the world,and have had a great impact on the creation of Genre Movies repr《Throne of Blood》 and 《Ran》 has been recognized by his work in the film industry.He is also known as the world,and havinemais work in the film industry.He iproducing films adapted from Shakespeare’s plays,and his creations have transcended countries and cultures,and have an international vision and cosmopolitanism that is rare among directors of post-developed country.On the other hand,Akira Kurosawa retains strong Japanese characteristics in all his works.His Jidai Geki draw a lot on traditional artistic expressions such as Japanese Noh and Kabuki,and he innovates and develops Japan’s unique genre of of e of re ear filmlot on traditional artistic expressions such as Japanese Gendai geki,.on the other hand,keeps closely to the pulse of Japan’s development,and was a powerful reproduction,criticism and satire of the social problems of Japan at that time.In terms of international status and domestic evaluation,it can be said that Akira Kurosawa is the one of the best director in the history of Japanese films.Much of the research on Akira Kurosawa has focused on the following areas:1)a brief introduction to the life and creative work of Akira Kurosawa,as well as an appreciation of some of his films and a translation of some of his screenplays;2)translations of the results of the research of Japanese researchers;3)commentaries on and studies of some of the films of Akira Kurosawa,which are mostly centered on his masterpieces such as《 Rashomon》,《The Seven Samurai 》,《Kagemusha the Shadow Warrior》,《Ran》 and 《Dreams》;and 4)centered on the themes of some of the works of Kurosawa,and thus derived from the analysis and research on the culture of Bushido,Noh,and Zen in Japanese Culture.Of all the materials for the study of the intellectual history,film undoubtedly occupies an extremely important place.As a new comprehensive art,film has only a history of more than a hundred years,but this is also a period of the most rapid development of human society.Compared with other forms of art,film is more representative of the "general beliefs,concepts and ideas" of the era in which it was created.Film is not only a carrier of the creator’s ideas.From a film’s box office and its surrounding income and awards,we can gain a deeper understanding of an era’s ideology,aesthetic interests,cultural concepts,and ideological consensus.The main innovation of this thesis is that,on the basis of fully absorbing previous studies on Akira Kurosawa,it takes Kurosawa’s film works as the object of study,examines the deep interactive correlation between his creations and Japan’s intellectual history,and analyses them in the context of the process of Japan’s modernization as a sample for the study of Japan’s intellectual history.The main features of this paper are,firstly,it is not limited to the scope of the film history or film art itself,but tries to explore all of Kurosawa’s works as a model,and from the perspective of the history to discover the internal dynamics and contradictions in the process of Japan’s modern ideological transformation reflected in these works;secondly,it adheres to the intensive reading of the works,returns to the context of the times,and applies cultural criticism to interpret the image texts;thirdly,it adheres to interdisciplinary research,and conducts research in a wide range of fields.Kurosawa’s work can be divided into the following categories: 1.close to reality,focusing on the process of Japan’s development,mostly Gendai geki;2.shaping heroic epics,reconstructing historical narratives,mostly Jidai geki;3.application and adaptation of Shakespeare’s play and traditional Japanese theatre into his work;4.expression of the dark side of human nature and complexity,and expanding the space of movie expression.Akira Kurosawa’s Gendai geki creations have always resonated with the reality of Japan’s historical development.During the Second World War,he also shot works that promoted militarism(albeit in a more subtle way);after the end of the Second World War,he was one of the few film directors who explicitly expressed his anti-war consciousness in his films,but his reflections were not profound and did not grasp the essence of the anti-war movement;After the 1950 s,Japan embarked on a fast track of economic development,not only completing post-war reconstruction rapidly,but also developing into the second largest economy in the world,but Kurosawa always insisted on observing Japanese society from a cold perspective.The strengths and weaknesses of Kurosawa’s Gendai geki provide a visual window for us to understand Japan,where tradition and modernity always seem to be at odds with each other.After the Second World War,Japanese thought was in a state of great confusion,and the heavyweights,heroes and heroines,as well as the ordinary soldier and the common people,who had been portrayed so colourfully in the official ideological propaganda,were all driven from their pedestals.The words "hero" and "bushido" were instantly associated with militarism and became notorious.Nearly a hundred years after the Meiji Restoration’s efforts to "civilise" Japan,it seemed that Japan had been redefined by the West as a "barbaric" people,and that only through a complete deconstruction of Japanese traditions and even "degradation" could it once again be connected to the West.It seems that only through a complete deconstruction of Japanese tradition and even "degradation" can Japan have a chance to once again be in line with modern civilisation.Akira Kurosawa’s works such as 《 The Seven Samurai》 and 《The Hidden Fortress》 chose to construct the image of "heroes" in period dramas set in the ancient history of Japan,and the heroes in his video works combine the excellent traditions of benevolence,courage,wisdom and righteousness,providing a different possibility for the Japanese tradition to integrate into modern civilisation than the militaristic expansionist route,and reshaping the Japanese tradition.The heroes in his video works,with their excellent traditions of benevolence,courage,wisdom,and righteousness,offer a different possibility for Japanese tradition in the historical process of integrating into modern civilisation than the militaristic expansionist route,reshape the international image of modern Japanese nationalism,and provide a spiritual example and strength for the ordinary Japanese people.Akira Kurosawa’s works such as 《The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail》,《Throne of Blood》,and《Ran》incorporate a great deal of traditional Japanese Noh and Kabuki elements,and he gives these traditional arts a new life through the form of film.It is worth acknowledging that,in giving a modern interpretation to traditional Japanese theatre,he did not hastily put the tradition under observation,gaze,criticism and transformation.At the same time,his successful Japanese adaptation of Shakespeare’s plays is not only an important revelation for theatre-to-film adaptations,but also provides an example for the localised re-creation of classic works.Perhaps,in a sense,this also has something to do with the fact that while Japan has made remarkable achievements in the process of modernisation,it has always maintained its oriental colours,which are heterogeneous from those of the modern Western countries.Akira Kurosawa’s 30 films spanning a thousand years of Japanese history,from the Heian period,when the historical record is silent,to the contemporary video record,are not only rare among his contemporaries,but also unique among the great directors of his caliber in the history of the world’s cinema.With his own refined and courageous masculinity,Kurosawa has in-depth understanding and reshaped traditional Japanese culture,making his work an important window how Japan has developed from tradition to modernity.Akira Kurosawa has not only helped the world to re-understand Japan,but also helped Japanese people to re-understand themselves.He is a concrete and micro micro-epitome of modern Japan,which is a coin with both sides of strong and weak,powerful and vulnerable,traditional and modern.Kurosawa’s flaws are those of modern Japan,and both his reflections of the war and his vision of the future are too parochial.He is brilliant,but falls short of perfection,and as an artist,that may be part of his charm. |
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