David AllsoppGreat Cinematic Collaborations: Akira Kurosawa & Takashi Shimura
October 28th 2011 02:34
Film is an inherently collaborative medium. It takes a team of professionals (or passionate amateurs) working in a range of roles to put together the finished product you seen on cinema screens. And like life in general, when you find someone with whom you can combine your efforts and make something greater than the sum of its parts, then you’ll want to continue finding ways to collaborate on future projects.
It also helps if you genuinely like the other person.
Ford and Wayne.
Kurosawa and Mifune.
Scorcese and De Niro.
Many great collaborations in the world of cinema are famous and widely celebrated, but there are many other creative partnerships that don’t get as much time in the spotlight. It might a supporting actor who serves as a director’s MVP time and time again, a writer whose creative voice finds synchronicity with a particular actor or director, a composer who adds that magic touch to a project, a producer who brings out the best in others, or a D.O.P. who can perfectly capture a moment.
In this column we’ll be featuring some of these great collaborations that deserve a little more time in the spotlight.
The Collaborators:
Akira Kurosawa (Director) & Takashi Shimura (Actor)
When someone mentions the words “Akira Kurosawa” and “collaboration” it is almost a guarantee that the next two words heard will be “Toshiro Mifune”. And there is a very good reason for that - the collaboration between Kurosawa and Mifune is one of the all-time great combinations of a Director and an Actor. However, there is another great partnership between Kurosawa and an Actor that doesn’t get as much attention, but should thought of with the same amount of reverence – and that is his work with the one and only Takashi Shimura.
The Collaborations:
Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
The Most Beautiful (1944)
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945)
No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
Drunken Angel (1948)
The Quiet Duel (1949)
Stray Dog (1949)
Scandal (1950)
Rashomon (1950)
The Idiot (1951)
Ikiru (1952)
The Seven Samurai (1954)
I Live in Fear (1955)
Throne of Blood (1957)
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Yojimbo (1961)
Sanjuro (1962)
High and Low (1963)
Red Beard (1965)
Kagemusha (1980)
What Made Them Great:
Kurosawa's cinematic collaboration with Shimura, from 1943 to 1980, started earlier and lasted longer than his work with Mifune (1948–65). While Mifune became known for his visceral energy and passionate performances, Shimura’s work operated on a different spectrum – just as passionate when called for, but more internalised and solid. Shimura was an extremely versatile actor, able to go from playing the weak and timid clerk Watanabe in Ikiru to then play the powerful and wise leader Kambei in The Seven Samurai, and be totally convincing in both roles. In Shimura, Kurosawa found a reliable actor who could provide a solid foundation and strength to every film he appeared in.
In the early years of their collaboration Shimura was frequently the star or co-star, but as the years past the younger and more visibly dynamic Mifune moved to centre stage in Kurosawa’s films while Shimura played more secondary roles. Such was the bond between director and actor that Shimura’s last film performance was a role written especially for him in Kurosawa’s Kagemusha. Collaborators for life, both committed to their craft.
Finest Work Together:
So many classic films appear in the list above, but one collaboration stands out above the others. Ikiru is a masterpiece of a film – filled with humanity, grace, and heartbreaking compassion. It is one of Kurosawa’s greatest films, and has what is regarded as the finest performance of Takashi Shimura's career. Shimura is superb as Watanabe, a civil servant who learns that he has terminal cancer and realizes he has nothing to show for his dreary, unsatisfying life - until a simple inspiration leads him to a final and enduring act of public generosity and meaning.
It also helps if you genuinely like the other person.
Ford and Wayne.
Kurosawa and Mifune.
Scorcese and De Niro.
Many great collaborations in the world of cinema are famous and widely celebrated, but there are many other creative partnerships that don’t get as much time in the spotlight. It might a supporting actor who serves as a director’s MVP time and time again, a writer whose creative voice finds synchronicity with a particular actor or director, a composer who adds that magic touch to a project, a producer who brings out the best in others, or a D.O.P. who can perfectly capture a moment.
In this column we’ll be featuring some of these great collaborations that deserve a little more time in the spotlight.
* * * * *
The Collaborators:
Akira Kurosawa (Director) & Takashi Shimura (Actor)
When someone mentions the words “Akira Kurosawa” and “collaboration” it is almost a guarantee that the next two words heard will be “Toshiro Mifune”. And there is a very good reason for that - the collaboration between Kurosawa and Mifune is one of the all-time great combinations of a Director and an Actor. However, there is another great partnership between Kurosawa and an Actor that doesn’t get as much attention, but should thought of with the same amount of reverence – and that is his work with the one and only Takashi Shimura.
Stray Dog (1949)
The Collaborations:
Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
The Most Beautiful (1944)
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945)
No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
Drunken Angel (1948)
The Quiet Duel (1949)
Stray Dog (1949)
Scandal (1950)
Rashomon (1950)
The Idiot (1951)
Ikiru (1952)
The Seven Samurai (1954)
I Live in Fear (1955)
Throne of Blood (1957)
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Yojimbo (1961)
Sanjuro (1962)
High and Low (1963)
Red Beard (1965)
Kagemusha (1980)
What Made Them Great:
Kurosawa's cinematic collaboration with Shimura, from 1943 to 1980, started earlier and lasted longer than his work with Mifune (1948–65). While Mifune became known for his visceral energy and passionate performances, Shimura’s work operated on a different spectrum – just as passionate when called for, but more internalised and solid. Shimura was an extremely versatile actor, able to go from playing the weak and timid clerk Watanabe in Ikiru to then play the powerful and wise leader Kambei in The Seven Samurai, and be totally convincing in both roles. In Shimura, Kurosawa found a reliable actor who could provide a solid foundation and strength to every film he appeared in.
The Seven Samurai (1954)
In the early years of their collaboration Shimura was frequently the star or co-star, but as the years past the younger and more visibly dynamic Mifune moved to centre stage in Kurosawa’s films while Shimura played more secondary roles. Such was the bond between director and actor that Shimura’s last film performance was a role written especially for him in Kurosawa’s Kagemusha. Collaborators for life, both committed to their craft.
Finest Work Together:
So many classic films appear in the list above, but one collaboration stands out above the others. Ikiru is a masterpiece of a film – filled with humanity, grace, and heartbreaking compassion. It is one of Kurosawa’s greatest films, and has what is regarded as the finest performance of Takashi Shimura's career. Shimura is superb as Watanabe, a civil servant who learns that he has terminal cancer and realizes he has nothing to show for his dreary, unsatisfying life - until a simple inspiration leads him to a final and enduring act of public generosity and meaning.
Ikiru (1952)
| 19 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
