Dodes'ka-den
Dodes'ka-den | |
---|---|
Directed by | Akira Kurosawa |
Screenplay by | Akira Kurosawa Hideo Oguni Shinobu Hashimoto |
Based on | A City Without Seasons 1962 novel by Shūgorō Yamamoto |
Produced by | Akira Kurosawa Yoichi Matsue Keisuke Kinoshita Kon Ichikawa Masaki Kobayashi |
Starring | Yoshitaka Zushi Kin Sugai Toshiyuki Tonomura Shinsuke Minami |
Cinematography | Takao Saito Yasumichi Fukuzawa |
Edited by | Reiko Kaneko |
Music by | Tōru Takemitsu |
Production companies | Toho Yonki no Kai Productions |
Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 140 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Budget | ¥100 million[1] |
Dodes'ka-den (Japanese: どですかでん, Hepburn: Dodesukaden, onomatopoeia term equivalent to "Clickety-clack") is a 1970 Japanese drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Toshiyuki Tonomura, and Shinsuke Minami. It is based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1962 novel A City Without Seasons and is about a group of homeless people living in poverty on the outskirts of Tokyo.
Dodes'ka-den was Kurosawa's first film in five years, his first without actor Toshiro Mifune since Ikiru in 1952, and his first without composer Masaru Sato since Seven Samurai in 1954.[2] Filming began on April 23, 1970, and ended 28 days later.[3] This was Kurosawa's first-ever color film and had a budget of only ¥100 million.[1] In order to finance the film, Kurosawa mortgaged his house, but it failed at the box office, grossing less than its budget,[4] leaving him with large debts and, at sixty-one years old, dim employment prospects. Kurosawa's disappointment culminated one year later on December 22, 1971, when he attempted suicide by slashing his wrists and neck with a razor.[5]
Plot
The film is an anthology of overlapping vignettes exploring the lives of a variety of characters who live in a suburban
Ryotaro, a hairbrush maker by trade, is saddled with supporting many children whom his unfaithful wife Misao
After exploring the set-backs and anguish which surrounds many of the families in this indigent community, along with the dreams of escape which many of them support to maintain at least a superficial level of calm, the film comes full circle returning to Rokuchan. As the film ends Rokuchan is again seen preparing to board his imaginary train tram and serve his community of passengers as best he can.
Cast
- Yoshitaka Zushi as Rokuchan
- Kin Sugai as Okuni, Rokuchan's mother
- Toshiyuki Tonomura as Taro
- Shinsuke Minami as Ryotaro Sawagami
- Yuko Kusunoki as Misao, Sawagami's wife
- Junzaburō Ban as Yukichi Shima
- Kiyoko Tange as Shima's wife
- Michio Hino as Ikawa, Shima's guest
- Keiji Furuyama as Matsui, Shima's guest
- Tappei Shimokawa as Nomoto, Shima's guest
- Kunie Tanaka as Hatsutaro Kawaguchi
- Jitsuko Yoshimura as Yoshie, Kawaguchi's wife
- Hisashi Igawa as Masuo Masuda
- Hideko Okiyama as Tatsu, Masuda's wife
- Hiroshi Akutagawa as Hei
- Tomoko Naraoka as Ocho
- Atsushi Watanabe as Tanba
- Kamatari Fujiwara as Suicidal Old Man
- Kōji Mitsui as Stall Operator (cameo)
Production
Five years had elapsed since the release of
It marks a stylistic departure from Kurosawa's previous works. It has no central story and no protagonist. Instead it weaves together the stories of a group of characters living in a slum as a series of anecdotes.[2] It was his first color film, and he had only ever worked with a few of the actors previously; Kamatari Fujiwara, Atsushi Watanabe, Kunie Tanaka, and Yoshitaka Zushi.[2] It marks the first time Kurosawa had used Takao Saito as principal cinematographer, and Saito became his "cinematographer of choice" for the rest of his career.[2] Nogami said that Kurosawa told the crew that this time he wanted to make a film that is "sunny, light, and endearing."[11] She speculated that Dodes'ka-den was his rebuttal to what went wrong on Tora! Tora! Tora!. The script supervisor of the film opined that the director was still recuperating from the shock of what happened on that Hollywood film, and was not operating at full strength.[11] Nogami said that she gets choked up whenever she watches the scene where Rokuchan is called "trolley crazy" by children, because she imagines Kurosawa as the boy, with people yelling "Movie-crazy" at him.[11] Kurosawa said that he wanted to show younger filmmakers that it did not need to cost a lot of money to make a movie.[24] David A. Conrad wrote that an influence of the surging Japanese New Wave can be felt in this impulse and in the decision to focus on outcasts in contemporary society.[25]
Filming
In contrast to Red Beard, which was in production for two years, filming for Dodes'ka-den began on April 23, 1970, and was finished in only 27 days, two months ahead of schedule.[11][2] According to Stephen Prince, it was shot for standard-ratio 35 mm movie film rather than the anamorphic widescreen that Kurosawa had used since The Hidden Fortress (1958). Prince writes that this was because the director did not like how anamorphic lenses handled color information.[2] As a result, it marks a return to the 1.33:1 aspect ratio he used regularly in the 1940s and early 1950s.[2] Prince also states that Dodes'ka-den marks the first time the director used zoom lenses; a sign of the "speed and economy" with which he made the film.[2] Nogami stated that she had never seen Kurosawa as "quiet and undemanding" on set as he was for Dodes'ka-den. As an example, she explained how during a nine-minute scene that had to be shot in one take, Junzaburō Ban had trouble memorizing all of his dialogue and caused numerous retakes. Nogami said "the old Kurosawa" would have lost his temper and started yelling, but instead he just gently said "let's try it again." and eventually praised Ban when the shot was finally completed.[11] Nogami also related how Fujiwara was well-known for not being able to memorize his lines. While filming an eight-minute scene with Watanabe, Kurosawa finally had had enough and had Nogami give Fujiwara verbal prompts. Nogami said her voice was hard to remove from the final tape.[11] The drawings that cover the walls of Rokuchan's house were initially drawn by Kurosawa at home. But he decided they were too "grown-up", and had schoolchildren draw them instead.[11]
Title
The film's title "Dodeska-den" are the playacting "words" uttered by the boy character to mimic the sound of his imaginary trolley car in motion. It is not a commonly used onomatopoeic word in the Japanese vocabulary, but was invented by author Shūgorō Yamamoto in Kisetsu no Nai Machi (A City Without Seasons), the original novel on which the film was based. In standard Japanese language, this sound would be described as gatan goton, equivalent to "clickity-clack" in English.[c][27]
Reception
Dodes'ka-den was Kurosawa's first film in color.
Despite continuing to draw mixed responses,
Awards
The film won the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association.
Documentary and home media
A significant short 36-minute documentary was made by Toho Masterworks concerning this film, Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create (Toho Masterworks, 2002). The film was released by the Criterion Collection on DVD in 2009, and it includes the documentary by Toho Masterworks.
See also
- List of submissions to the 44th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Explanatory notes
- ^ Such as Kurosawa's frequent script supervisor Teruyo Nogami,[11] Kurosawa's assistant Hiromichi Horikawa ,[12] and film theorist Noël Burch.[13]
- ^ Misao means "Chastity".
- joints in the rail.[26]
References
- ^ a b Ishizaka 1988, p. 53.
- ^ Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Tsuzuki 2010, p. 371.
- ^ Barrett 2018, p. 64.
- ^ Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 262.
- ^ a b c Crist, Judith (1971-10-11). "Movies: Uneasy Rider". New York Magazine: 67.
- ^ a b Yoshimoto (2000), p. 339.
- ISBN 9781780233802
- ^ In Yamamoto's novel it is stated "it has been repeatedly demonstrated by [expert] doctors that he is neither imbecile nor mentally deficient".[7]
- ^ Yamamoto (1969), p. 12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "A Conversation with Teruyo Nogami", Dodeska-den DVD booklet, 2009, The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2022-11-20
- ISBN 9784620314709,
六ちゃんという知的障害児 (mentally disabled child named Rokuchan)
- ^ ISBN 9780520038776
- ^ Yoshimoto (2000), p. 340.
- ^ a b Yamada (1999), p. 162.
- ^ Mellen (1972), p. 19.
- ^ Mellen (1972), pp. 20, 22Mellen refers to Hei as Hira-san
- ^ Yamada (1999), p. 163.
- ^ Wilson, Flannery; Correia, Jane Ramey (2011), Intermingled Fascinations: Migration, Displacement and Translation in World Cinema, p. 105
- ^ a b Mellen (1972), pp. 20, 21.
- ^ Wilson & Correia (2011), p. 123.
- ISBN 9784924609129
- ^ "Dodes'ka-den". Criterion. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ "Shuns Fests, But Kurosawa To Russ". Variety. August 11, 1971. p. 2.
- ^ Conrad, David A. (2022). Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan, 176, McFarland & Co.
- ^ Yamamoto, Shūgoro (1969) [1962], "Kisetsu no nai machi", Yamamoto Shugoro shosetsu zenshu (collected works) (in Japanese), vol. 17, p. 13
- ^ Mellen (1972), p. 20.
- ^ Sharp, Jasper (November 14, 2016). "Akira Kurosawa: 10 essential films". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
- ^ "The 44th Academy Awards (1972) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
- ^ Anderson, Joseph L.; Richie, Donald; The Japanese Film: Art and Industry, p.460
- ^ "Clickety-Clack (Dodes'ka-den) - Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
- ^ "Votes for DODES'KA-DEN (1970)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
Bibliography
- Barrett, Michael S. (August 15, 2018). Foreign Language Films and the Oscar: The Nominees and Winners, 1948-2017. ISBN 9781476674209.
- Conrad, David A. (2022). Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan. McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-1-4766-8674-5.
- Ishizaka, Shōzō (1988). The Legends of the Masters (in Japanese). ISBN 978-4380902529.
- Mellen, Joan (1972), "Dodeskaden: A Renewal", Cinema, 7: 20
- Ryfle, Steve; Godziszewski, Ed (2017). Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa. ISBN 9780819570871.
- Tsuzuki, Masaaki (2010). Akira Kurosawa's Life and Career (in Japanese). ISBN 9784487804344.
- Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro (2000), Film Studies and Japanese Cinema, Duke University Press, ISBN 9780822325192
- Yamada, Kazuo (山田和夫) (1999), Kurosawa Akira no zenbō (in Japanese), Shin-Nihon Shuppansha, ISBN 9784406026765
External links
- Dodes'ka-den at IMDb
- Dodesukaden (in Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database
- Dodes'ka-den at AllMovie
- Dodes'ka-den at the TCM Movie Database