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Akira Kurosawa

Something Like an Autobiography Paperback – Illustrated, 1 Jan. 1983

by Akira Kurosawa (Author), Audie E. Bock (Translator)

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Translated by Audie E. Bock.

"A first rate book and a joy to read.... It's doubtful that a complete understanding of the director's artistry can be obtained without reading this book.... Also indispensable for budding directors are the addenda, in which Kurosawa lays out his beliefs on the primacy of a good script, on scriptwriting as an essential tool for directors, on directing actors, on camera placement, and on the value of steeping oneself in literature, from great novels to detective fiction."
--Variety

"For the lover of Kurosawa's movies...this is nothing short of must reading...a fitting companion piece to his many dynamic and absorbing screen entertainments."
--Washington Post Book World

Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Vintage Books
Publication date

1 Jan. 1983
Dimensions

13.21 x 1.6 x 20.24 cm
ISBN-10

9780394714394
ISBN-13

978-0394714394
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Product description

From the Back Cover

Translated by Audie E. Bock.
"A first rate book and a joy to read.... It's doubtful that a complete understanding of the director's artistry can be obtained without reading this book.... Also indispensable for budding directors are the addenda, in which Kurosawa lays out his beliefs on the primacy of a good script, on scriptwriting as an essential tool for directors, on directing actors, on camera placement, and on the value of steeping oneself in literature, from great novels to detective fiction."
--"Variety
"For the lover of Kurosawa's movies...this is nothing short of must reading...a fitting companion piece to his many dynamic and absorbing screen entertainments."
--"Washington Post Book World

About the Author

Akira Kurosawa was born in 1910, to an old samurai family. He received many awards for his work including the 1980 Grand Prize at Cannes for Kagemusha. Kurosawa died in 1998.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0394714393
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage Books; Illustrated edition (1 Jan. 1983)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780394714394
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0394714394
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.21 x 1.6 x 20.24 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 62,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 53 in Film Director Biographies
- 74 in Film Direction & Production (Books)
- 280 in Biographies about Artists, Architects & Photographers

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439 ratings

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4.8 out of 5

439 global ratings

5 star		81%
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Storyteller

A gift for a film buff.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 26 January 2023

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Recipient loves the book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 2 November 2020

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Kurosawa is one of the greatest and most original film-makers of the 20th Century and I would rank him alongside Bergman, Hitchcock, Ford, Spielberg (who is a fan) etc. It is probably the case that you have to be a fan of Kurosawa's films to really enjoy this book. It is because of it's appeal to this, very specific, audience that I give it four stars. Not because of any weakness in the book itself. However, anyone new to Kurosawa will also find this a fascinating and insightful book. It might well encourage you to seek out the films. Indeed, I would say that the ideal preparation for reading the book would be to watch Rashomon, whose winning of the Golden Lion and Italian Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival of 1950 took the movie-going world by surprise. (Not least, the director, who did not even know that it had been entered). In fact a special "honorary" Academy Award was given several years before the Best Foreign Language Award was officially created.
This book ends with the success of Rashomon, so what we have here is an account of Kurosawa's childhood, youth and his early years in the Japanese film industry. As Kurosawa says, the rest of his life can be found in his films. Most of his better known and internationally-famous films were made after 1950, so this is a great way to make sense of the origins and nature of the Japanese film industry, and Kurosawa's place in it. It is also a brilliant starting point from which to go and watch those fabulous later films. I found it utterly wonderful. Kurosawa's life is reflected in his film-making to a fascinating degree and he is unusually perceptive about his own creative processes. His writing is poetic, literary and often strikingly vivid. This befits a man who started as a visual artist and trained himself to be a writer. He also has a self-deprecating, dry wit that is very engaging. This is not common. There are several great film-makers (I will name no names!) who are profoundly inarticulate when it comes to talking about their own films. Kurosawa is also blessed with a superb translation by the Fulbright Scholar, Audie Bock, who spent many hours with the director and watched him filming the stunning Kagemusha in the late 1970s. It's clear that this was a great labour of love for the translator and it shows in the care she has taken to make the director's meaning crystal clear at every turn.
I would describe this as the best book that I know about the craft of film-making, as well as the best insight into the life and work of one particular genius. (...and I do not use that word lightly).

4 people found this helpful

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Felix Lector

Rare and valuable memoirs from a great artist

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 8 September 2017

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A startlingly honest and wonderfully detailed account of the beginnings of AK's life and early career. He paints a warts and all self-portrait, almost a confessional at times:from open and honest stories about his childhood, then onwards to the successes and failures of the earliest films in his oeuvre. It is all achieved with a guile-less charm, wit and perception, and entirely lacking pomposity or self-deception. He has a justifiable go every so often at critics and other filmmakers who misread his work, and he is utterly honest in assessing his own successes and failures. Even when it's not specifically about his film-making, the book is a marvellous reminder of how the most apparently small insignificant incidents in life can be grist to the mill of a great artist. When the big stuff happens- the great Kanto earthquake of his childhood, the war in the Pacific when he was starting out as a director, his memories are described with the vivid detail of a great screenwriter as well as director. All this is enhanced by a fine translation from Audie Bock, who, like Donald Ritchie before her, was as close to Kurosawa as any westerner could be.

3 people found this helpful

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Marva G

Inspiring. Funny.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 19 February 2022

Verified Purchase

Very interesting head space. Now I need to not only watch his films I haven't seen, but rewatch the ones I have!

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Brian D.

... fascinated by the Japanese culture and Kurosawa gives a brilliant view of pre-war Japan in his early years

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 8 October 2017

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Always been fascinated by the Japanese culture and Kurosawa gives a brilliant view of pre-war Japan in his early years. He is truly among the greats of twentieth century film directors. Other great books https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/kindle/ku/sign-up/ui/rw/about/ref=sr_ku_lm?qid=1507466137https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/kindle/ku/sign-up/ui/rw/about/ref=sr_ku_lm?qid=1507466137https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/kindle/ku/sign-up/ui/rw/about/ref=sr_ku_lm?qid=1507466137

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 15 January 2020

Bought for my son.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 15 January 2019

Verified Purchase

Fredrick says yay so 5 stars.

One person found this helpful

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ken watanabe

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 30 April 2016

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Fascinating insight to one of my favourite Directors. Completely recommended if you're interested in Japan or cinema.

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Akira Kurosawa

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