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Sorry, just a moment.
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Cut!
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00:05:17,188 --> 00:05:26,324
Tell us how you got involved in movies
and sword fighting.
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00:05:27,932 --> 00:05:30,298
When I was in the 5th grade
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my grandfather took me to Otsu
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to the famous Seta no Karahashi Bridge
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and right there on the bridge
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a movie crew was filming a scene.
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The actors were sword fighting... slashing
and falling to the ground
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00:05:50,455 --> 00:05:53,583
and someone was choreographing the action.
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I thought, 'That's what I want to do.'
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The word 'chanbara'
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comes from the sound of clashing swords
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'chan, chan, bara, bara'.
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Put them together and it's 'Chanbara'.
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The stories come from
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00:07:22,981 --> 00:07:26,246
the 14th to 19th century,
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Japan's feudal period.
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The era of the samurai.
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00:07:37,095 --> 00:07:42,431
In these films, the leading man
must be strong
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and respectful.
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But a strong and respectful hero
can't win the girl.
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It's a tradition from the old days.
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Romance is awkward
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in a traditional Japanese setting.
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But the audience wants romance.
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So it's a quandary.
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There are many different themes.
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There's samurai versus samurai.
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The revenge drama.
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And there's...
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samurai versus the townspeople.
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There's the family feud films
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about power struggles between clans.
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00:08:50,735 --> 00:08:53,169
But they all have one thing in common
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00:08:53,504 --> 00:08:54,835
sword fighting.
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00:09:12,757 --> 00:09:15,385
During the Edo period
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there were many ronin... poor, unemployed.
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They were samurai.
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But they weren't connected to a clan.
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They were wandering, homeless ronin.
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Life was hard in feudal times with
the rigid class system.
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00:09:36,814 --> 00:09:39,510
Young moviegoers related to these stories.
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00:09:40,151 --> 00:09:41,345
The old stories
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00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:43,485
about poor, outcast ronin
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struck a chord.
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The samurai represents
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the refinement of the self, a way of living.
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00:10:05,976 --> 00:10:12,439
How the samurai lives and the way he dies
is a beautiful thing.
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Sacrificing oneself to help others
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over all else.
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Of course
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the enemy has the power
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and the numbers.
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But when someone stands up to that.
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Whether it's Chanbara or a Western,
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you have to root for that.
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The ronin acts out his frustration and rage
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knowing that in the end
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it's hopeless.
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He knows that death is inevitable.
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He fights for his own sense of justice.
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I feel
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that's what heroism is.
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At the time, I was starting middle school.
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Everything was about indoctrinating us
towards militarism.
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The Emperor was considered a god.
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We were called 'Shoukokumin'.
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Little Citizens.
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The Children of the Emperor.
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And we must be ready to die for him.
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That's what we were taught.
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My father was born and raised in China
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in a place called Qingdao,
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and grew up in a city called Dalian.
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He reminisced about those days
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always adding that we'd never understand.
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He was beaten by his superiors.
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They struck him again and again with
the soles of their leather shoes.
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All he could do was clench his teeth.
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00:16:00,164 --> 00:16:03,497
My father always had that forceful voice
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and his superiors didn't like it.
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They thought he was too cocky
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for a young, inexperienced soldier.
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Japan didn't have much left.
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Towards the end of the war
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boys who hadn't even reached puberty
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were drafted into the military.
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And with minimal training
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they were sent into combat.
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It was my father's job to train them.
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The night before the boys were sent off
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on their suicide missions
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my father would treat them to sukiyaki
for the last time.
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The next day, they'd say,
'Sergeant Mifune, off I go!'
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My father told them,
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00:17:27,918 --> 00:17:30,250
'All right, off you go!
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'But you don't have to say,
"Banzai!" for the Emperor.
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'Instead,
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'just say goodbye to your mother.
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'That's all you need to do.'
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It was his compassion that
made him rebellious.
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I have no experience with war.
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But listening to his stories.
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I knew he went through a lot
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when I saw him crying.
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War never brings any good to the people,
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especially in Japan.
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The people were oppressed.
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We were hungry.
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There was no food.
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Money had no value.
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So we used clothing.
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We sold whatever clothes we had.
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Men sold their suits.
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Women sold their fancy kimonos
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and exchanged them for food.
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It was a miserable time.
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We lost the war.
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And we were left with emptiness.
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When the war ended
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he received one and a half yen
and a blanket.
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He cut up the blanket with scissors
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and sewed it with thread.
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And, by himself, he made this coat.
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He also made these trousers.
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Everyday was a struggle to survive,
but...
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How do I put this?
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Still, there was a vitality.
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People were ready for something.
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We had freedom of speech.
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We were ready to get back to living.
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Unlike now, there weren't many kinds
of entertainment.
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The movies were one of
the few things we had.
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We were uplifted by the movies.
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They inspired us to think
about how to live.
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They had a huge impact on us.
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He wasn't interested in becoming an actor.
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I never imagined
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that I could act
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in front of people.
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He applied for a job as
a camera assistant.
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00:21:55,586 --> 00:22:01,786
I saw the ad for the 'New Face'
competition in the newspaper.
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Somehow his resume was sent over there.
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00:22:11,568 --> 00:22:16,835
I challenged myself to see
if I could do it.
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00:22:19,309 --> 00:22:22,506
Suddenly he was on the path
to becoming an actor.
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Though I was sure I wouldn't be selected.
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I was fortunate to get into the movie industry.
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But there was no one like Mifune.
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00:23:13,964 --> 00:23:15,056
How do I say this?
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He had a big presence, didn't he?
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00:24:53,230 --> 00:24:59,430
Rashomon was filmed in 1950,
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the same year I was born.
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00:25:38,442 --> 00:25:41,536
Honestly, when I saw Rashomon I thought,
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'What?'
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He was so different from what we expected
in a period film.
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So gruff.
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He's not an actor
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who blends into the background.
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You feel him
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energizing everything around him.
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I think
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he studied his part thoroughly.
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But in front of the camera
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when they yelled 'Action!'
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he forgot everything
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and just went for it.
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During the war
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Kurosawa made films supporting the war
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and he regretted it.
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Japanese people tend to follow their leaders
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and obey orders.
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Kurosawa vowed that he would never again
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be the kind of person who
bows to authority.
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He wanted to create characters
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who spoke their minds
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who rebelled.
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So when he found Toshiro Mifune
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he found an actor who could pull it off.
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I know you're going to have my neck.
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I have nothing to hide.
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00:28:03,754 --> 00:28:06,552
When Kurosawa saw Mifune
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he instinctively knew.
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Mifune had something unique,
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something that other movie actors
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just didn't have.
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And that unique quality was
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the ability
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to express anger or joy
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physically.
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Seven Samurai was my movie debut.
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Toho called me in
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00:30:38,328 --> 00:30:40,319
to see Mr. Kurosawa.
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00:30:41,398 --> 00:30:43,423
Mr. Kurosawa, unlike his image,
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was smiling.
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00:30:46,669 --> 00:30:49,137
I expected him to be scary
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but he was smiling like a monk.
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00:30:53,777 --> 00:30:55,472
He told me,
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'In the months before we shoot
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'Takashi Shimura and
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'Toshiro Mifune,
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00:31:08,057 --> 00:31:09,183
'the three of you
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00:31:11,394 --> 00:31:13,224
'must hang out together.
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00:31:13,696 --> 00:31:15,857
'Go to the movies together,
eat together.'
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00:31:16,566 --> 00:31:17,828
Those were his orders.
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00:31:18,535 --> 00:31:21,800
So Shimura became my uncle
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00:31:22,739 --> 00:31:24,502
and Mifune became my brother.
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00:31:25,375 --> 00:31:27,639
And he still is.
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00:31:28,812 --> 00:31:31,804
The Kurosawa people were looking for actors.
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00:31:32,816 --> 00:31:34,943
Especially those who could do fight scenes.
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00:31:47,764 --> 00:31:52,963
Kurosawa came over
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00:31:53,403 --> 00:31:56,566
and he went down the line.
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00:31:57,306 --> 00:32:00,572
He said, 'Can you guys fight?'
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00:32:00,743 --> 00:32:03,041
We said, 'Yes, we can fight.'
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00:32:04,247 --> 00:32:06,579
A typical actor's response.
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00:32:07,083 --> 00:32:10,052
Say anything to get the part.
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00:32:11,286 --> 00:32:15,553
I said, 'I m ready to fight, anytime.'
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00:32:16,659 --> 00:32:20,425
They did a test of us getting killed.
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00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:24,601
Kurosawa said to me,
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00:32:26,301 --> 00:32:28,896
'What are you doing?'
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00:32:29,439 --> 00:32:35,571
I made it look flashy, the same way
I did in other films.
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00:32:38,948 --> 00:32:42,975
He said, 'Nakajima, come here!'
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00:32:43,620 --> 00:32:47,056
'This is not just another samurai film.
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00:32:48,357 --> 00:32:50,622
'It has to feel real.'
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00:32:51,995 --> 00:32:52,996
'Okay.'
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00:32:57,867 --> 00:33:01,234
Kurosawa was tough to work for.
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00:33:01,871 --> 00:33:04,465
One thing was sure.
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00:33:04,641 --> 00:33:08,634
If you didn't do what he said, you were out.
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00:33:09,712 --> 00:33:13,079
If you did exactly as he asked
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00:33:13,483 --> 00:33:14,677
you were okay.
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00:33:38,608 --> 00:33:39,700
Bastards.
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00:35:19,842 --> 00:35:23,608
Kurosawa never gave acting instructions
to Mifune.
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00:35:24,347 --> 00:35:26,872
When it was time to shoot,
234
00:35:27,516 --> 00:35:30,111
Mifune had thoroughly researched
235
00:35:30,453 --> 00:35:32,045
how a farmer-turned-samurai
236
00:35:32,789 --> 00:35:35,883
might behave in that situation.
237
00:35:36,525 --> 00:35:39,188
People have no idea
how hard he worked.
238
00:35:40,196 --> 00:35:43,563
He was always thinking
about his character
239
00:35:44,701 --> 00:35:48,899
and how to add humor to it.
240
00:35:49,806 --> 00:35:52,468
He had a great sense of humor.
241
00:35:56,679 --> 00:35:59,113
First in line, step forward!
242
00:36:01,851 --> 00:36:02,977
I'm talking to you!
243
00:36:04,353 --> 00:36:05,354
I said you!
244
00:36:21,938 --> 00:36:24,634
What was Mifune like?
245
00:36:27,110 --> 00:36:29,874
If I had to describe him in one word:
246
00:36:30,413 --> 00:36:31,937
Perseverance.
247
00:36:32,547 --> 00:36:35,483
He was a man of perseverance.
248
00:36:35,918 --> 00:36:39,285
Even as I grumbled and complained
about various things
249
00:36:40,523 --> 00:36:43,720
he just waited quietly.
250
00:36:44,694 --> 00:36:48,561
In the beginning, Toshiro Mifune didn't
want to be an actor.
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00:36:49,365 --> 00:36:53,825
Those days, the reality was
that many people
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00:36:53,970 --> 00:36:55,961
became actors just to survive.
253
00:36:56,372 --> 00:36:59,136
I think that was Mifune's situation.
254
00:37:00,575 --> 00:37:02,566
But if he was going to do it,
255
00:37:04,380 --> 00:37:05,711
he was going to do it right.
256
00:37:07,984 --> 00:37:10,680
He wasn't going to embarrass himself
as a man.
257
00:37:11,387 --> 00:37:13,355
He had a lot of pride
258
00:37:14,323 --> 00:37:17,315
so he worked that much harder.
259
00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:22,026
And through that process,
he evolved as a human being.
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00:37:33,743 --> 00:37:35,734
Kikuchiyo, what are you doing?
261
00:37:36,345 --> 00:37:37,937
One sword is not enough!
262
00:39:06,035 --> 00:39:10,165
It was my first adult role.
263
00:39:10,573 --> 00:39:12,699
So I didn't know what to expect.
264
00:39:14,543 --> 00:39:15,840
I was pretty nervous.
265
00:39:35,932 --> 00:39:38,423
Otsu, forgive me.
266
00:39:43,706 --> 00:39:46,731
Musashi and Otsu
267
00:39:47,243 --> 00:39:50,041
are shy and awkward with each other.
268
00:39:50,479 --> 00:39:52,174
But I think
269
00:39:52,747 --> 00:39:55,080
there's great love between them.
270
00:39:55,484 --> 00:39:57,475
Love takes a different shape.
271
00:39:58,554 --> 00:40:00,886
For Japanese, I think,
272
00:40:01,290 --> 00:40:03,884
it's more reserved.
273
00:40:04,260 --> 00:40:08,890
We don't show it outwardly so much.
274
00:40:10,499 --> 00:40:15,459
He didn't say much.
275
00:40:15,638 --> 00:40:18,471
But he wasn't stuck up or anything.
276
00:40:19,342 --> 00:40:21,503
He took his work seriously.
277
00:40:23,980 --> 00:40:24,981
Here I am.
278
00:40:25,281 --> 00:40:26,543
What do you want?
279
00:40:27,782 --> 00:40:29,910
Why don't you just behead me?
280
00:40:31,454 --> 00:40:35,914
You shame me this way!
And you call yourself a priest?
281
00:40:37,259 --> 00:40:41,127
You treat a samurai this way?
Idiot!
282
00:40:41,764 --> 00:40:43,356
You're very spirited.
283
00:40:45,634 --> 00:40:46,635
Damn you!
284
00:40:46,936 --> 00:40:50,064
In the morning, he was always on time
for make-up.
285
00:40:51,607 --> 00:40:54,940
He arrived 15 minutes early
286
00:40:55,277 --> 00:40:58,542
to the sound stage for filming.
287
00:40:59,448 --> 00:41:00,574
I thought to myself:
288
00:41:00,815 --> 00:41:02,909
That's how I need to be.
289
00:41:04,020 --> 00:41:06,545
Choose wisely or else!
290
00:41:12,861 --> 00:41:14,955
Well, which should I choose?
291
00:41:42,591 --> 00:41:43,785
Too many.
292
00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:45,161
Wash these sticks.
293
00:41:49,698 --> 00:41:51,666
A true samurai,
294
00:41:55,371 --> 00:41:59,034
even if he was really hungry,
he wouldn't show it.
295
00:42:04,013 --> 00:42:05,275
He...
296
00:42:06,749 --> 00:42:09,115
must live with dignity.
297
00:42:43,319 --> 00:42:46,152
I was ecstatic!
298
00:42:46,955 --> 00:42:48,651
My chance to be in a Kurosawa film!
299
00:42:49,258 --> 00:42:52,352
I wanted any role, even the smallest part.
300
00:42:53,095 --> 00:42:55,222
As long as I got it.
301
00:43:05,174 --> 00:43:09,508
Kurosawa knows a lot about Noh theater.
302
00:43:10,746 --> 00:43:12,509
So...
303
00:43:12,681 --> 00:43:14,546
Mifune's make-up
304
00:43:15,251 --> 00:43:17,776
is based on a Noh theater mask
305
00:43:18,187 --> 00:43:20,382
of a ferocious warrior.
306
00:43:20,789 --> 00:43:22,552
Even more wonderful
307
00:43:22,957 --> 00:43:24,323
was Lady Macbeth
308
00:43:24,827 --> 00:43:27,022
played by Isuzu Yamada.
309
00:43:27,296 --> 00:43:30,129
The make-up for her character
310
00:43:30,599 --> 00:43:33,090
is also inspired by a Noh mask.
311
00:43:40,276 --> 00:43:43,734
I played a samurai who guards the shogun.
312
00:43:44,113 --> 00:43:46,081
There are three of us.
313
00:43:46,549 --> 00:43:47,550
I was Samurai 1.
314
00:43:53,722 --> 00:43:58,091
It's a small role.
315
00:43:58,394 --> 00:43:59,884
But even with small roles
316
00:44:00,296 --> 00:44:01,786
each one of us was treated
317
00:44:02,364 --> 00:44:04,958
as if we were the main characters.
318
00:44:06,835 --> 00:44:08,427
I'm on guard duty
319
00:44:08,971 --> 00:44:12,168
and we're given alcohol.
320
00:44:12,675 --> 00:44:14,973
So I'm a bit wobbly.
321
00:44:16,679 --> 00:44:19,705
That's when Mifune comes at me.
322
00:44:21,984 --> 00:44:22,985
He stabs me.
323
00:44:28,190 --> 00:44:30,784
That was the end of my scene.
324
00:44:32,428 --> 00:44:36,364
But Mr. Kurosawa liked the way I died.
325
00:44:45,507 --> 00:44:46,508
Return to your posts!
326
00:44:47,176 --> 00:44:48,666
That's an order!
327
00:44:49,345 --> 00:44:53,338
The shocking thing about that scene was
328
00:44:53,616 --> 00:44:55,140
they didn't have insurance.
329
00:44:59,188 --> 00:45:02,646
And what's more, they used real arrows
330
00:45:03,192 --> 00:45:07,026
and the archers were college students.
331
00:45:10,098 --> 00:45:11,760
The arrows were going everywhere.
332
00:45:15,371 --> 00:45:18,863
The archers weren't good shots.
333
00:45:19,408 --> 00:45:21,205
Who killed our great lord?
334
00:45:23,379 --> 00:45:25,073
They told me to shoot.
335
00:45:26,282 --> 00:45:28,375
I was there, but I said,
336
00:45:28,484 --> 00:45:29,974
'No way!'
337
00:45:59,515 --> 00:46:02,108
Why did he do such a dangerous scene?
338
00:46:02,484 --> 00:46:05,248
With no insurance?
339
00:46:05,421 --> 00:46:08,686
I think it was from the war, his loyalty.
340
00:46:09,157 --> 00:46:10,420
He felt
341
00:46:11,327 --> 00:46:13,818
an obligation to Kurosawa.
342
00:46:15,264 --> 00:46:18,859
He owed his success to Kurosawa.
343
00:46:19,301 --> 00:46:21,394
He was a poor soldier
344
00:46:21,704 --> 00:46:23,695
who became a movie star.
345
00:46:24,138 --> 00:46:27,267
That was Kurosawa's doing
346
00:46:27,509 --> 00:46:31,502
and Mifune felt indebted to him.
347
00:46:37,151 --> 00:46:38,449
Mifune just...
348
00:46:39,321 --> 00:46:40,913
persevered.
349
00:46:41,557 --> 00:46:44,754
He did so many tough things
without complaint.
350
00:46:46,562 --> 00:46:49,087
Well, that's how Kurosawa's films were.
351
00:46:49,531 --> 00:46:52,523
Other films and other directors
352
00:46:52,901 --> 00:46:54,266
might have friendly sets
353
00:46:54,870 --> 00:46:57,065
where the director and actors
354
00:46:57,506 --> 00:47:00,201
create a warm, family atmosphere.
355
00:47:00,509 --> 00:47:05,606
Kurosawa's sets were definitely
not like that.
356
00:47:06,548 --> 00:47:09,312
Everything was tightly run.
357
00:47:09,685 --> 00:47:11,778
Stressful, intense.
358
00:47:12,554 --> 00:47:15,421
You hear the word 'perfectionist'
359
00:47:16,158 --> 00:47:18,182
for Kurosawa, that's expected.
360
00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:20,494
To make a great film,
361
00:47:20,829 --> 00:47:22,160
everything matters.
362
00:48:45,414 --> 00:48:47,609
When I worked with Mr. Mifune
363
00:48:48,617 --> 00:48:51,609
the film industry was intense.
364
00:48:52,320 --> 00:48:55,757
We worked non-stop.
365
00:48:57,759 --> 00:49:02,059
We were in the studio 350 days
out of 365.
366
00:49:02,431 --> 00:49:03,762
When we got lunch
367
00:49:04,266 --> 00:49:09,568
everyone took off for the restaurant.
368
00:49:09,938 --> 00:49:13,772
Except Mr. Mifune and me.
369
00:49:14,610 --> 00:49:16,475
We stayed behind.
370
00:49:17,379 --> 00:49:21,008
Then we ran up
371
00:49:21,349 --> 00:49:25,446
to the hair and make-up room
372
00:49:25,988 --> 00:49:30,425
where we played Blackjack.
373
00:49:32,728 --> 00:49:35,595
We had lunch delivered
374
00:49:36,965 --> 00:49:38,455
by the local restaurant.
375
00:49:38,800 --> 00:49:40,631
Mr. Mifune always ordered
376
00:49:41,303 --> 00:49:42,463
ramen.
377
00:49:43,639 --> 00:49:44,799
For me
378
00:49:45,541 --> 00:49:49,238
that was the real Mifune.
379
00:49:49,645 --> 00:49:51,339
He loved to play cards
380
00:49:52,848 --> 00:49:55,476
cussing, 'Damn you, bastard!'
381
00:49:55,918 --> 00:49:58,045
Then he went back to the set
382
00:49:58,487 --> 00:50:00,648
and he was a noble samurai again.
383
00:50:24,780 --> 00:50:29,308
We, the Toho movie actors,
384
00:50:30,719 --> 00:50:33,483
we worked all year round
385
00:50:33,722 --> 00:50:35,917
at full throttle.
386
00:50:36,258 --> 00:50:37,259
We all did.
387
00:50:38,226 --> 00:50:41,024
Most of the Mifune films
388
00:50:41,429 --> 00:50:42,795
are about men.
389
00:50:43,131 --> 00:50:45,622
They didn't know what to do with women.
390
00:50:46,735 --> 00:50:50,535
For me to get a good part
391
00:50:50,706 --> 00:50:55,666
I had to go to Shochiku Studios.
392
00:50:55,877 --> 00:51:00,712
Toho wasn't big on roles for women.
393
00:51:02,450 --> 00:51:04,385
Most Toho movies
394
00:51:04,753 --> 00:51:08,348
directed by Kurosawa and starring Mifune
395
00:51:08,590 --> 00:51:10,717
are about men.
396
00:52:02,177 --> 00:52:06,841
Yojimbo was Kurosawa s
attempt at doing something fun.
397
00:52:07,115 --> 00:52:11,552
He wanted to do something everyone
would enjoy.
398
00:52:25,801 --> 00:52:27,632
In his other films
399
00:52:28,837 --> 00:52:30,099
he took political themes
400
00:52:30,472 --> 00:52:32,906
or philosophical ideas
401
00:52:33,208 --> 00:52:36,143
and injected them into the story.
402
00:52:36,645 --> 00:52:40,775
With Yojimbo he just
wanted to entertain.
403
00:52:54,663 --> 00:52:57,689
They were both in their prime.
404
00:52:58,100 --> 00:53:00,933
So it was exciting.
405
00:53:01,737 --> 00:53:02,829
Don't take us for fools.
406
00:53:03,705 --> 00:53:04,706
See this tattoo?
407
00:53:05,273 --> 00:53:06,706
I wasn't in prison for nothing.
408
00:53:16,118 --> 00:53:20,885
I'm a wanted man.
They can't wait to crucify me.
409
00:53:31,933 --> 00:53:32,934
Me too.
410
00:53:34,536 --> 00:53:35,730
They want my head.
411
00:53:36,538 --> 00:53:39,336
Not to brag, but I've committed every
crime in the book.
412
00:53:43,979 --> 00:53:45,742
So you won't mind if I kill you?
413
00:53:46,081 --> 00:53:47,082
What!
414
00:53:47,315 --> 00:53:48,805
Kill us if you can.
415
00:53:50,418 --> 00:53:51,715
It might hurt.
416
00:53:52,154 --> 00:53:54,122
Yakuza don't fear swords.
417
00:53:57,625 --> 00:53:59,890
There's no cure for idiots.
418
00:54:01,963 --> 00:54:03,294
Yojimbo
419
00:54:03,799 --> 00:54:08,668
is Mifune at his best.
420
00:54:09,171 --> 00:54:14,939
Mentally and physically, as an actor.
421
00:54:15,811 --> 00:54:17,836
It all came together.
422
00:54:26,354 --> 00:54:27,878
Get your husband and run!
423
00:54:28,690 --> 00:54:31,523
Mifune was very considerate.
424
00:54:31,793 --> 00:54:35,092
When we were standing around,
waiting on the sound stage,
425
00:54:36,031 --> 00:54:38,022
he'd bring us chairs and say,
426
00:54:38,767 --> 00:54:40,758
'Hey, sit down'
427
00:54:41,036 --> 00:54:42,333
in that gruff manner.
428
00:54:43,505 --> 00:54:45,700
When we were on location
429
00:54:46,007 --> 00:54:47,599
and the food at the inn was...
430
00:54:48,310 --> 00:54:49,777
well...
431
00:54:50,678 --> 00:54:52,646
it wasn't very good...
432
00:54:54,648 --> 00:54:56,776
He'd throw some garlic in a pan,
433
00:54:57,819 --> 00:55:00,413
then some meat and vegetables.
434
00:55:00,722 --> 00:55:02,246
He'd stir fry it up.
435
00:55:02,891 --> 00:55:05,052
'Here, eat this', he'd say.
436
00:55:06,962 --> 00:55:08,429
Mifune was
437
00:55:08,997 --> 00:55:10,123
like the ocean.
438
00:55:11,233 --> 00:55:12,665
The ocean is boundless.
439
00:55:16,905 --> 00:55:21,239
But, sometimes, very turbulent.
440
00:55:23,245 --> 00:55:26,009
He was quite dashing,
441
00:55:26,414 --> 00:55:29,008
vibrant and refreshing.
442
00:55:29,484 --> 00:55:31,247
I never saw it in person
443
00:55:31,653 --> 00:55:34,645
but I suspect he kept a lot inside.
444
00:55:35,190 --> 00:55:36,987
And it had to come out somehow.
445
00:55:38,360 --> 00:55:42,693
In Kurosawa's films, I always played
the stoic characters.
446
00:55:43,265 --> 00:55:47,395
Diligent, not sexy at all.
447
00:55:52,040 --> 00:55:54,838
Mifune was strong.
448
00:55:55,677 --> 00:55:58,874
So strict and disciplined with himself.
449
00:55:59,881 --> 00:56:03,840
But if you hold everything inside
450
00:56:04,452 --> 00:56:07,421
it builds up over time.
451
00:56:08,123 --> 00:56:10,648
So when night came and the sake
started to flow...
452
00:56:14,362 --> 00:56:15,659
he had to let loose.
453
00:56:16,298 --> 00:56:19,165
So many times I had to save his butt.
454
00:56:24,239 --> 00:56:27,436
Yeah, Mifune was a heavy drinker.
455
00:56:29,577 --> 00:56:33,035
We'd go to Shibuya and he picked fights
with gangsters.
456
00:56:33,915 --> 00:56:38,079
It didn't happen everyday.
457
00:56:38,420 --> 00:56:44,052
But when he drank it was usually sake
or whiskey.
458
00:56:44,326 --> 00:56:47,454
And dinner wasn't over
459
00:56:48,229 --> 00:56:51,892
until he finished the bottle.
460
00:56:53,168 --> 00:56:57,832
When he got drunk, he took his sword out
461
00:56:58,173 --> 00:57:05,011
and he'd swing it around wildly.
462
00:57:05,347 --> 00:57:08,544
And whenever that happened
463
00:57:08,917 --> 00:57:13,411
I was very scared.
464
00:57:14,589 --> 00:57:17,353
He'd get drunk and drive by
Kurosawa's house
465
00:57:17,759 --> 00:57:19,920
in his convertible car.
466
00:57:20,462 --> 00:57:22,123
He'd yell, 'Damn you!'
467
00:57:22,297 --> 00:57:24,128
And we'd say, 'Oh no!'
468
00:57:31,873 --> 00:57:35,138
The big factor was the wind.
469
00:57:41,849 --> 00:57:44,876
They had big airplane propellers.
470
00:57:49,791 --> 00:57:51,952
On top of that, for the big scene
471
00:57:52,794 --> 00:57:53,954
he told the actors,
472
00:57:54,462 --> 00:57:57,090
'Keep your eyes wide open!'
473
00:57:58,033 --> 00:58:00,524
You can't keep your eyes open
in a wind storm.
474
01:01:05,653 --> 01:01:09,316
In Red Beard I'm one of the attackers.
475
01:01:09,591 --> 01:01:10,922
My first move
476
01:01:11,392 --> 01:01:12,416
is to run at him.
477
01:01:12,994 --> 01:01:14,962
Then he throws me over,
478
01:01:19,167 --> 01:01:20,634
and while I'm down
479
01:01:24,339 --> 01:01:26,830
he beats up three or four more people.
480
01:01:30,445 --> 01:01:32,572
Then I come back for more.
481
01:01:39,454 --> 01:01:41,786
I was trying desperately
482
01:01:42,223 --> 01:01:44,657
not to mess up the take.
483
01:01:50,365 --> 01:01:52,993
This is terrible.
Such violence is bad.
484
01:01:54,869 --> 01:01:56,666
Doctors shouldn't do such things.
485
01:01:58,806 --> 01:02:05,803
All of the characters have something
off balance in their lives
486
01:02:06,581 --> 01:02:09,448
that they live with somehow.
487
01:02:25,066 --> 01:02:26,863
My character is sick,
488
01:02:27,068 --> 01:02:32,233
and Mr. Kayama is trying to
give me medicine.
489
01:02:32,507 --> 01:02:34,532
But I refuse to take it.
490
01:02:36,143 --> 01:02:39,511
So the doctor comes and says,
'Let me try.'
491
01:03:00,768 --> 01:03:06,934
The scene establishes
Dr. Akahige's humanity.
492
01:03:26,994 --> 01:03:31,522
I didn't know how to do the scene.
493
01:03:32,199 --> 01:03:33,792
He fooled me
494
01:03:34,502 --> 01:03:36,766
and pulled me through it
495
01:03:37,538 --> 01:03:42,976
the way he stayed in character
as Dr. Akahige.
496
01:03:43,578 --> 01:03:45,603
It felt like all of the actors
497
01:03:46,314 --> 01:03:49,147
were breathing the same air.
498
01:03:49,984 --> 01:03:51,576
Everything came naturally.
499
01:03:55,523 --> 01:03:57,491
Do you want me to yell?
500
01:03:57,692 --> 01:04:00,320
Fine, but I'm still staying.
501
01:04:00,561 --> 01:04:01,562
Who says so?
502
01:04:02,530 --> 01:04:03,827
You taught me the road to take.
503
01:04:05,166 --> 01:04:06,997
On the movie set
504
01:04:07,702 --> 01:04:10,637
our made-up world and the real world
505
01:04:11,506 --> 01:04:14,201
became one.
506
01:04:15,208 --> 01:04:18,007
And we owed it to Mr. Mifune.
507
01:04:18,211 --> 01:04:19,338
He led the way.
508
01:04:45,640 --> 01:04:47,164
Kurosawa was getting older
509
01:04:50,812 --> 01:04:56,648
and was moving away from stories
with samurai heroes.
510
01:04:58,251 --> 01:05:02,211
At the same time, Mifune was getting older,
511
01:05:03,591 --> 01:05:07,027
so it was becoming harder for him
512
01:05:07,628 --> 01:05:10,825
to play tough guys.
513
01:05:12,133 --> 01:05:16,570
That was part of it, but I'm not really
sure what happened.
514
01:05:42,463 --> 01:05:48,629
I believe they had more to achieve
together.
515
01:05:52,473 --> 01:05:56,842
It was the end of an era for all of us.
516
01:05:59,280 --> 01:06:02,078
I don't know exactly what happened.
517
01:06:02,950 --> 01:06:06,613
They went their separate ways.
518
01:06:06,954 --> 01:06:09,081
Mifune got busy
519
01:06:09,457 --> 01:06:12,620
working on films overseas.
520
01:06:12,793 --> 01:06:15,887
Then time passed and
521
01:06:17,064 --> 01:06:21,023
they never talked about it.
522
01:07:07,181 --> 01:07:12,175
But Mifune stayed loyal to Kurosawa
through it all.
523
01:07:13,054 --> 01:07:18,993
He always wanted to work with
Kurosawa again.
524
01:08:30,965 --> 01:08:34,765
I was the publicist
525
01:08:35,468 --> 01:08:38,905
for Mifune Productions.
526
01:08:39,874 --> 01:08:46,040
The one time he shared something personal
527
01:08:47,615 --> 01:08:52,951
was during the scandal.
528
01:09:16,477 --> 01:09:21,642
The words he said to me
529
01:09:21,982 --> 01:09:25,281
have stayed in my memory.
530
01:09:27,888 --> 01:09:30,914
'They'll never understand what I'm feeling.
531
01:09:31,659 --> 01:09:36,494
'Whatever I say, they won't hear me.'
532
01:09:37,264 --> 01:09:40,233
Actually, they never got divorced.
533
01:09:41,669 --> 01:09:44,797
To the very end
534
01:09:45,106 --> 01:09:47,973
my mother refused to sign
535
01:09:48,676 --> 01:09:51,167
the divorce papers
536
01:09:52,379 --> 01:09:56,338
and it turned into a scandal.
537
01:10:08,561 --> 01:10:10,325
On the movies
538
01:10:10,731 --> 01:10:11,857
I would go over
539
01:10:12,433 --> 01:10:15,197
the fight scene with him.
540
01:10:15,602 --> 01:10:18,197
I'd say, 'You move here.
541
01:10:18,539 --> 01:10:20,734
'Then you kill 15 guys.'
542
01:10:21,041 --> 01:10:22,702
He'd say,
543
01:10:23,110 --> 01:10:26,807
'You want me to kill 15 guys at once?'
544
01:10:26,981 --> 01:10:29,472
'Yes, please', I'd say.
545
01:10:30,251 --> 01:10:32,913
He had those glaring eyes.
546
01:10:33,220 --> 01:10:35,882
He held his sword tightly,
547
01:10:36,157 --> 01:10:38,489
clenched his teeth
548
01:10:39,626 --> 01:10:42,562
and moved towards you.
549
01:10:42,963 --> 01:10:44,487
It was intimidating
550
01:10:44,999 --> 01:10:48,696
facing him.
551
01:10:51,739 --> 01:10:56,199
It wasn't slow and graceful,
it was BAM!
552
01:10:59,914 --> 01:11:00,915
No one else
553
01:11:02,016 --> 01:11:03,779
had that power and intensity.
554
01:12:34,441 --> 01:12:41,313
One day, he said we had to start
doing television.
555
01:12:42,116 --> 01:12:48,146
I remember the indescribable pain
in the room.
556
01:13:25,492 --> 01:13:30,691
He was playing 'Toshiro Mifune',
557
01:13:31,732 --> 01:13:35,566
being 'Mifune, the movie star'
instead of acting.
558
01:13:50,918 --> 01:13:53,250
When we were young
559
01:13:53,988 --> 01:13:56,479
we worked together many times,
560
01:13:56,823 --> 01:13:59,952
Mifune and me.
561
01:14:00,194 --> 01:14:07,032
I wish we could've gone on to play
older couples together
562
01:14:07,501 --> 01:14:09,025
if he had stayed healthy.
563
01:14:10,437 --> 01:14:12,802
In the last years of his life
564
01:14:13,107 --> 01:14:17,100
he wasn't able to remember his lines.
565
01:14:17,810 --> 01:14:22,612
So we made a 'cheat sheet' with his lines
566
01:14:23,117 --> 01:14:27,611
written out in big letters.
567
01:14:28,022 --> 01:14:31,116
I would stand next to the camera
and hold the cards
568
01:14:31,625 --> 01:14:33,388
so he could read his lines.
569
01:14:33,961 --> 01:14:35,929
I guess it was Alzheimer's disease.
570
01:14:36,230 --> 01:14:41,099
His son Shiro took good care of him.
571
01:14:42,202 --> 01:14:47,401
Around that time, my father...
572
01:14:48,809 --> 01:14:55,237
started to spend most of his time alone.
573
01:14:55,816 --> 01:15:05,418
Then my wife and I started
to look after him.
574
01:15:32,219 --> 01:15:35,245
I bet he's still playing a samurai.
575
01:15:37,024 --> 01:15:38,025
Really, you know.
576
01:15:38,525 --> 01:15:40,516
He left us too early.
577
01:15:41,728 --> 01:15:44,856
There was no one like him then.
578
01:15:45,466 --> 01:15:46,660
Or now.
579
01:15:48,635 --> 01:15:50,125
I was really sad.
580
01:15:50,404 --> 01:15:51,893
I'm still sad.
581
01:15:53,740 --> 01:15:57,039
My father was also in poor health.
582
01:15:58,045 --> 01:16:02,345
When Mifune died, my father wasn't
able to leave the house.
583
01:16:04,651 --> 01:16:09,247
They were comrades.
584
01:16:20,334 --> 01:16:25,930
We were part of the golden age of
Japanese cinema together.
585
01:16:27,908 --> 01:16:31,036
When I look back at each and every film,
586
01:16:31,912 --> 01:16:36,212
I couldn't have made them without you.
587
01:16:38,785 --> 01:16:41,253
You gave so much of yourself.
588
01:16:43,157 --> 01:16:46,024
Thank you, my friend.
589
01:16:48,462 --> 01:16:49,463
For one last time
590
01:16:50,531 --> 01:16:52,362
over a bottle of sake
591
01:16:53,100 --> 01:16:55,295
I wish I could've told you all this.
592
01:16:57,271 --> 01:16:58,898
Goodbye, my friend,
593
01:17:00,274 --> 01:17:01,275
I'll see you soon.