Yesterday I was talking Yesterday talk ing about the relevance of screenplays in film-making, there was a query from one of my students about the approach of Akira Kurosawa to screenplays in his films. I think the best way to look at Kurosawas outlook towards screenplays in film making is to go through his Something Like an Autobiography. Im enclosing a few lines from the book for you to get enlightened, like I did when I went through them. ‘With a good script a good director can produce a masterpiece; with the same script a mediocre director can make a passable film. But with a bad script even a good director can’t possibly make a good film. For truly cinematic expression, the camera and the microphone must be able to cross both fire and water. hat is what makes a real movie. he script must be something that has the power to do this.’ ‘In order to write scripts, you must first study the great novels and dramas of the world. !o !ou must consider why they are great. "here does the emotion come from that you feel as you read them# "hat degree of passion did the author have to h ave, what level of meticulousness did he have to command, in order to portray the characters and events as he did# !ou must read thoroughly thoroughly,, to the point where you can grasp all these things. !ou !ou must also see the great films. !o !ou must read the great screenplays and study the film theories of the great directors. $f your goal is to become a film director director,, you you must master screenwriting.’
‘A good structure for a screenplay is that of the symphony, with its three or four movements and differing tempos. %r one can use the &o &oh h pl play ay with its three'part structure( )o *introduction+, ha *destruction+ and kyu *haste+. $f you devote yourself fully to &oh and gain something good from this, it will emerge naturally in your films. he &oh is a truly uniue art form that exists nowhere else in the world. $ think the -abuki, which imitates it, is a sterile flower. But in a screenplay, $ think the th e symphonic structure is the easiest for the people of today to understand.’ ‘Something that you should take particular notice of is the fact that the best scripts have very few explanatory ex planatory passages. dding dding explanation to the descriptive passages of a screenplay is the most dangerous trap you can fall into. $t’s easy to explain the psychological state of a character at a particular part icular moment, but it’s very difficult to describe it through the delicate nuances of action and dialogue. !et !et it is not impossible. great deal about this can be learned from the study of the great plays, and $ believe the /hard'boiled0 detective novels can also be very instructive.’ ‘I began writing scripts with two other people around 1234. 5p until then $ wrote alone, and found that $ had no difficulties. But in writing alone there is a danger that your interpretation of another human being will suffer from one'sidedness. $f you write with two other people about that human being, you get at least three different viewpoints on him, and you can discuss the points on which you disagree. lso, the
director has a natural tendency to nudge the hero and the plot along into a pattern that is the easiest one for him to direct. By writing with about two other people, you can avoid this danger also.’ ‘I‘ve forgotten who it was that said creation is memory. 6y own experiences and the various things $ have read remain in my memory and become the basis upon which $ create something new. $ couldn’t do it out of nothing. For this reason, since the time $ was a young man $ have always kept a notebook handy when $ read a book. $ write down my reactions and what particularly moves me. $ have stacks and stacks of these college notebooks, and when $ go off to write a script, these are what $ read. 7omewhere they always provide me with a point of breakthrough. 8ven for single lines of dialogue $ have taken hints from these notebooks. 7o what $ want to say is, don’t read books while lying down in bed.’
‘A novel and a screenplay are entirely different things. he freedom for psychological description one has in writing a novel is particularly difficult to adapt to a screenplay without using narration.’ ‘Characters in a film have their own existence. he filmmaker has no freedom. $f he insists on his authority and is allowed to manipulate his characters like puppets, the film loses its vitality.’ ‘At some point in the writing of every script $ feel like giving the whole thing up. From my many experiences of writing screenplays, however, $ have learned something( $f $ hold fast in the face of this blankness and despair, adopting the tactic of Bodhidharma, the founder of the 9en sect, who glared at the wall that stood in his way until his legs became useless, a path will open up.’ ‘Those who say an assistant director’s )ob doesn’t allow him any free time for writing are )ust cowards. :erhaps you can write only one page a day, but if you do it every day, at the end of the year you’ll have <= pages of script. $ began in this spirit, with a target of one page a day. here was nothing $ could do about the nights $ had to work till dawn, but when $ had time to sleep, even after crawling into bed $ would turn out two or three pages. %ddly enough, when $ put my mind to writing, it came more easily than $ had thought it would, and $ wrote uite a few scripts.’
Patrick Garson wrote, “Analysing any film by Akira Kurosawa is a joy. The sense of care, placement and thought lying behind eery shot is an unspoken guarantee that nothing on screen is accidental.! " couldn#t agree more, as " had once analy$ed Ikiru, which broke my heart. %e are also reminded by &an 'arper that, “&espite his unarguable success, Kurosawa was, in fact, one of the greatest risk(taking filmmakers in the history of international film )many of those risks, " might add, didn#t pay off*. +ery one of his world(renowned films was either preceded or followed by a film more eperimental in form or more difficult. -ou can een argue that some of his greatest successes ) Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai* were enormous risks for Kurosawa#s career the ones that did pay off/! Kurosawa was, in fact, one of the greatest risk(taking filmmakers in the history of international film. 0f course, Kurosawa was heaily inoled in the screenwriting of his films with a handful of writers he used throughout his career. 1o this begs the 2uestion3 what did the renowne d risk( taker, ground(breaker, and masterpiece(maker, hae to say about screenwriting4
These 2uotes come to us from Akira Kurosawa#s book, Something Like an Autobiography. 'ope you enjoy them. 5With a good script a good director can produce a masterpiece6 with the same script a mediocre director can make a passable film. 7ut with a bad script een a good director can#t possibly make a good film. 8or truly cinematic epression, the camera and the microphone must be able to cross both fire and water. That is what makes a real moie. The script must be something that has the power to do this.# %ith a bad script een a good director can#t possibly make a good film. In
order to write scripts, you must first study the great noels and dramas of the world. -ou must consider why they are great. %here does the emotion come from that you feel as you read them4 %hat degree of passion did the author hae to hae, what leel of meticulousness did he hae to command, in order to portray the characters and eents as he did4 -ou must read thoroughly, to the point where you can grasp all these things. -ou must also see the great films. -ou must read the great screenplays and study the film theories of the great directors. "f your goal is to bec ome a film director, you must master screenwriting.#
5A good structure for a screenplay is that of the symphony, with its three or four moements and differing tempos. 0r one can use the 9oh play with its three(part structure3 jo )introduction*, ha )destruction* and kyu )haste*. "f you deote you rself fully to 9oh and gain something good from this, it will emerge naturally in your films. A good
structure for a screenplay is that of the symphony, with its three or four moements and differing tempos. The 9oh is a truly uni2ue art form that eists nowhere else in the world. " think the Kabuki, which imitates it, is a sterile flower. 7ut in a screenplay, " think the symphonic structure is the easiest for the people of today to understand.#
5Something that you should take particular notice of is the fact that the best scripts hae ery few eplanatory passages. Adding eplanation to the descriptie passages of a screenplay is the most dangerous trap you can fall into. "t#s easy to eplain the psychological state of a character at a particular moment, but it#s ery difficult to describe it through the delicate nuances of action and dialogue. -et it is not impossible. A great deal about this can be learned from the study of the great plays, and " beliee the “hard(boiled! detectie noels can also be ery instructie.# 5I began writing scripts with two other people around :;<=. >p until then " wrote alone, and found that " had no difficulties. 7ut in writing alone there is a danger that your interpretation of another human being will suffer from one(sidedness. "f you write with two other peop le about that human being, you get at least three different iewpoints on him, and you can discuss the points on which you disagree. Also, the director has a natural tendency to nudge the hero and the plot along into a pattern that is the easiest one for him to direct. 7y writing with about two other people, you can aoid this danger also.# "n writing alone there is a danger that your interpretation of another human being will suffer from one(sidedness.
5I5e forgotten who it was that said creation is memory. ?y own eperiences and the arious things " hae read remain in my memory and become the basis upon which " create something new. " couldn#t do it out of nothing. 8or this reason, since the time " was a young man " hae always kept a notebook handy when " read a book. " write down my reactions and what particularly moes me. " hae stacks and stacks o f these college notebooks, and when " go off to write a script, these are what " read. 1omewhere they always proide me with a point of breakthourgh. +en for single lines of dialogue " hae taken hints from these notebooks. 1o what " want to say is, don#t read books while lying down in bed.#
5A noel and a screenplay are entirely different things. The freedom for psychological description one has in writing a noel is particularly difficult to adapt to a screenplay without using narration.# 5Characters in a film hae their own eistence. The filmmaker has no freedom. "f he insists on his authority and is allowed to manipulate his characters like puppets, the film loses its itality.# 5At some point in the writing of eery script " feel like giing the whole thing up. 8rom my many eperiences of writing screenplays, howeer, " hae learned something3 "f " hold fast in the face of this blankness and despair, adopting the tactic of 7odhidharma, the founder of the @en sect, who glared at the wall that stood in his way until his legs became useless, a path will open up.# 5Those who say an assistant director#s job doesn#t allow him any free time for writing are just cowards. Perhaps you can write only one page a day, but if you do it eery day, at the end of the year you#ll hae BC pages of script. " began in this spirit, with a target of one page a day. Perhaps you can write only one page a day, but if you do it eery day, at the end of the year you#ll hae BC pages of script. There was nothing " could do about the nights " had to work till dawn, but when " had time to sleep, een after crawling into bed " would turn out two or three pages. 0ddly enough, when " put my mind to writing, it came more easily than " had thought it would, and " wrote 2uite a few scripts.# - Mystery Man
I’m famous yet anonymous, failed yet accomplished, brilliant yet semi-brilliant. I’m a homebody ho !etsets around the orld. I’m brash and daring yet chilled ith a tist. I also rite for Script "aga#ine.
