The Japanese movie director Akira Kurosawa sits atop the pantheon of the world’s greatest filmmakers. And rightfully so, with masterpieces like IKIRU, THE SEVEN SAMURAI, RASHOMAN, RAN, THRONE OF BLOOD, THE BAD SLEEP WELL, RED BEARD, and STRAY DOG to his credit. But did you know he was also a great FINE artist as well?
Trained as a young man in illustration and calligraphy, Kurosawa intended to become a painter, and indeed was a painter for several years until he lost his enthusiasm for it. It was only by sheer chance that Kurosawa found his way into the then-nascent Japanese film industry, beginning first as an assistant director, then a writer, then on and on and on…
But he always had a painter’s eyes…and a painter’s brushes, canvas, and whatever else he needed to create arresting, expertly rendered images. Most of his work was done in relation to a film he was working on at the time, but that should not diminish from their beauty and power.
Here’s a piece he did for the film RAN, a re-telling of King Lear.
Another one from RAN. He was in his 70’s at that point. Man…
Here is a terrifying conceptual painting for his film DREAMS. Mount Fuji on fire. Yikes!
Another from DREAMS. The color!
A painting of Vincent Van Gogh (played by Martin Scorsese in the film).
And I leave you this alarming piece. I’m kind of glad this one stayed a painting!
