Ten Thousand Films weblog » Filmmaking

The Avatamsaka Sutra (Hwa-Om-Kyung) 화엄경

10k films — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:26:15 +0000

The Avatamsaka Sutra (Hwa-Om-Kyung) 화엄경. Written and directed by Jang Sun-woo. Starring Oh Tae-kyung, Won Mi-kyung, Lee Ho-jae, Lee Hye-young, Kim Hye-seon, Lee Dae-ro, Dokko Young-jae, Shin Hyun-joon. Cinematography by Yoo Young-gil. Produced by Taehung Pictures. 126 min, 35mm, color. Winner of Alfred Bauer Award at 44th Berlin International Film Festival. More here and here

Salesman by Maysles Brothers

10k films — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:45:51 +0000

“Salesman” is a 1969 direct cinema documentary film directed by brothers Albert and David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin

“Salesman” – See characters summary clip here

The films of Akira Kurosawa

10k films — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:14:10 +0000

The Films of Akira Kurosawa - Chronological list

Books about filmmaking – a few recommendations

10k films — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:02:29 +0000

On Film-making by Alexander Mackendrick and Paul Cronin
The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook by C Jones and G Jolliffe
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje
The Film Director as Superstar by Joseph Gelmis
Screenwriters’ Masterclass by Kevin Conroy Scott
The Film Director’s Intuition: Script Analysis and Rehearsal Techniques by Judith Weston
Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television by Judith Weston
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field
Devotional Cinema by Nathaniel Dorsky
David Mamet: On Directing by David Mamet
Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman
Ozu: His Life and Films by D Richie
The Films of Akira Kurosawa by D Richie
A Hundred Years of Japanese Films: A Concise History by D Richie
How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, Multimedia: Language, History, Theory by James Monaco (Theory)
Which Lie Did I Tell? by William Goldman

Herzog on Herzog edited by Paul Cronin
Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder

The Citizen Kane Book by Pauline Kael
Zen and the Art of Screenwriting 2: More Insights and Interviews by William Froug
I Lost it at the Movies by Pauline Kael

Kurosawa: The Last Emperor

10k films — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:38:51 +0000

Documentary on film director Akira Kurosawa. Alex Cox / First broadcast in 1999

Akira Kurosawa Digital Archive opens

Akira Kurosawa – News, Information and Discussion

Akira Kurosawa: Influences and Influence – Documentary

10k films — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:41:53 +0000

Akira Kurosawa: Influences and Influence Part 1

Akira Kurosawa: Influences and Influence Part 2

The Desert – Lawrence of Arabia (1962) David Lean

10k films — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:50:36 +0000

The Desert – two classic scenes from Lawrence of Arabia (1962) directed by David Lean

Ikiru (生きる “To Live”) by Akira Kurosawa

10k films — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:27:44 +0000

Ikiru (生きる “To Live”) is a 1952 Japanese film co-written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. Read more

An iconic scene from the film is from the last few moments in Watanabe’s life, as he sits on the swing at the park he built. As the snow falls, we see Watanabe gazing lovingly over the playground, at peace with himself and the world. He starts singing Gondola no Uta. Read the text of the Gondola no Uta song.

Soy Cuba – Я Куба – I am Cuba // great cinematography

10k films — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:30:42 +0000

Cinematography Sergey Urusevsky
Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov

More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Cuba

Mono no aware

10k films — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:00:12 +0000

Mono no aware (物の哀れ, mono no aware^?, lit. “the pathos of things”), also translated as “an empathy toward things,” or “a sensitivity of ephemera,” is a Japanese term used to describe the awareness of mujo or the transience of things and a bittersweet sadness at their passing. The term was coined in the eighteenth century by the Edo-period Japanese cultural scholar Motoori Norinaga, and was originally a concept used in his literary criticism of The Tale of Genji, and later applied to other seminal Japanese works including the Man’yōshū, becoming central to his philosophy of literature, and eventually to Japanese cultural tradition.

The word is derived from the Japanese word mono, which means “things” and aware, which was a Heian period expression of measured surprise (similar to “ah” or “oh”), translating roughly as “pathos,” “poignancy,” “deep feeling,” or “sensitivity.” Thus, mono no aware has frequently been translated as “the ‘ahh-ness’ of things.” In his criticism of The Tale of Genji, Motoori noted that mono no aware is the crucial emotion that moves readers. Its scope was not limited to Japanese literature, and became associated with Japanese cultural tradition (see also sakura).^[1]

Notable manga artists who use mono no aware-style storytelling include Hitoshi Ashinano, Kozue Amano, and Kaoru Mori. The quintessentially “Japanese” director Yasujiro Ozu was well known for creating a sense of mono no aware, frequently climaxing with a character saying a very understated “ii tenki desu ne” (it is fine weather isn’t it?), after both a familial and societal paradigm shift, such as daughter being married off, against the backdrop of a swiftly changing Japan. Norwegian Wood by the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami is an example of this feeling as well^{[citation needed]}.

Some Western scholars have compared it to Virgil’s term lacrimae rerum.^[2]