The University of Minnesota Press has published a new English-language Kurosawa book titled Long Take.
The publisher frames the book as a continuation of Kurosawa’s Something Like An Autobiography, whose narration ended with the release of Rashomon in 1950. Long Take is a fairly different book though, as it is a collection of articles, interviews and reflections, rather than an attempt at biographical narrative.
The 240-page book, translated into English by Anne McKnight, was originally published in Japan as Yume wa tensai de aru (“Dreams Are Forms of Genius”) in 1999, a year after Kurosawa’s death.
The first section of the book starts with an essay by Kurosawa, “To Spark a New Golden Age” from 1970, in which he writes about a wide range of topics related to cinema and his own history. This is followed by an interview about the director John Ford from 1987, as well as an article titled “The Artisans of Madadayo” from 1993, where he talks about Japanese and international cinema, and film audiences, in the context of his final film, Madadayo.
The book’s middle section includes two interviews: one from 1991 focusing on Seven Samurai and another from 1990 where Kurosawa reflects on his Lifetime Academy Award and his film Dreams.
The final section of the book comprises three articles from Kurosawa’s daughter Kazuko. The first of these explores Kurosawa’s list of one hundred great films, which has been circulating online before. It is followed by the articles “Farewell, Papa” (1998) and “Dreaming It Forward: Introducing the Kurosawa-gumi” (1999), where Kazuko Kurosawa writes about her relationship with her father and his work.
These three main sections are bookended by a 30-page introduction by the translator and about 50 pages of notes, references, an index and a chronology of Kurosawa’s life.
While not a comprehensive collection or biography, Long Take looks like an excellent addition to the Kurosawa library. There is plenty of interesting information in the book, for instance when Kurosawa talks about Runaway Train and Tora! Tora! Tora!, suggesting that the reason for the former’s collapse was disagreement over the script with the American side, while the main sticking point with Tora! Tora! Tora! according to Kurosawa’s article was who had was in control of the final cut.
The translator has recently sat down for an hour-long interview, which you can watch on YouTube.
For more information, see the University of Minnesota Press website. The book is available from the publisher and major booksellers.
