Are we easily influenced??

[BabyJane]

What do you think it is about Japanese films that appeal to western audiences?



Kurosawa Akira is the Japanese director of 'Seven Samurai' 'Yojimbo' and 'The Shadow Warrior'



Two of these films have been remade by western directors into equally famous films such as The Magnificent Seven, A Fistful of Dollars..but what is it about the originals that made it so appealing to us?



Give me your ideas!!

[Steve Crook]

name='BabyJane']What do you think it is about Japanese films that appeal to western audiences?



Kurosawa Akira is the Japanese director of 'Seven Samurai' 'Yojimbo' and 'The Shadow Warrior'



Two of these films have been remade by western directors into equally famous films such as The Magnificent Seven, A Fistful of Dollars..but what is it about the originals that made it so appealing to us?



Give me your ideas!!

How many Japanese films have been made that haven't been remade by Western directors?

How many films from other countries have been remade by British or American directors?



It's only when you consider those questions as well that you'll be able to see if there is anything special about Japanese films that appeals to Western audiences.



Personally, I don't think there is anything "in Japanese films". What there is, is something in the films of Kurosawa. But he is a genius



Steve

[SirOllyBolly]

Not by huge fonts, no

[Steve Crook]

name='SirOllyBolly']Not by huge fonts, no

Steve

[MB]

My son has studied Japanese and is very keen on Japanese culture and cinema (anime in particular)



So I asked him: Quote: "Japan followed a similiar approach to America where it pursued isolationism, before depleting it's raw resources. Up until this time, it's culture had been allowed to prosper largely on it's own. Today, it's films and television still contain references from this time, popular are influences from the Shinto religion, folk stories and martial arts.



With America's occupation of Japan, many western traits in cinema and theatre were introduced in to Japanese culture making it more accessible to us and this combines to create an interesting mix of familiar formulas - but with an alien quality that is intriguing."



(Thats my baby! Only seventeen!)

[batman]

I don't think it's just Kurosawa who is interesting contemporary film goers .... apart from Godzilla, the most recent Japanese remakes have been horror films such as The Ring and The Grudge. The recent upturn of interest in Asian cinema, in particular Korean cinema, is because they have produced some remarkable films which feature superior writing and direction to that found in most Hollywood films.

[moonfleet]

Ozu's films are "zen" but not boring, "L'Empire des Sens" is one of the best erotic...



Moon.

[Wicked Lady]

Probably because they have the same sorts of 'good guy/bad guy' dynamic that Western audiences respond to, and film makers can easily adapt.