Dead Man, Mystery Train, and Down by Law

The most striking similarity between the films that immediately caught my attention was that they all featured main protagonists that have had or are having trouble with the law. In Dead Man, our lead character is falsely accused of killing and a price is placed on his head by the head of the factory. In Mystery Train, mainly in the third story, Johnny ends up robbing a place and to lay low from the police for the night, he and some others, hide out at a hotel and by morning are fleeing from cops who aren't looking for them. In Down by Law, two of our main characters are set up for a crime they didn't commit, and are sent to prison.

All three films also focus more on the characters interactions between each other, rather than what should be the prior issue. William in Dead Man focuses more on his interactions with Nobody, Zack and Jack in Done by Law, and Johnny and Charlie in Mystery Train. Each film also seemed to skip over information in order to give more time to the development of characters, with events sometimes feeling shoehorned in. The overall direction of the films seems unclear, with no concrete plot in place. Each also features traveling in some way, whether it be William fleeing with his head or Zack and Jack escaping from prison. Women tended to fall in love almost instantly and aren't given a lot of screen time.

The Auteur Theory ~ Akira Kurosawa

Kurosawa's films, or at least those I have watched this past week, display certain similarities that make them stand out. All three of the films I watched (Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, and The Hidden Fortress), take place in the feudal Japan era, featured a sword-wielding expert, and dealt with manipulation.

Taking place in Japan seems simple enough to understand. The director seems to focus on the feudal era, which suggests that he is fascinated with that era. It's likely he may use or reference subjects and ideas from that time period in his work, although I cannot say for certain as I do not know his every work. In addition to the era, each film featured a highly regarded sword master. While all three are different, they are undoubtably the most interesting character featured, and usually given the most screen time (the exception would be "The Hidden Fortress," where the Princess is another interesting character, and the others hold up their ends as well).

All three films also dealt with the subject of manipulation. In Throne of Blood, Washizu ends up being manipulated by his wife into believing everything in the prophecy and to try and cheat fate, which becomes his undoing. In Yojimbo, Sanjuro tries to manipulate two quarreling sides of a town in order to rise the tension and goad one of them into hiring him. This doesn't go quite as plan, as he gets caught performing an act of aggression to one side. While he gets put in a sticky situation, his situation didn't end up as grim as Washizu. In The Hidden Fortress, Makabe manipulates two peasants into smuggling his princess across borders without their knowledge. In all three films, greed is the central catalyst for the manipulation in each one.

So what I understood so far on Kurosawa's style is that greed is not a virtuous ideal, and those that get enticed by it will eventually have it come back in full force. This is shown in Throne of Blood when Washizu finally dies after the prophecy comes to fulfillment, in Yojimbo when Sanjuro gets captured after he slips up when he kills Ushitora's men, and in The Hidden Fortress when the peasants constantly try to abandon the group and take the gold for themselves. Of course these are only my thoughts on his work that I have seen. It is quite possible that his other films may not even have any of these commonalties, and I just happened to choose the only three similar films. Either way, I enjoyed watching these films and seeing these similarities presented.

Set Design Thoughts ~ Ringu

If I were to look at this screenplay through the eyes of a set designer, I would give the objects that appear in all caps more presence in the scenes they are portrayed in. Above all else, these must be the things most viewers should be able to identify in the scenes. Such as in the beginning of the screenplay when Tomoko hears a noise from living room, the script mentions the light given off from the TV, therefore the lighting would be built in a way that enhances the TV's presence on screen over the other objects in the room. The same goes for objects the actors interact with. They need to be distinguishable from the environment in which they are placed, but at the same time they need to look like they belong there.

As for the lighting of the screenplay, I would avoid bright and warm colors as I would want the viewer to remain somewhat on guard. This story is anything but happy, and it's important that the viewers would remember that. The lighting of a film can determine the mood of it, having bright a warms colors makes it more friendly and safe. While having darker and more grim colors increases the sinisterness too it. I would use a more evened out desaturated lighting, but I would make sure I'm not making the scene to dark either. The lighting I would use would give of a more ominous feeling.

Essentially, I would design the sets in the same way I would make an environment for Game Art. I would make sure the objects of note are easily discernible, and construct the lighting to make the viewer feel the way I want. I don't know too much about making films, so I would probably approach like I was making a game environment.