The role of the artist is to not look away.
AKIRA KUROSAWAIt’s easy to explain the psychological state of a character at a particular moment, but it’s very difficult to describe it through the delicate nuances of action and dialogue. Yet it is not impossible.
More Akira Kurosawa Quotes
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By doing this I sense instantly when something isn’t right. Watching something does not mean fixing your gaze on it, but being aware of it in a natural way.
AKIRA KUROSAWA -
Page 61: No matter where I go in the world, although I can’t speak any foreign language.
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During the shooting of a scene the director’s eye has to catch even the minutest detail. But this does not mean glaring concentratedly at the set.
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I like unformed characters. This may be because, no matter how old I get, I am still unformed myself.
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There is something that might be called cinematic beauty. It can only be expressed in a film, and it must be present for that film to be a moving work.
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Man is a genius when he is dreaming.
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With a good script a good director can produce a masterpiece; with the same script a mediocre director can make a passable film. But with a bad script even a good director can’t possibly make a good film.
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My films come from my need to say a particular thing at a particular time. The beginning of any film for me is this need to express something.
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It is the power of memory that gives rise to the power of imagination.
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When I start on a film I always have a number of ideas about my project. Then one of them begins to germinate, to sprout, and it is this, which I take and work with.
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The terrible thing is that people who are madmen in private may wear a totally bland and innocent expression in public.
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The films an audience really enjoys are the ones that were enjoyable in the making.
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I am not a special person, I am not especially strong; I am not especially gifted.
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That is what makes a real movie. The script must be something that has the power to do this.
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I had wanted to make The Idiot long before Rashomon. Since I was little I’ve liked Russian literature, but I find that I like Dostoevsky the best and had long thought that this book would make a wonderful film.
AKIRA KUROSAWA






