Search Results: Books by akira kurosawa

Tokyo: Film Art Association, 1949. First Draft script for the 1949 Japanese film noir. Manuscript ink and pencil annotations on two leaves. Text in Japanese. Generally considered to be the greatest film noir made in Japan, and hugely influential on American film noir of the 1950s and 1960s. White titled wrappers. 96 leaves, with last page of text numbered 96. Mechanical duplication. Toning due to aging throughout, wrapper split at spine with mild foxing, otherwise Good condition. BFI 534. Criterion Collection 233. Grant Japan. Selby Japan. Spicer Japan Classic Noir.

Tokyo: Toho Company / Kurosawa Productions, 1961. Draft script for the 1962 film. Text and titles in Japanese. With a promotional leaf in Japanese laid in with the script. Based loosely on the short story "Hibi Heian" ("Peaceful Days") by Shugoro Yamamoto. The highly enjoyable sequel to Akira Kurosawa's 1961 film "Yojimbo," in which we follow the return of the beloved ronin. White perfect-bound wrappers with black and green titles. Approximately 57 leaves, with last page of text numbered e-25. Mimeograph duplication, printed on rectos and versos. Very Good plus, with moderate foxing on the wrappers and light page toning. BFI 972. Criterion Collection 53.

New York: Greenwich Film Productions, 1985. Draft script for the 1985 film. Copy belonging to cameraman Hidehiro Igarashi, with his annotations in manuscript pencil throughout. Text, annotations, and titles in Japanese. Igarashi is also credited as a cameraman for director Akira Kurosawa's later films "Dreams" (1990) and "Rhapsody in August" (1991). Based on Shakespeare's play "King Lear." An elderly warlord in medieval Japan divides his vast empire among his three sons. The power corrupts them and turns them on each other, as well as their father. Nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Director for Kurosawa, winning one. Shot on location in Kumamoto, Shizuoka, Himeji, Oita, Aichi, Yamagata and Tokyo, Japan. Bright blue titled wrappers. Title page present. Approximately 100 leaves. Xerographic duplication, printed on rectos and versos. Pages and wrapper Near Fine, perfect bound. Ebert II. Criterion Collection 316.

Tokyo: Toho Company, 1958. Draft script for the seminal 1958 film. Text and titles in Japanese. Director Akira Kurosawa's first widescreen feature, hugely successful and named by film critic David Ehrenstein as "one of the greatest action-adventure films ever made." George Lucas has long since acknowledged "The Hidden Fortress" as a major influence on "Star Wars," and indeed the plot is essentially the same. White titled perfect-bound wrappers. Approximately 77 leaves, with last page of text numbered e-24. Mimeograph duplication, printed on recto and verso. Light tidemark on top page and wrapper edges, else about Near Fine in Near Fine wrappers. BFI 867. Criterion Collection 116.

Tokyo: Kurosawa Production Co, 1963. Draft script for the 1965 Japanese film, preceding the release by nearly two years. Text and titles in Japanese. Based on Shugoro Yamamoto's short story collection "Akahige Shinryotan." Toshiro Mifune's final film with director Akira Kurosawa, considered one of the director's masterpieces, following a small-town doctor and his new intern, a highly educated, arrogant young man. Set in the Edo district of Koishikawa. White titled wrappers, with a blue titled dust jacket. Title page present, dated 1963. 65 leaves, with last page of text numbered g-17. Mimeograph duplication, rectos only. Pages Very Good plus, wrapper Very Good plus, with light foxing to the rear wrapper, with perfect binding. Jacket is Very Good plus, with light foxing to the fore-edges and rear panel.

Tokyo: Toho / Kurosawa Productions, 1962. Draft script for the 1963 Japanese film. Text and titles in Japanese. A legendary Japanese noir, based on American author Ed McBain's 1959 novel "King's Ransom." A wealthy industrialist is contacted by a gang of crooks who inform him that they have kidnapped his son, and are holding him hostage in exchange for an enormous ransom. The industrialist soon realizes, however, that the boy they have taken is in fact the son of his chauffeur-and must decide whether he will bankrupt himself and his family in order to save a child that is not his own. A nuanced portrait of a man facing the potential destruction of his future, further elevated by morally ambiguous characters and the gritty realism of its world. The fifteenth, and penultimate, film that leading actor Toshiro Mifune would make with director Akira Kurosawa, and one of the highest grossing Japanese films of 1963, breaking Kurosawa's box office record for the third time. Shot on location in Kanagawa,… Read More

Tokyo: Toho Studios, 1960. Shooting script for the 1960 film. Numeric annotations in manuscript pencil on the rear wrapper. Text and titles in Japanese. A loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," about a young man who rises to a powerful executive position at a corrupt Japanese corporation in order to seek vengeance for his father's wrongful death. Shot on location in Tokyo and Kyushu, Japan. White titled perfect-bound wrappers, dated 1960. Approximately 115 leaves, printed on rectos and versos, with last page of text numbered f-45. Pages Very Good plus, wrapper Very Good, moderately foxed and toned, with chipping on the crown. BFI 637. Criterion Collection 319. Grant Japan. Spicer Japan.

Tokyo: Kurosawa Productions, 1955. Draft script for the 1955 film. Title in manuscript ink on the front wrapper. Text and titles in Japanese. An elderly factory owner is increasingly fearful of what he believes to be Japan's looming, inevitable destruction in a nuclear war, and grows obsessed with the idea of moving his family to a rural farm in Brazil. Director Akira Kurosawa's final film collaboration with longtime composer Fumio Hayasaka, made shortly before Hayasaka's death in 1955 of tuberculosis. White titled perfect-bound wrappers. Approximately 73 leaves, with last page of text numbered e-30. Mimeograph duplication, printed on rectos and versos. Pages Very Good plus, lightly and evenly toned, wrapper Very Good, lightly foxed, with wear and toning on the spine.

Tokyo: Toho Company, 1948. Draft script for the 1948 Japanese film noir. Text and titles in Japanese. The first of sixteen film collaborations between director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune. Kurosawa's seventh film saw him exploring the inter workings and motivations of the yakuza and machismo. Censorship was tight regarding the occupation, forbidding criticism of Americans, leading Kurosawa to slip in references to the US presence in Japan, satirizing jazz, "pan pan" girls (unlicensed prostitutes catering to American soldiers), and Western clothing and hairstyles. Set in the slums of postwar Japan. White titled wrappers. Approximately 40 leaves, with last page of text numbered 79. Mimeograph duplication, printed on rectos and versos. Pages Very Good plus, wrapper Very Good plus, covered in a protective plastic wrapping from when the script was used during filming, side stapled. BFI 638. Criterion Collection 413. Grant Japan.

Tokyo: Toho Company, 1957. Draft script for the 1957 film. All titles and text in Japanese. Based on the 1902 play by Maxim Gorky, and filmed several times prior, most notably by Jean Renoir in 1936. In Kurosawa's version, the story is moved from Gorky's Volga (Russia) setting to the Edo period in Japan. Off-white perfect-bound titled wrappers, with a protective plastic cover adhered to the spine. Approximately 53 leaves, with last page of text numbered c-29. Mimeograph duplication, printed on rectos and versos. Pages lightly age toned else Near Fine, wrapper and protective cover Very Good plus. Criterion Collection 239.

Paris: Seuil, 1985. Fine. Seuil, Paris 1985, 24x29cm, broché. - Edition originale de la traduction française. Quelques inévitables manques de film pelliculé recouvrant l'ouvrage, une trace de pliure angulaire en tête du premier plat. Texte de Bertrand Raison, ouvrage illustré de photographies tirées du film. Rare et précieuse signature manuscrite d'Akira Kurosawa sur la page de faux-titre. [ENGLISH DESCRIPTION ON DEMAND]

Tokyo: Toho, 1970. Draft script for the 1970 Japanese film. With manuscript ink and pencil annotations to the rear wrapper and throughout the text. Included with the script is a mimeographed shooting schedule. Text and titles in Japanese. Annotations relate to the following: (a) names of the chosen cast members, (b) set rehearsals and camera rehearsals, (c) times for shooting (e.g., Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night), phone numbers for production personnel, (d) names of potential and/or hired camera assistants, (e) names of potential and/or hired actors, (f) indication of the production company chosen (Toho Corporation), as well as film stock and lens sizes to be used (g) additional notes regarding location of some settings, (h) changes to dialogue and action, and (h) some final post-production notes. Director Akira Kurosawa's first color film, based on Shugoro Yamamoto's 1962 novel "Kisetsu no nai machi" (A City Without Seasons). A series of vignettes about a slum in the suburbs of Tokyo and… Read More

Paris: Etudes Cinematographiques, 1964. First Edition. First Edition. Signed by director Akira Kurosawa, who writes the feature essay in this volume, in both Japanese and Roman letters. His signature is rare, this being the first example we have ever offered for sale. 128 pp. Wraps. Text in French, with photo illustrations accompanying some of the articles. Near Fine, lightly soiled, with couple of spots of foxing to the spine and a tap to the crown. From the collection of noted cinephile and collector Pierre Goulliard, who spent decades in the latter half of the twentieth century obtaining inscriptions from the giants of European cinema.

Tokyo: Toho Company, 1959. Early Draft script for the 1959 Japanese film, crediting Masahiro Makino as the director, who would be later replaced by Toshio Sugie. Text in Japanese. Based on a story by novelist Juro Miyoshi, originally released in 1937 as two parts, "Saga of the Vagabonds Part One Tiger Wolf" and "Saga of the Vagabonds Part Two Forward at Dawn." Toshiro Mifune plays a feudal bandit accused of stealing money he was entrusted and assembles a revenge party to storm the family castle and attack his brother who betrayed him. Kurosawa would serve as 3rd assistant director to Eisuke Takizawa for both films and go on to write the latter screenplay previously penned by Sadao Yamanaka. Set in Japan's Edo period. Yellow titled wrappers. Title page present. 66 leaves, with last page of text numbered f-16. Mechanical duplication. Pages Near Fine with mild foxing on paper edge, wrapper Very Good plus, title on spine.

Tokyo: Shochiku Films, 1990. Draft script for the 1991 film, dated May 28, 1990, about a year before its release. A tale of three generations in a postwar Japanese family and their responses to the atomic bombing of Japan. When the film played at the Tokyo Film Festival, critics of Japanese militarism said Kurosawa had ignored the historical facts leading up to the bomb. Kurosawa's response was simple: he wanted his film to say that war was between governments, not people. Richard Gere plays one of the family's Asian-American cousins, a decision falling somewhere between stunt casting and commentary. Set in Nagasaki and shot on location there. Blue titled wrappers, dated 5.28.1990. Title page present. 166 leaves, with last page of text numbered 150. Mechanical duplication. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Near Fine. Rosenbaum 1000.

Yokohama, Kanagawa: Kurosawa Production Co, 1980. Draft script for the 1980 Japanese film. Included separately is a presentation placard, bearing the name of the film alongside the name of an unknown person, both in highly stylized Japanese script. The story of a low-class criminal taught to be the decoy (or kagemusha) of a dying feudal lord, based on the historical daimyo Takeda Shingen, and depicting the 1575 Battle of Nagashino in the cinematic climax. When Toho Studios could not afford to complete the film, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola convinced 20th Century Fox to cover the shortfall in exchange for international distribution rights, receving credits as executive producers on the finished film. Nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Language Film, and winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. Set in Sengoku period, shot on location in Iga Ueno Castle, Himeji Castle, Kumamoto Castle, Yuhara Plain, Hokkaido, Japan. White perfect-bound wrappers.… Read More

Kodansha, 1979. Paperback. Very Good. A book of Kurosawa's artwork for his film, Kagemusha Shadow Warrior. Paperback with dust jacket, obi, and original pricing/tax paperwork. Book is in very nice condition, text is unmarked and pages are tight. Jacket and obi have light edge wear.

Tokyo: Dentsu Music and Entertainment, 1992. Draft script for the 1993 film. Based on essays by Hyakken Uchida. Following World War II, a retired professor finds late in life that his quality of life is greatly reduced in war-torn Tokyo. Denying despair, he pursues writing and celebrates his birthday with a group of his adoring students. Yellow titled wrappers, perfect bound, dated 1992.11.5. 107 leaves, with last page of text numbered 197. Xerographic duplication, printed on rectos and versos. Pages Fine, wrapper Near Fine.

[Film] Akira Kurosawa's Shakespearian samurai epic "Ran". Large archive of 15 original vintage lobby cards. Ran is a medieval Japanese samurai epic based on Shakespeare's King Lear. Kurosawa spent ten years prepping for the film by storyboarding every shot in the film as paintings and designing costumes. The massive film used approximately 1400 extras and 200 horses and earned Kurosawa his only Best Directing Academy Award nomination. All 15 original vintage lobby card measure 9.5" x 11.5" and are printed in color. Images feature sprawling action shots of some of the samurai battle scenes, horses running through water, men charging on fields and several close-ups of Tatsuya Nakadai and Meiko Harada in several emotional scenes. All feature the title RAN in English and Japanese. Small text on margin reads "Ein Film Von Akira Kurosawa", so these were probably issued for the European release of the film. The title Ran has been variously translated as "chaos", "rebellion", or "revolt.; Some tape remnant on… Read More

Kurosawa's Yojimbo. Archive of 4 Original Vintage photos used as lobby cards in movie theaters. All about 7" x 9.5". Glossy and black and white. Yojimbo is a 1961 samurai film directed by Akira Kurosawa in which a ronin arrives in a small town where competing crime lords fight for supremacy. The film stars Toshiro Mifune and was nominated for the Academy Award. Yojimbo inspired several films including A Fist Full of Dollars and even Lucas' Star Wars. "Yojimbo over the years, became widely regarded as one of the best films by Kurosawa and one of the greatest films ever made." All four photos feature the title "Yojimbo" and "Der Leibwachter" in the lower white margin below. Pinhole marks in corners, but does not affect the image. In very good condition.