The Bad Sleep Well (1960) - The Geometry of a Scene
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- One of Akira Kurosawa’s many gifts was staging scenes in ways that were bold, simple and visual. I’m working on a longer essay about him and this piece didn’t make the cut, so I’m releasing it as a short standalone video. Thanks for watching!
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Patreon: / everyframeapainting
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Twitter: / tonyszhou
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Music:
Yoko Kanno & Seatbelts - “Too Good, Too Bad"
Help us caption & translate this video!
amara.org/v/GI1M/
I'll never forget that one time @StevenWallaby quote tweeted that Fallout show clip saying "Do they just not teach blocking in film school anymore or what?" and then linking this video.
I can't believe how much I learned in just three minutes.
just came from that tweet aswell 😂
so i'm not the only one who clicked the link
me too! More vocabulary to add to my arsenal
ill never watch a movie the same.
Wym “I’ll never forget” that was TODAY😭
The second you pointed it out I realized that this is perhaps the No. 1 reason I've been finding films so boring recently...
It's surprising how often we don't notice these things, until you really start to think about it!
to quote mr. plinkett "you may not have noticed it, but, your brain did"
I think I just had the same realization.
watching the wrong films
"photographs that talk". Genius.
Also- The guy in the black suit was Toshiro Mifune?! He looks really different without a beard.
Or samurai armour.
Thorntonian still sharp af tho
Mifune is the best actor for me because I always have to take a double look in many of his films to check if it's really him
Beyond Kurosawa's talents as a filmmaker, the real star is Toshiro Mifune and how he holds the camera's attention. Even if he's not in close-up, he's still constantly in the scene, still reacting to what's going on as if reacting for the first time. Your eyes are drawn to him not just because he's in the center of the triangle, but because the moment the other two men (or other man, depending on which point in the scene) stop moving, he's doing something with his eyes or face, or even sometimes his posture. It's a tense scene not just because of the 'reveal' of Shirai with the stolen money, but because you're already sort of endeared to Nishi, you don't want him to get TOO big or relish too much in his new victory, because then, like Tony says, his cover's blown.
Just goes to show you, you don't need American method acting to act well.
Just watched the film myself - that goes for many of the actors/characters in the movie. The background acting and composition of each shot is superb overall.
I feel like more than the actor (which deserves all the praise) it's just Kurosawa's wisdom in being unafraid of the environment's/scenery he's got to work with and, in fact, being so confident, he uses an open lens that captures the entire scene unblured by focusing and adjusting the lens.
hello even though this is 5 years late in Akira Kurosawas book something like an Autobiography he speaks in great detail how wonderful Toshiro Mifune is and its quite wonderful to read.
You never fail to make me think in completely different ways!
I agree. It like takes me out of the box of stupid-mind, and throws you out into another world of stuff you never knew existed. It happens in movies, how much more so real life? What are we missing? Right here? right now? in this moment?
That's mainly way I keep coming back to these videos; as Tony said, we're so visually sophisticated in how fast our eyes can move, but totally visually illiterate. So, these videos are like learning to read. And like reading, they open up a whole new world for us to enjoy.
David Shi so many people are visually illiterate as film is so dumbed down now and that when its 'hard' to follow the movie is deemed 'bad' and it just sucks that people see it that way
The very fact that we watch Tony's stuff would probably mean we watch more than 10 movies a year but the general audience probably can stick with watching none or 5 a year. Can't practice to think when you rarely use that visual eye.
JamesThomas We must go deeper!
***** Well, I don't know how accurate that assessment is, but I can respect that. I do think, and Tony might agree with this, that film form is something that is accessible to a larger audience. Only time will tell.
Who came from Twitter?
Yup fallout trailer lol
Us
😂yea
I have a lack of culture
Me. Definitely see exactly what they mean about blocking now. That Fallout show is really mid visually.
That Bebop soundtrack is the best thing to speak over..
Z Reviews, i used the same track as background music in a radio ad i made. Love to hear it again the same way
How on earth do you get the license for this?
is that bebop though? sounds more like hard bop or modern big band to me.
Coos Oorlog (Are you dutch?) It does sound like Cowboy Bebop though.
and dj shadow to end it :)
Superb! Once again I'm fascinated by your analysis.
Ami! :D
***** VHS !
Ami!
Tony, do not be surprised if one day you are in a bunch of cinematographers, directors and editors acceptance speeches at the Academy Awards. Just sayin'. Can I get a AMEN?!?
Amen
I love this. I could never put my finger on what made Kurosawa's films so magnetic to watch until watching this video.
O.K...lets be honest...this channel should be required subscription for film students.
Tony's observations and the way he presents them are concise and informative.
He turns what he sees into verbal poetry and thus engages the visual as well as the aural parts of the brain.
Glad to have found this channel.
Excellent work, Tony.
Your piece on Master Kon made me cry, as do his films.
>places right fist on open left palm & bows
Absolutely love this. As a graphic designer and a fan of norman rockwell I definitely see the order and care that Kurosawa puts into his frames. And in this era or too many cut-aways and shaky cams, its soo refreshing to see scenes play out with subtlety.
Beautifully informative.
ayy cowboy bebop music with intresting education
+Lifetimes09 been searching for this in the comment section!
Have you watched much Yasujiro Ozu films? He has a beautiful way of framing and piecing together shots. As his films went on actors never broke the frame and he'd construct frames within the film's frame using walls and beams. Incredible restraint when it comes to never moving the camera either. It's like he does everything you're told you shouldn't do in cinematography yet crafts brilliant scenes out of it. He was quite the opposite of Kurosawa. Apparently they didn't get along. Both had great use of space in a scene though.
Yeah! I want to see a review of A Story of Floating Weeds.
Mellow Gaming A genius. What's also crazy is that there's literally nobody like him, ever. Nobody else ever shot or cut like that. Kurosawa was hugely influential and nearly every action film ever made is borrowing his grammar. But Ozu is practically a standalone entity, like one of those fossils we discover that shows a totally alternate way the species could have evolved. But yeah, I love his work and especially his use of color in the last few films.
Every Frame a Painting That's true. You can see his influence here and there but no-one seems to dare shoot that style. I only started watching his films a couple years back but now I'm kinda obsessed with how he shot everything. It was watching Mark Cousin's A Story of Film that got me watching.
Mellow Gaming Everybody keeps telling me to watch that Cousins movie and so far I've done two hours on Netflix and it's good. But maaaan 15 hours. One day I'll finish it.
heh. I have the dvd set. It's all split into 3 hour chunks. Watched it over the course of a week when I got it. Well worth watching. There's a book that the documentary was based on too but it can be pricey.
I started studying Kurosawa recently, I watched Rashomon, Seven Samurai and Hidden Fortress. He's become my favorite director
Tony Zhou you have the perfect narrating voice. I wish you narrated more things I watch.
I came from Twitter after the viral tweet from @StevenWallaby reacting to a scene from the Fallout show, saying "Do they not just teach blocking in film school anymore?". I'm just putting it out there in an oddly specific manner.
Same
Does noticing all these little details when you're watching movies ever ruin or decrease the immersion for you?
Technoguy3 nah not really. i can turn it off pretty easily. also, there's always alcohol.
I think Tony commented on this before, that it's entirely possible to enjoy a film on multiple levels at the same time, consciously and unconsciously. For his Reddit AMA, he also said it's easier to see these details if you put the film into editing software and watch in slow-mo, 2X and 4X speed, black and white, muted, backwards, etc.
Every Frame a Painting "It's a great time, if your drunk. Yeaaaha, Now's the party"
-Jeremy Jahns
there is a complicated answer that boils down to boring people find boring visuals immersive and interesting, creative people find complex visuals immersive. Fincher shot gone girl like an episode of law and order because he figured out which demographic still pays for movie tickets in the information age.
David Shi He fucking did an AMA? Goddamn it I missed it.
This channel is definitely better than the usual "Movie Review" ones that are everywhere on RUclips. Just saying.
Kurosawa and Mifune together, god every time I see it I get chills. They work so well together, Kurosawa is the most talented director of all time and it feels like Mifune was almost like his muse sometimes. He is the perfect center for so many Kurosawa films, it makes me so emotional seeing such near perfect art
Best filmmaking bromance ever, along with Wong Kar-wai and Christopher Doyle.
Kurosawa's High and Low is one of my favorite films of all time, but I still haven't seen The Bad Sleep Well yet, even though it's been on my radar for quite some time already. I'm definitely watching it one of the upcoming days. It looks fantastic.
Anyway, thanks for this great short analytical video. I love how you expose the laziness of certain mediocre films that somehow still get very positive critical recognition these days, while praising the truly good stuff. Let's hope the filmmakers of tomorrow are watching.
Keep up the great work, man!
Every six months or so, I remember how good these video essays were, and check back to see if Tony has started up again. Disappointment leads to acceptance, and acceptance leads to re-watching. Today, it was this one.
The part where Hitchcock starts talking was kind of confusing, because The Theory of Everything actor was moving his lips at the same time. Other than that, really cool video.
haha! I was a little off on that too. I hadn't seen those films yet so I didn't know how the audio was suppose to be. Felt weird before getting to Hitchcock.
Although it was kind of funny rewatching it...
+David Shi I had the same confusion.
These videos just blow my mind. It really makes me appreciate the amount of thought that goes into setting up a single scene. I've learned a lot from your videos, and am eager to apply this knowledge to my own works. I also just admire how well you analyze scenes. Keep up the good work!
Watching this, the whole discussion was reminding me about how blocking in theatre works. I took a class about theatre production in high school, and one of the things I always remembered was a tip to arrange actors in triangles whenever possible, as the eye is naturally drawn to the centre, and helps create depth on the stage. It also helped to illustrate the power balance in the scene, as careful actor placement controls where the eye looks, like the rule of thirds in photography. That theatre-esque aesthetic also matches Kurosawa's camera placement and editing choices. Always facing the one direction (like a stage, missing the 4th wall), and done in one long take.
Ah yes, the people-sitting-in-a-room-talking genre, annually celebrated at the Academy Awards. No wonder The Imitation Game was so boring.
+Todd Bollinger One of the reasons I have such a hard time taking the Academy Awards seriously. So many winners of big awards do so more due to the merit of their subject matter and acting performances, but not the quality of the filmmaking itself. And nowhere is that trend more obvious than in that most trendy of Oscar Bait: the biopic. Although some of my all time favorite films are indeed biopics, looking at them as a genre, the actual quality of the directing and composition is so bland and uninteresting. They're largely saved by strong performances by the actors involved. But that means when the best actors in the film aren't on screen, or aren't doing anything interesting, then the movie hits hard low points.
Meanwhile, a good director can make even less-skilled performers into something interesting to watch.
triangle is basic live theatre stage blocking technique for giving and taking focus; useful for a static camera position; takes good actors and plenty of rehearsal but great results when properly executed.
Can I just say good sir you are doing a simply stupendous job at giving me a greater appreciation of not just individual directors or techniques, but a desire to start looking at movies in a much more involved way, at least when I really want to learn something and not just 'switch off' for a bit. Your videos are definitely all about the visual structures that underlie a movie that so many movie makers don't consider much at all, structures that are so important in giving a movie something beyond the apparent and enter into the realm of greater artistic subtlety and depth.
Just when I thought your channel couldn't get any better. Such a breath of fresh air to see you break down Kurosawa AND use Cowboy Bebop music while you do it. Keep up the fantastic work, Tony. Please.
Cowboy Bebop OST : Check
Good Editing : Check
Blown mind : Check
Like and favorite : check.
THANK YOU for those amazing moments you give us.
Your videos are really helping me see films much differently. In fact they help me understand why I liked Mad Max: Fury Road more than any film this year. It's just non-stop movement, there's always that feeling of a something looming in the distance even when you cannot see it coming, and the lack of dialogue actually helped it more than anything. Also it's amazing how the movie forced your eyes to look in very specific places. Your videos make me understand that a lot more, and it's fantastic.
Kurosawa is probably the most important filmmaker I haven't gotten to yet. Now I'll have something to look for when I watch these!
I first got into filmmaking a couple months ago, and I guess you can say I caught the movie fever and I've been spending my time learning about movies whenever I can. But for some reason, in these brief video essays, I've learned more about filmmaking than in my hours of reading and watching.
This channel is one of the best on RUclips, and I hope one day your name and channel become universally known in the industry. Can't wait till your next video.
Holy crap, I just finished watching this movie for the first time not more than 5 minutes ago. That scene is incredible.
Love the brevity of this installment. Great contrasts conveyed in the opening, with your words coming in after to help us understand the distinction we all immediately intuited.
As a film fanatic, and major fan of yours, I'm so ashamed that I still haven't seen a Kurosawa film. Thanks for reminding me of his existence and heightening my interest in seeing his films.
WOW! I very rarely feel that I understand a piece of art better after someone explains it! What a feeling!
More wisdom from Kurosawa. I seem to be learning more and more about what I never realized I didn't like. Not that I'm learning dislike things--I've always found generic closeup cycles to be boring, but I guess since I never knew the principles behind something different and visually more interesting for the same type of scene, I didn't realize how unnecessarily boring they are.
I freaking love the way this guy goes into the artistry of cinematography. Kudos.
Good video man! Glad to see some recognition for The Bad Sleep Well. I'm looking forward to your longer essay about the legend that is Kurosawa. I always come back to him a few times a year.
Just watched The Bad Sleep Well and I have to say, that it is just a masterpiece in staging. I think Tony could've easily made 30min episode from this movie alone. :)
I've been watching movies since I was born, and yet every time I watch one of Tony's videos my mind gets blown again!
Thank you for sharing these! I may not be a film maker, but as an illustrator I'm always looking at different ways I can stage characters.
Amazingly clear and concise explanations backed up by perfectly fitting examples.
you really do have one of the greatest channels on youtube, thanks for your awesome videos
Oh man -- visual geometry? On the silver screen? My eyes are hungry for more!
Now, I thought uninteresting camera shots wouldn't be that boring, until I watched 2.5 hours of them. Case in point: Le Miz, even though I loved the musical as a kid.
excellent video. I still haven't had the chance to see any Kurosawa films, but I'm really looking forward to watching some now.
Just watched the Bad Sleep Well and holy shit i was blown away. Not only are the visuals fucking fantastic but the story was gripping every minute.
This RUclips channel is quickly becoming a priceless resource to me. Thanks again Tony
This is why I love video essays. A fast pace, with tight logic, sucks you into the train of thought -- and yet, you want to watch it again, not just to savor that train of thought, but think some more about what you're seeing. I think it's like what John Green said about his Thoughts From Places videos, about creating a place of thoughtfulness and even stillness, in a place that is (seemingly) in short supply of both.
Very interesting review, im gonna watcht again that kurosawa movie paying more attention to every detail , enjoying more the whole experience!! Thank you :)
This is wonderful. I am beginning to understand more and more why I'm drawn to the old black and whites. I collect lots of film noir and this one just shot to the top of my to-buy list.
The scene where Wada is being dragged up the volcano by the scruff is incredible. No other director could sell something so extreme to an audience.
One must remember that Kurosawa used a 3 camera set up as well. Also, his actors considered their jobs as important to the art and we're obliged to work for Kurosawa. Today's performers would never oblige most directors in this way. Too much time...and I have to talk to my agent blah blah blah. Excellent analysis. Subscribed.
man, i really do love this series. please don't ever stop
i like that it's very theatrical too (like stage play), that everything is laid out on stage and actors placement helps move the story forward as well. rather than the 'back and forth' of the almost tennis match that we now usually have.
I really can't belive a video like this have dislikes. It's amazing, keep the good work
Oh, how I miss these videos. Every Frame A Painting is a treasure of the internet 💜
LOVE THIS. Kurosawa is one of my favorite filmmakers ever. (His autobiography is a thing of beauty and wonder.) He is so brilliant at dividing the screen in unique ways using people. There's a scene in Madadaiyo in which a character bows so deeply in apology that he divides the screen horizontally. The first time I saw it, my brain broke in a good way.
Never seen a Kurosawa film before. Actually next on my research list. However I notice a great deal of geometry in Kubrick's films.
Akira Kurosawa, what a man, I wish more directors today would try and adapt old great directors styles instead of just making generic biopics.
These are so interesting! Your breakdowns are so in depth, yet when i watch any movie after watching these, i notice them almost instantly. Thanks!
This is the most genuinely loved channel on youtube as far as I know. This is really going to blow out of proportions. Get Ready.
Dude If ever I've become a successful artist in the future, I'd acknowledge you and this vid as one of the things that transformed my perception and helped me see art in completely new different ways. I'm extremely grateful. Thank you!
Whenever I see a movie lately, I equally bless and curse you for opening my eyes to the editing and framing details. Keep up the great work, it's spectacular!
Please keep these coming sir. Amazing to see someone show a visual interpretation of what I admire every time I head to the theater. Thx.
This scene was in one of my film classes. Extremely famous scene from a brilliant director.
For whoever made this. Thank you so much for this, it´s value exceeds any possible expectations. Not only for filmbuffs or else, but for all of us students an non students who just love the real art of cinema that nowadays has a tendency to be overlooked by shitty films and mediocre directors. Sincerely i love your channel and i will share it as much as i can. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Tony. And thank you for refraining from those annoying RUclips commercials on your channel!
Also notice how everything in the scene except for an early close-up is in one shot. That's fantastic.
Just wanna say I really love your videos.
I learned so much - please stay up with this great work!
Even though I really liked it, I don't think The Imitation Game deserves a best Director oscar nomination. There was nothing distinctive about the staging and the storytelling was too by-the-numbers for me. Same for The Theory of Everything. Now I know why. Thanks Tony.
I am wondering why the channel has stopped posting videos. It was giving such a good knowledge to the filmmaker.
Fantastic video! I learned more in a few mins about framing than I did in several semesters of school. thank you.
Please, never stop making this awesome videos. You are in the top 3 of my favorite chanels.
Wow. I knew absolutely nothing about all these intricate details in shooting scenes. I also just saw your "action scenes" video and I must say that you taught me a lot of very interesting stuff. You've earned yourself a new subscriber. Good work, and keep more of these awesome videos coming!
That's why I love Akira Kurosawa
Man I get goosebumps every time you upload stuff. Thanks.
I thought Imitation Game and Theory of Everything were highly over-rated films. Oscar-bait with some good but showy performances and very rudimentary in most other aspects. I would rather read the books written about or by Hawkins and Turing, because they are more informative. The films were both very safe and did nothing particularly cinematic with the stories. They preferred to just present a diluted version of the books and hope the public's interest and general ignorance of these figures would blind viewers into thinking they had seen a great film.
Excellent video by the way, Kurosawa is an absolute must watch for anyone who wants to learn more about cinematic craft or just loves watching great cinema.
+Lewis C Agreed. Nothing artistic about them... Good performances but that's not the reason why I'd go to the cinema.
+Lewis C yeah, it's oscar bait, but i enjoy the imitation game
+Lewis C I noticed that too. Kind of disappointing
I was craving for a new video. Finally. Yes.
+GhostSixx aka Guilherme Jacobs alo
Just in time! I really wanted to watch one of your videos today. Nice work
As a film student and lover of films, your channel is priceless to me. With that being said I am fully willing to support it through Patreon. Thank you for your great work.
That was just genius!
Can I just use Kurosawa's or any other movie on my YT channel if I talk about it? Should I get a permission?
I teach English on my channel and I would like to know if I can use a few clips of movie on my videos.
Very cool. While I appreciate movies for their content, you always point out great things to that help me realize the separation of good content (music, lines, actors, colors, etc.) with good cinematography (angles, shapes, composition, cuts, transitions, etc.)
Thank U tony for explaining this~~~Just make us know we take for grated so much for the way of directing / making film~~~
REALLY ENLIGHTENING~~~~SUBSCRIBED THIS CHANNEL IS A MUST!
Excellent, as always. I enjoying watching your scene deconstructions almost as much as watching a full film. You always create well thought out content (rather than churning out videos on a daily/weekly basis) and I leave with a little more insight into the film-making process each time. Between this and the more comical Cinema Sins, I have cut back my overall movie intake and concentrate on watching (sometimes repeat watching) films that have been beautifully shot and edited...though I do still have my guilty pleasure watches too. I draw to relax or focus my concentration and get much more immersed in a visual medium that audio or the written word. So thank you for helping me enjoy it a little better.
Simply excellent Tony, both from you and of course from Akira Kurosawa.
Its so rad how you condense complexity into 3-5 minutes of video. Keep doing what you do. I hope you teach art, cinema, both..... Or really just anything. Level of knowledge assimilation and evaluation = baaaaaaananas
I gotta kick out of seeing "The Imitation Game" and "Theory of Everything" starting out this video. I haven't seen either film, but the trailers and ads make them look sooooo boring. I guess I wasn't the only one who thought so too. Great video!
So brilliantly simple and astute.
Wow! Absolutely brilliant. So insightful and in only a couple of minutes. THANK YOU!
I just have to share, your videos are one of the reasons I aspire to be a better filmmaker. The way you analyze and break down all these shots is very insightful and I hope you have as much fun doing them as I do watching them. I hope you never stop to make more and more of these videos as they are all fantastic.
Saw the video few years ago, finally saw the movie yesterday it's beautiful as described. Please continue to make more videos.
Such a great video. I was waiting for it and you knocked me out with Kurosawa and shapes. I love it. Can't wait for the next one.
(GASP!) A NEW EVERY FRAME A PAINTING VIDEO!!
I'm so excited! Everybody shut up and stop what they're doing, because watching this is much more important!
Your observations are badass Tony. I love recommending your channel to friends, especially those in the film business. Always a pleasure to watch and learn.
Dear Tony Zhou,
You ought to make full length cinemas. I have no doubt, what you and your dream team will create, will be a work of art, crafted to perfect.
The absolute masters of this idea are the people at Cartoon Saloon. Specifically Tomm Moore. Watch The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea or even the trailer for Wolfwalkers and you'll see how they've design the characters to look simple in isolation but when combined the characters create complex and engaging shapes. A group shot in a Cartoon Saloon film is a genuine treat for the eyes.
I see a lot of what you're talking about in the exposition dump in Raiders, with the federal agents. Actually, from their movement, the way they look at each other and at the board, the way they react -- it makes that one of the most captivating and intriguing scenes in the movie.
I think Steven Soderbergh released last year a black and white, silent version of Raiders so students can focus solely on its cinematic form.
David Shi He did, and it's available to view here: extension765.com/sdr/18-raiders