Thursday, June 26, 2008

by Ari

On Tuesday night the Film Forum treated guests to an evening interview/retrospective with legendary actor Tatsuya Nakadai. I wouldn't say I'm easily star-struck when I see famous actors, but there was something special about being in the presence of one of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen. This is a man who collaborated with directors like Akira Kurosawa, Masaki Kobayashi, Kihachi Okamoto and Hideo Gosha, and co-starred with actors such as Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura (Kurosawa regular, star of Ikiru), Hideko Takamine (When a Woman Ascends the Stairs) and even Sonny Chiba. He's appeared in more masterworks than probably any other actor in film history and could play any role, whether comedic or dramatic, hero or villain. He's the ronin who defiantly strikes against samurai code in Harakiri, the determined police investigator of High and Low, the noble hero of The Human Condition, the deep-breathing badass in Goyokin, the hilarious swordsman in Kill!, the betrayed lord in Ran and so much more . His filmography is breathtaking. There's really no other way to put it.

The Q &A wasn't exactly thrilling (basic, rather uninspired questions), but a few stories were great to hear. Nakadai discussed the famous showdown that concludes Sanjuro, the preparation for a key sequence in The Human Condition (he didn't sleep for 3 days), using a real sword for the battle in Harakiri, and being surrounded by fire in a castle for Ran, only to wait and wait and wait for Kurosawa to call him out. Even if it wasn't the most insightful, revealing conversation, it was still great to be in the audience honoring a legend.