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Training for the SANJURO sword-fighting scene.
For that sword-fighting scene, [Toshiro] Mifune was trained in ... a sort of reverse cut ... drawing the sword like this [shows how sword is drawn], then using his arm to thrust it into my heart. That was the only move he was told to practice. ... I was kept in the dark.
Whereas I was put in a box three feet square. There's an old Japanese technique called Iai-do. ... I practiced drawing my sword in a confined space. I couldn't draw my sword like this [shows how sword is drawn] because of the box. I had to crouch and draw upwards [shows how sword is drawn]. That was the only thing I practiced. After being taught how, I did this for about a month. At the same time, Mifune was practicing his reverse draw [shows how sword is drawn]. He [Kurosawa] never let us practice together.
The way he directed this was, he had us face each other for the actual take and told us to do what we had been practicing. On the shoot day, they attached this steel lung ... to a hollow steel container over my heart. There was a hose leading from it attached to this huge tank some ways away. I wondered what this was. Then it came time to film that scene. [Teruyo] Nogami, who was in charge, told us to stand still for about 30 seconds, then draw our swords at once. So all I [did was] this [shows how he drew his sword], and he [did] this [shows how sword is drawn]. We [drew] together and Mifune [was] a fraction faster. So at that moment -- I would have fallen over backwards if it was today -- but I was younger then. For a moment, all I saw was red. It was the fake blood spurting. I thought, "If I [fall] over, we'll have to do a retake," so I stood my ground. He okayed the cut, but afterwards, when he saw the film, he said I blinked once. Can you blame me?
Actors' rehearsals and filming.
Actors' rehearsals [were] done in a different place. On location, there [was] the rehearsal for the camera. If there [were] seven characters, seven assistant directors would memorize each character's lines. So the first day [of] rehearsal was done without actors. Then for two to three days, we'd rehearse the actors. Finally, on the fourth day, they rolled the cameras.
I was trained as a stage actor, so rather than cut by cut, I like[d] the eight cameras [filming simultaneously]. It was easier for me to act that way. I could act without being aware of which camera was taking a close-up or a wide shot.
He [Kurosawa] was most particular about reactions, so when others were saying their lines, the camera might be on me. So my reactions to the lines or acting by other actors were being filmed. So you had to be alert even when you didn't have lines.
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