The only time I ever saw Akira Kurosawa in person was at a DGA event in 1986. He was being honored for his extraordinary body of work, and John Huston was presenting him with an award. Huston was in a wheelchair and breathing with the help of an oxygen tank; it was one of the last appearances he made in public. But it was important enough for him to come out to honor “Kurosawa-San,” as he called him. These two giants of cinema had worked thousands of miles apart, in vastly different cultures and circumstances, yet they understood and respected each other.

Directors instinctively recognize outstanding work and are influenced by each other no matter what part of the world they call home. There is nothing really “foreign” about a director; he or she is simply just a director contributing to the universal craft. And in that spirit, we recognize Kurosawa in this issue, much as John Huston did some 20 years ago.

Darren Aronofsky is one of the younger generation of directors who was affected by Kurosawa. As an aspiring filmmaker, he would watch Kurosawa’s Yojimbo over and over again until the tape wore out, trying to absorb its essence. In this issue, Aronofsky sits down with Rob Feld to watch the film one more time and talk about what he learned from the master. And, with a new and improved DVD of Seven Samurai just released, noted cultural critic Gary Giddins writes about Kurosawa’s gift for staging spectacle without losing the human touch.

Our international coverage continues with Jonathan Holland’s report from Madrid on undoubtedly one of the most interesting directors working today, Pedro Almodóvar. There has always been something exhilaratingly youthful and rebellious about Almodóvar’s bright colors and offbeat characters, so it’s hard to believe the one-time enfant terrible is now a respectable and respected director of 57.

Equally hard to believe is that it’s been almost 40 years since the premiere of The Graduate. Mike Nichols’ landmark film is still so fresh and funny that it’s become timeless, as all classics do. In the DGA Interview, Nichols talks with Jeff Ressner about how he’s managed to keep turning out quality and intelligent films for all this time. Also impressive is the staying power of William Friedkin’s The French Connection. Even with the advent of today’s technology, has there ever been a more exciting action sequence than the one Friedkin staged 35 years ago? In “Anatomy of a Chase,” the director looks back at how he put it all together.

Some things have not changed in the film industry and one of them, unfortunately, is the number of women directors working in the business. It is such an old story that some directors, men and women, just don’t want to talk about it anymore. But we do. We feel it’s important to keep shining light on the subject in hopes that one day we’ll all be enlightened. To this end, we brought together a lively panel of prominent women directors, not to bash, but to report on how it is out there and what can be done to make things better. Interestingly enough, the percentage of women directors working in France is considerably higher than it is in this country. Something else we can learn from foreign directors.

As always, we welcome your comments, and hope you enjoy the issue.

Best,
James Greenberg
Editor in Chief