Scene Stealer: ‘Sukiyaki’s’ hot opening scene

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Japanese director Takashi Miike’s “Sukiyaki Western Django,” an homage to the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci, opens with a super-stylized flashback featuring a cameo appearance by the homage-loving Quentin Tarantino. But due to a conflict with Tarantino’s schedule, they were forced to move the shoot from a wide open field to a very small soundstage at Daiet studios in Tokyo. According to cinematographer Toyomichi Kurita, this was both a blessing and a curse.

“We were forced into the situation, but we ended up being happy because we came up with the look when we knew we were shooting in the studio,” Kurita said. Inspired by an exhibit of 200-year-old woodblock prints by the artist Hokusai, the filmmakers created a backdrop for the flashbacks showing a Fuji-like mountain and a blood-red setting sun that calls attention to the artifice of the setting. Kurita selected a reversal stock film that created great contrast in colors.

And that’s where the location became a curse. Because of the film stock’s low sensitivity to light, Kurita’s team had to crowd the small soundstage with roughly 10 times the number of lights normally used, driving the temperature up to 104 degrees. “It felt like a desert,” Kurita said. “We had air conditioning, but it didn’t matter. Tarantino was sweating. We didn’t realize it would get that hot.”

--Patrick Kevin Day