The Set Design Aspects of the Artistic Conception in A. Kurosawa’s Unrealized Film
https://doi.org/10.69975/2074-0832-2026-67-2-30-42
Abstract
The article is devoted to a recent (2025) discovery of A. Kurosawa’s unrealized original script “The Mask of the Black Death”. The paper considers the connection between the chosen aesthetics of set design and the director’s artistic conception. Several aspects of set design influenced the key features of the plot, the author’s decision to move the location to Russia in particular. The study outlines the principles of visual modeling of cinematic space, characteristic of Akira Kurosawa’s filming methods. The paper looks at the role of the studio and location sets and their color schemes that the director considered crucial for developing the artistic style and for the ultimate success of the film, and identifies some parallels between visual script imagery and techniques used in Russian film classics. A number of production design challenges relevant to the modern filmmaking process are set up.
About the Author
P. V. Ilyshev
S.A. Gerasimov Russian Federation State University of Cinematography (VGIK)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Pavel V. Ilyshev - associate professor, Fine Art Department, S.A. Gerasimov Russian Federation State University of Cinematography (VGIK). AuthorID: 1168123.
3 Wilhelm Pieck Str., Moscow, 129226
References
1. Arxiv, A. Kurosawa [A. Kurosawa. Archive]. Available at: https: //www.ss.i.ryukoku.ac.jp/ka/category/587. html (Accessed 20 November 2025).
2. Ilyshev, P.V. Osobennosti izobrazitel`nogo modelirovaniya kinematograficheskogo prostranstva v fil`max Akiry` Kurosavy` [Visual modelling in cinematographic space of Akira Kurosawas films] // Journal for Cultural Research, 2011, no. 2(4), p. 9. EDN OWPOQX. (In Russ.)
3. Komensky, J. A. Mir chuvstvenny`x veshhej v kartinkax, ili Izobrazhenie i naimenovanie vsex vazhnejshix predmetov v mire i dejstvij v zhizni [The world of sensual things in pictures, or the Image and name of all the most important objects in the world and actions in life]. Moscow: Uchpedgiz Publ., 1957. 351 p. (In Russ.)
4. Kornatsky, N. Tarkovskij-drift: neizvestnaya istoriya s`emok «Solyarisa» v Yaponii. [Tarkovsky-Drift: The Unknown Story of the Filming of “Solaris” in Japan] Available at: https://www.kinopoisk.ru/media/article/4010158/?utm_referrer=yandex.ru (Accessed 20 November 2025). (In Russ.)
5. Kurosawa, A. Zhabij zhir. Chto-to vrode avtobiografii. [Something Like an Autobiography] Moscow: Rosebud Publ., 2020. 350 p. (In Russ.)
6. Kurosawa, A. Maska chernoj smerti. Fragment kinoscenariya [The Mask of the Black Death. Screenplay fragment] Available at: https://www.chitalnya.ru/work/3878181/ (Accessed 20 November 2025). (In Russ.)
7. Scenarij A. Kurosawa «Maska chernoj smerti», [Screenplay by A. Kurosawa “The Mask of Black Death”] Rossijskij Gosudarstvenny`j Arxiv literatury` i iskusstva SSSR, no 3160, op. no 2, ed. xr. no 1000. (In Russ.)
8. Kurosawa, A. Yume wa tensai de aru [A Dream Is a Genius]. Tokyo: Bungeishunju Publ., 1999. 278 p.
9. Kurosawa, A. Solaris: A Nostalgy toward Nature on Great Earth Image Forum, no. 80, 1987 March special issue, Daguerreo Press, Inc. Publ., 1987, pp. 216–220.
Review
For citations:
Ilyshev P.V. The Set Design Aspects of the Artistic Conception in A. Kurosawa’s Unrealized Film. Vestnik VGIK. 2026;18(2(68)):30-42. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.69975/2074-0832-2026-67-2-30-42
Views:
504
JATS XML
Email this article 