It was only recently that I was turned on to these stunning 1993 clips of animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, fresh off the release of his 1992 film Porco Rosso, and samurai epic legend Akira Kurosawa complimenting each other’s work in a sprawling, candid conversation filled with jokes and anecdotes. It’s remarkable for the respect both directors show each other (though Miyazaki had yet to reach his peak international acclaim). The good people at Open Culture nobly surfaced the videos a year ago and provided an English transcript translated by Yuto Shinagawa. I won’t copy-and-paste the whole thing—click on their link for it—but I will excerpt my personal favorite snippet below, in which Kurosawa compliments the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro and Miyazaki has the appropriate response….
KUROSAWA: You know, I really liked that bus in Totoro.
MIYAZAKI : [Gleefully] Thank you.
[Miyazaki seems to be at a loss for words here]
KUROSAWA: Those are the kinds of things that people like me in this business can’t do, and that’s something I’m really envious about.
MIYAZAKI:The thing is, I grew up in the city. . . in a time right after the war. . .when my only perception of Japan was that it was an impoverished and pitifully hopeless country. [Laughs]. At least that’s what we were always told. It was only after I went overseas for the first time that I started appreciating Japan’s natural environment. That being the case, it’s funny that I keep wanting to make movies with a foreign [western/European] setting. I made Totoro because I felt the need to make a movie that takes place in Japan.
h/t Open Culture
Hayao Miyazaki Meets Akira Kurosawa: Watch the Titans of Japanese Film in Conversation (1993)
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