Hideo Oguni

Summary

Hideo Oguni (小国 英雄, Oguni Hideo, 9 July 1904 – 5 February 1996[1]) was a Japanese writer who wrote over 100 screenplays. He is best known for co-writing screenplays for a number of films directed by Akira Kurosawa, including Ikiru, The Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood and The Hidden Fortress.[2] His first film with Kurosawa was Ikiru, and according to film professor Catherine Russell, it was Oguni who devised that film's two-part structure.[3] Film critic Donald Richie regarded him as the "humanist" among Kurosawa's writers.[4] In 2013, Oguni and frequent screenwriting collaborators Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto and Ryūzō Kikushima were awarded the Jean Renoir Award by the Writers Guild of America West.[5]

Hideo Oguni
小国英雄
Hideo Oguni in 1948
Born(1904-07-09)9 July 1904
Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture[citation needed]
Died5 February 1996(1996-02-05) (aged 91)
NationalityJapanese
OccupationScreenwriter
Known forIkiru, The Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood

Writing credits other than for Kurosawa films include Heinosuke Gosho's Where Chimneys Are Seen in 1953, Koji Shima's Warning from Space in 1956, Bin Kato's Heiji Zenigata: Chase the Demon Lantern in 1958, Tora! Tora! Tora!, and Hiroshi Inagaki's Machibuse in 1970.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Oguni Hideo". Kotobanku (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Hideo Oguni". IMDb. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  3. ^ Russell, C. (2011). Classical Japanese Cinema Revisited. A&C Black. p. 92. ISBN 9781441133274.
  4. ^ Richie, D. (2012). A Hundred Years of Japanese Film. Kodansha. p. 118. ISBN 9781568364391.
  5. ^ Sunrider, V. (29 January 2013). "Akira Kurosawa to Receive Writers Guild Award". Filmofilia. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

External links edit