Memories of a geisha composer12/9/2023 In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, the first three Harry Potter movies and all but two of Steven Spielberg's feature films including the Indiana Jones series, Schindler's List, E.T. I watched it streaming here in Australia, but I don’t recall which service, probably Netflix or stan, but I cycle through others.John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932) is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. The film is still good, beautifully shot and it dwells less on the problematic parts of the story. ![]() So, it doesn’t matter who is cast, just make them Asian. Like, all of asia is one uniform culture and people. Given the subject matter, it’s always going to lean a bit paedophilic as losing one’s virginity as a geisha is a valuable commodity in the world of the book.įrom a movie point of view, most of the cast is not Japanese, so it was seen as a bit of cultural appropriation for western audiences. The men bidding on her were introduced to her when she was still a child, from memory. The main character starts as a child, who is effectively auctioned for her virginity. The book tries to differentiate and offer cultural context, but the setting after the war means people have few choices. Geishas are an accepted part of Japanese culture, but to western audiences/readers it can seem like they are prostitutes. I think the subject matter is controversial as a book and movie. And yet the critic score on RT is a meager 35%. Great cast, breath-taking cinematography, impressive in almost all aspects. At least Zhang was nominated for the Golden Globe and the BAFTA. Zhang, Yeoh and Gong were all three impressive in their roles, and they were all snubbed by the Academy. The fact that they didn't insert a Caucasian movie star as a main character is already pretty good for 2000s standards. In my opinion, this film was a financial risk (a period film set in Japan, and it's not an action film, it's about geishas, a rather touchy subject for a lot of Western viewers). There were sadly no female Japanese movie stars in Hollywood in 2005. I get the controversy of the lead actresses being Chinese instead of Japanese, but I understand why the producers chose Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li. With that said, I don't believe this film is all style without substance. I think the purpose of the filmmakers was to create a rather visual film (which they accomplished), so the script was probably not their priority, but rather a vehicle to let the viewers engage in the visual spectacle. I personally don't think the script is perfect, but definitely decent. The screenplay was lacking, the characters not engaging, the story dragged on and no real insights on being a geisha. The script seems to be a big problem for a lot of viewers and critics. ![]() I'm happy to learn all three won the BAFTA for Memoirs of a Geisha. Producer Steven Spielberg got arguably the best cinematographer, costume designer and composer in Hollywood for this film and the result is mesmerizing. Atwood also won the Oscar for this film and Williams was nominated for the Oscar and won the Golden Globe. ![]() The gorgeous cinematography is not the only good aspect of this film, the score by John Williams and costume design by Colleen Atwood are also incredible (as usual). Legendary cinematographer Dion Beebe was rightfully awarded the Oscar for his work on this film, but it pains me that a lot of cinephiles have forgotten/overlooked his impeccable work here because they dislike the film. One has simply to watch a scene to revel in the gorgeous cinematography, it's like a dream come alive. I know this film is controversial but it seems to me like a lot of people disregard the film's perks (which are plentiful) because they dislike the cast/script.
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