The behind-the-scenes production of Memoirs of a Geisha

Creative background

"Memoirs of a Geisha" is a story that is difficult to tell in words, and the process of making it into a movie was very difficult. Steven Spielberg, who had been preparing to direct, finally stepped aside and became a producer after five years of script changes.

Scenery

Most of the film's scenes were shot in California, with only a few locations in Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan. What the film wants to reproduce is the Japanese style of the 1920s and 1930s, and it is difficult to find such scenes in Japan. The only way was to build a new "geisha area" in the studio. In the end, the location for building the studio was chosen at Ventura Racecourse, one hour away from Los Angeles. In just 14 weeks, the once green pasture turned into a Japanese-style Geisha area. When we first arrived, the Ventra Racecourse was all rolling hills and weeds. The crew used heavy equipment to add a 400X400-foot mat to the local area, and then dug a river flowing through the town on top. A circulation system was installed on the river to create the visual effect of gurgling water.

Soundtrack

John Williams, a contemporary film music master who has won five Oscars, collaborated with cello star Yo-Yo Ma and legendary violinist Perlman*** to score the film. . In the film score of "Memoirs of a Geisha", John Williams used maximalist and Eastern pentatonic concepts, integrated a large-scale orchestral composition, and interspersed traditional traditions such as shamisen, Japanese koto, shakuhachi and taiko drums. Japanese musical instruments serve as the main musical instruments in the film.