The Akira Kurosawa Thread

Indeed, Hidden Fortress never appealed to me. But I'm attempting another view tonight. Must be something there - Star Wars inspiration and all. Picked up the Criterion edition with the George Lucas feature. Make it an event.

 

Start with Red Beard....i did.

 

I would recommend Seven Samurai, especially if you have seen The Magnificent Seven. Seven Samurai inspired The Magnificent Seven.

 

My short list of favorites, aside from 7 Samurai....

Dreams
Yojimbo/Sanjuro

 

Just a note: At the time, Red Beard was criticized in Japan as being too humanistic.
Many of us probably don't share that value system and if I may speculate, the Japanese have probably changed since then.
Regardless though, it is an excellent film.

 

How could i forget IKIRU!
That's the thing with Kurosawa there's not one best film above the others,if i had to pick only five i wouldn't know were to start.
IKIRU
RAN
DERSU UZALA
THE BAD SLEEP WELL
HIGH AND LOW
RASHOMON
KAGEMUSA
...
Each one could be his best film.

 

"Too humanistic", "Too Western"... Kurosawa has certainly had his share of critics. No one's (at least, not that I've read) has ever faulted him for making too many movies!

 

Although I understand it this is not my opinion but that of some Japanese critics at the time.

 

...Woody Allen...

 

Do all the Criterion discs have Stephen Prince commentary tracks? Really love his insights on Ran, Rashomon and Kagemusha.

 

I vividly remember my first Kurosawa film.

UC San Diego 1980 - special screening on campus of Kagemusha in Mandeville Hall

I'd never seen a foreign film before in a theater.

The story, the color, the epic scope - mind blown.

You?

 

Ran is the first Kurosawa film I saw. The fire scene to me was next level stuff. It made a great impression on me philosophically. Just because you have something, paid a lot for it, or spent time and effort on it doesn't mean you have to overuse it.
This showed me right away that this filmmaker was very confident.

Throne of blood is another film showing great craft. The long fog scene is very bold. And the arrow scene is just unforgettable perfection.

 

No, Donald Ritchie, a Japanese film historian, who also knew Kurosawa is on a number of them (Rashomon is the one I remember most).

 

You're right about Rashomon, Ritchie's very good too. They both do commentary on Seven Samurai IIRC.

 

Oh yeah - Rashomon in film class. Mifune's performance as The Bandit was thrilling. He wasn't simply a clown - he was The Fool in a Shakespearean sense: mockingly cruel with a raison d'etre behind his antics. Same can be said for his performance as Kikuchiyo in Seven Samurai. He was a force of nature on celluloid. Big fan.

It wasn't until I'd seen a few more Kurosawa films that I began to be impressed by his approach. Throne of Blood was probably the first film that really reflected his hand as a 20th century master to my eyes. I believe he said it was his toughest shoot, which is easy to believe. What he captured in that film are moments of pure cinematic poetry.

 

A list of Stephen Prince commentary tracks:

Stephen Prince DVD Commentaries

I exchanged a few e-mails with Professor Prince around 15 years ago, concerning his writings and early commentaries on Sam Peckinpah, who we both share a keen interest in. Nice guy, and a very insightful film scholar.

 

I’ve seen

Seven Samurai off the chart brilliant
Hidden Fortress really great and source for George Lucas
Ran - slow, contemplative, and visually stunning another great one

 

Ok, thanks guys for your replies. I shall start with Red Beard then. @samurai, the most beautiful aspect of art is that it employs a universal language of expression that speaks to human emotions, yet everybody interprets it in his own individual way. The better the artist, the more people can relate to his work and the more interpretations it gets.

I believe it is safe to say that Kurosawa is the most renowned Japanese director. What do you guys think, who is the second most famous director in Japan?

 

I started with Ran, and it remains my faronrite.
Next up is Seven Samurai. Probably the most brilliant of all, but Ran is still my fave.
Rashomon is fascinating! I adore it.
Dreams is amazing!
Kagemusha hasn’t moved me yet

I have seen other films beside this, but they are not noteworthy for me.

 

Kurosawa certainly has the populist vote, especially in the West. In terms of international reputation, Mizoguchi is at least as well regarded amongst critics and scholars, although the general public seem to have forgotten him.

My three favourite Japanese directors, all of whom I prefer to Kurosawa:

Kenji Mizoguchi
Yasujirō Ozu
Mikio Naruse

 

On Movement in K's films:

 

Sidney Lumet makes an interesting analogy with Kurosawa and Beethoven in terms of "big" music and large movement. When I think of masters of great movement and film my first thoughts go to Hitchcock. But he's at the chamber music level of film movement compared to Kurosawa's orchestral size. I don't care for much of Hitchcock's subject matter but he uses as many techniques as Kurosawa's in conveying emotion (and suspense) through movement and, sometimes more important, stillness. Though, some may argue, that is Ozu territory.

 

I agree, and wish he played the fool porter in the Tiger's Tail. The actor who does mugs too much and spoils the film for me, although I still like it.

I also like The Hidden Fortress and would place it near the top of my favorite films.