The Akira Kurosawa Thread

My first taste of Kurosawa was Ran, which I caught by complete accident on TV when I was 17 (sometime in 1994). I was about to watch some other movie with a friend, but was flipping through the scant number of channels we had on our local cable, when the scene of Hidetora walking away from the burning castle came on. I was completely mesmerized by the visuals and had no idea what it was. My friend convinced me to put the other movie on, but the next day I looked up the listing in the TV Guide that came with the paper, and saw Ran (1985).

I had to see the rest, which wasn't easy. I was living in northern BC, and had to order a catalogue from a video dealer in New York, who had it listed, and then finally order the VHS and watch it with the same friend.

As soon as I moved to the city, I rented every film I could from him. Rashoman, Throne of Blood, Dreams, Yojimbo, Ikiru....so many great films. I haven't watched any of his early films (pre-1950), I mean there are so many after that to watch, you kind of get burnt out.

Ran is still in my top 3 all time films, and I haven't watched it on my new TV yet so I might just do that this weekend.

 

Ran is a visual spectacular that definitely rewards the big-screen experience. Enjoy!

 

I've been iipressed with the camera work of Toshio Ubukata, the cinematographer on both of Kurosawa's film, Scandal and Idiot (two that I'm into at the moment), but there's little on his biography or methods of working with K to be found online. Anyone know where I can read or discover more about Ubukata? I did see a mention of the cameraman on a Googlebooks sample of Akira Kurosawa Interviews. Might get a copy of that.

 

I watched 'Seven Samurai' as my first Kurosawa film. An amazing experience. No wonder why it has got so many references in the realm of cinema and beyond. Which of the ronin did you guys like the most?

 

I liked Kambei the most. Takashi Shimura was probably the most versatile actor of all of Kurosawa's regulars.

 

Something Like An Autobiography
(1981, Vintage Books)

Must read for any serious Kurosawa's fan, though it's by no means a strict - or complete - biography.

 

Princess With A Stick.

I dont know the actual title. But there was a princess. And she had a stick.

 

The Hidden Fortress, presumably.

 

Yessss! Thank you. Now I can look for it.

 

When it comes to 'Seven Samurai', my favourite Ronin is by far Kikuchiyo played by Toshiro Mifune. In my opinion he is the most colourful character, and his performance contributes a lot to the plot.

 

Hard to argue that. Mifune was one of the greatest actors (and scene stealers) of his generation, up there with Brando, Wayne, Dean and Clift. If he'd been born in the west he'd be a household name.

 

Among a handful of Kurosawa's films in the public domain is a classic I seldom revisit but am glad to see streaming on the Internet Archives Site is Ikuru (1952). Posted with English subs embedded this copy is not up to the quality of the Criterion edition print but is still great looking and a moving experience. In it a senior civil servant has something like an awakening, suddenly dedicated to constructing a public playground in place of a toxic sump sitting for years in the town square, the fallout of the Second World War. To me it's right up there with Ingmar Bergmann's Wild Strawberries in terms of the story of an ageing man looking back on his life and trying to make amends for the things he did or didn't do. They feature very different styles of filmmaking, of course, but are equally as poignant. And Kurosawa, imo, is not a filmmaker who had a prime creative period, per se (from the time he gained control over his films til the end he had extraordinary focus, intensity and resourcefulness), but Ikuru is one of very best works.

 

I borrowed the BFI's The Samurai Collection from my local library a month or so ago. While inbetween viewings, I came across this comparison review betweeen BFI and Criterion issues. The reviewer concluded that while Criterion is superior in video and audio quality, the BFI subtitles are accomplished and this he goes at length to demonstrate with Yojimbo.
Akira Kurosawa Disc Comparisons

"Where BFI do excel, though, is in the subtitle translation. Unlike Criterion's translators, BFI understand how simplifying what is being said can sometimes enhance what is being said."

Subtitles are important - and check out online what your local library has available.

 

So many amazing films from Akira Kurosawa, wonderful Thread here!

Going to rewatch Yojimbo and Dreams.

 

Definitely! I have seen a lot of his movies but not all. I am also a big fan of the soundtracks and have the beautiful "Complete Edition box sets" featuring the original complete scores from the master tapes with recording in the story order. These were released in Japan in 2001 by Toho.
サウンドトラック＞黒澤 明

 

Seven Samurai

 

I love Kurosawa and was gonna start a thread about rating his films. For now, I will just start it right here. I became obsessed with trying to watch every film of his I could find. Here are my ratings going by release date. I still have a few to see. One of my favorite directors.

One Wonderful Sunday 8/10
Drunken Angel 8/10
Stray Dog 8/10
Scandal 8/10
Rashomon 9/10
Ikiru 10/10
Seven Samurai 9/10
I live in Fear 8/10
Throne of Blood 10/10
The Lower Depths 8/10
Hidden Fortress 8/10
The Bad Sleep Well 7/10
Yojimbo 8/10
High and Low 10/10
Red Beard 8/10
Dodes'ka-den 6/10
Kagemusha 10/10
Ran 10/10
Dreams 10/10
Maadadayo 7/10

 

Also a favorite director of mine. Fully agree with you on Kagemusha, Ran and Dreams.

 

Nice list. Film impressions change over time with me so I've seldom bothered with ratings.

 

I haven't seen anywhere near all of his films, maybe just the ten or so most famous ones, but Ikiru is my favorite of the ones I have seen. This thread reminds me that I have a Criterion Channel subscription that I've been underusing, and they have quite a few (more than twenty) of his films available for streaming. Time to dig deeper into his filmography!

 

Yes! Criterion Channel is amazing. Which ten have you seen? I have seen 20 out of 32. Mostly missing his 6 earliest and others that are hard to find. Criterion now has a few I missed. While you are at it, I highly recommend other Japanese film makers like Mizoguchi and Kaneto Shindo, also on Criterion.

These are all great and a good intro to the other directors.

Kuroneko
Onibaba
Ugetsu
Sansho the Bailiff
Harakiri

The Criterion Channel is the only TV I need.

 

Cool, thanks for the recommendations! My first exposure to Kurosawa was Ran and Dreams, both in the early '90s. The rest of these I saw either as VHS rentals (ugh) or laserdisc back in the day. Also if I recall correctly, I got the chance to see a few of these on the big screen at the New Beverly in LA. Haven't actually watched any of his movies in the past 20 years or so - I seriously need to remedy that. I know I've seen the following, and there are probably a few others that I've seen but forgot about:

Rashomon
Ikiru
Seven Samurai
Throne of Blood
The Hidden Fortress
High and Low
Kagemusha
Ran
Dreams

 

Those are all favorites of mine. I'd say go Stray Dog and Drunken Angel next, but really can't go wrong with any of them.

 

With 25 films directed by Akira Kurosawa currently streaming on The Criterion Channel (far more than was ever on Filmstruck) it's a great time to get aquainted with or discover unwatched works of the late filmmaker. I've never seen Shanshiro Sugata but the clip (above) spurred my interest watching it tonight. Glad I can still get exited about watching the old Master.

 

It seems like everybody who sees it winds up with a different opinion of it.