Akira Kurosawa

To update my best Kurosawa:

1. Seven Samurai - best 3 hours of cinema i have seen, not a minute wasted.
2. Sanjuro
3. Yojimbo
4. Ran
5. Rashamon
6. Stray Dog
7. Drunken Angel


I have on purpose not seeing Hidden Forrest, Red Beard, Throne of Blood, i wanted to save for later,rainer days the better Kurosawa, Mifune films
 
I re-watched "Seven Samurai" over the weekend. I think this is perhaps the 3rd or 4th time I have seen it this year! And as you say, probably the best 3 hours cinema I have seen, and well deserved too!
 
HanaBi said:
I re-watched "Seven Samurai" over the weekend. I think this is perhaps the 3rd or 4th time I have seen it this year! And as you say, probably the best 3 hours cinema I have seen, and well deserved too!
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Im jealous of you seeing it so many times, i need collect new DVD collections of it, his other classic films. I have seen most of his films through library vhs, old dvds. Im looking forward to re-watching Seven Samurai, Sanjuro, Yojimbo this spring when i have more free days.

Have you seen his early works like Drunken Angel, Stray Dog? So funny, weird seeing Mifune, Shimura in modern setting, times of 1940s,1950s Japan.
 
Connavar said:
Have you seen his early works like Drunken Angel, Stray Dog? So funny, weird seeing Mifune, Shimura in modern setting, times of 1940s,1950s Japan.
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He was a very versatile actor. High and Low was quite good. I have The Quiet Duel on DVD and it is quite good, though tonally quite different without crime or samurai.
 
Seven Samurai is one my my 4-5 favorite films. Amazing. Another great, powerful Kurosawa film with a modern setting is Ikiru. Shimura is heartbreaking here...there is a scene toward the end that makes my wife and I cry every time we see it. I highly recommended it.
 
Not many mentions of "Dreams", one of my all time favourite movies. Must see some more of his. :)
 
dwndrgn said:
I've see the Seven Samurai and must admit to having been pulled in completely by it - probably one of my favorite films of all time. Unfortunately I've not seen any of the others I don't think.
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One of the greatest films ever made. .(y):cool:
 
I watched "Seven Samurai" not so long ago (and not for the first time either), and I was quite struck by the performance of one, Toshiro Mifune.

So much so that I tracked down and watched a number of his films, not least:-

Yojimbo (which was the inspiration for Clint Eastwood's "A Fistful of Dollars")
Throne of Blood
The Hidden Fortress
Samurai Saga
and Sanjuro

All very very good, but do not come anywhere close to Seven Samurai.
 
I've seen, let's see:

Throne of Blood
Rashomon
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Red Beard
Ran
Kagemusha
High & Low
Dersu Uzala
Dreams
The Idiot
The Seven Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Rhapsody in August -- I'm pretty sure -- just once
Ikuru -- maybe -- just once, if so

I suppose my favorites, in order, would be Throne of Blood (1), Dersu Uzala (2), and The Seven Samurai (3). Dersu Uzala was an essential influence on my story "Rusalka" -- without which, not. Throne of Blood is a movie I'd have liked to take C. S. Lewis, one of my favorite authors, to see.

Without doubt he's my favorite director. The only thing I would fault him for is the overly insistent "Bolero" soundtrack music in Rashomon.
 
An excellent listing, some of which I will try to track down and/or download if I can. I know Criterion sometimes do Samurai collections either by director or notable actor. So will try those guys first.
 
Yes, good topic - and one of my favourite directors. I watched many about 10-15 years ago. I should re-watch some.
My favourites, probably in this order:

The Seven Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Throne of Blood
Ran
Rashomon
Kagemusha

I really like Hidden Fortress, especially to see the use of the two hapless peasants who's perspective in the movie influenced Lucas in making Star Wars (we follow the movie though the 'peasants', in this case the droids R2D2 and C3PO).
 
Donald Richie's Films of Akira Kurosawa seems to me a good book. I don't own a copy, but I've checked it out more than once.

Some moments that stand out in my memory:

The climactic battle with the bandits in the rain, in The Seven Samurai, in which the world seems to be dissolving into primordial chaos -- and at the same time it's just a thrilling battle sequence
The windstorm on the lake in Dersu Uzala
The storming of one of the castles in Ran, during which smoke covers up the sun
The wedding march of the fox spirits in Dreams
The train sequence in High and Low
The climax of Throne of Blood -- so audacious -- another director wouldn't dare do this for fear the audience would laugh in the wrong places

By the way, Arseniev's book Dersu Uzala the Trapper is a good read.
50873
 
I still haven't completed "Ran" despite 2 or 3 attempts.

Not quite sure why I am having so much difficulty getting through this film. I realise this epic is based around Shakespeare's King Lear, but for whatever reason I just gave up after around 40 minutes or so.

Clearly the film is hugely popular with critics and fans alike - more so on Rotten Tomatoes, where the average score is around 96%; but at present I just cannot show much love for it.
 
Rashomon was on a cable channel a couple of weeks ago then was followed by The Outrage. Both were good, the latter being an American remake set in late 19th century Arizona. It starred Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom with Edward G Robinson, William Shatner, and Howard Da Silva in supporting roles.
 
Off the top of my head, I have seen:

Throne of Blood
Hidden Fortress
Rashomon
Yojimbo
Seven Samurai
Dodeskaden
Ran
Kagemusha
Dreams

I'm pretty sure I saw all these at the cinema, either on their first run (Ran and Kagemusha) or at various revival houses or university film societies. But I don't think I've seen any Kurosawa in the last 2+ decades.
 
Ikiru. A very touching film. I thought Dreams was pretty interesting. Rashomon was quite good, too.
 
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