For three and a half hours, this film goes incredibly quick.

It really is an incredible work... the first kurosawa i've seen.

Post thoughts, and advise me where i should go from here in the kurosawa catalog. I'll post a bit more about the film later, if time permits (first, i have to work on an asian philosophy paper).

-thebigfunk

Dave Carter
August 13, 1952 - July 19, 2002

~ Sigh, mournful sister, whisper and turn / I will rattle like dry leaves when I go / Stand in the mists, where my fire used to burn / I will camp on the night breeze when I go / And should you glimpse my wandering form out on the borderline / Between death and resurrection and the counsel of the pines / Do not worry for my comfort, do not sorrow for me so / All your diamond tears will rise up and adorn the skies beside me when I go~ - "When I Go" Dave Carter

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

is this old or new? i haven't heard of this b4

made in the 50's sometime (i want to say 1954, but im not exactly sure)

a film made by master film-maker akira kurosawa about a small town that hires samurai to help defend it from bandits. i wont tell you anymore about the plot, b/c its such a joy to just watch it all happen, but chances are, you've seen films based on 'seven samurai' before (a bugs life & magnificent seven come to mind).

its probably my favorite movie of all-time .. a masterpiece. go rent it...

ZERØ

i remember trippin when shit started going in slow motion during the fight scenes, I would never have thought a film from the 50's would have something like shit.

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fist full of dollars and that bruce willis movie were based off of it. mostly b/c one of the bad guys has a big ass hammer

good luck with the paper

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i don't even have my thesis, yet.

-thebigfunk

Dave Carter
August 13, 1952 - July 19, 2002

~ Sigh, mournful sister, whisper and turn / I will rattle like dry leaves when I go / Stand in the mists, where my fire used to burn / I will camp on the night breeze when I go / And should you glimpse my wandering form out on the borderline / Between death and resurrection and the counsel of the pines / Do not worry for my comfort, do not sorrow for me so / All your diamond tears will rise up and adorn the skies beside me when I go~ - "When I Go" Dave Carter

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

Please Hammer, don't hurt 'em.

Dude is the truth. Whassup now Thor?!

The consesus seems to be "Seven Samurai"....and I can't argue, it's a masterpiece! So many Hollywood remakes.

Some like "Yojimbo" better than "Seven Samurai."

I think "Rashomon" is Kurosawa's best movie. This movie is literally a "game changing" movie. The first of its kind. However, it doesn't have the action that "Seven Samurai" or "Yojimbo" has. Ever heard of that cop show "Boomtown"....(cough)....all "Rashomon." The writer and actors of that show act like it's an original idea and stuff about "the different perspectives of a crime" like it's there creation...really these guys need to be slapped.

"Ikiru" ("To Live") is probably my favorite. It's a "life crisis" movie, drama.

"Hidden Fortress" inspired "Star Wars."

Hell, all his movies are a must to view.

Rashomon after Seven Samurai is his most influential work. Ikiru is his most touching film. Ran is incredible and is based on king lear. The Hidden Fortress was one of the inspirations for Star Wars. Throne Of Blood is based on Macbeth and ends with Toshiro as a human pincushion. High & Low, Stray Dog, & Drunken Angel were his great and under appreciated modern crime stories. Thats just scratching the surface, every film he made is pretty much a masterpiece and Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura are 2 of the greatest actors of all time. He's also the master of killing characters in intersting ways.

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"Rashomon" is classic Kurosawa. One of my favorite flicks of all time is "Ran", his take on King Lear. Absolutely gorgeous, one of the true great works of art in film. He had a way with personal films, check out "Dreams" and "Dersu Uzala".

most heads are giving you the word.

Seven Samurai is an amazing flick.

Rashomon is the next best. And it's about a third as long as Seven Samurai (not even 90 min.)

Personally I love High & Low the best after those. It is Kurosawa's version of a Hitchcock movie. Damn good.

Yojimbo and Sanjuro are 'fun' and pretty good, but they will not affect you as much.

And after all that, I'd reccomend Akira Kurosawa's Dreams, this anthology he did near the end of his career. It can be preachy, but more than that it can be beautiful.

1Love,
Nigel Ebert

Great flick. I remember seeing an interview w/ Steven Spielberg in which he said that he watches "Seven Samurai" the night before he begins shooting all of his films. For inspiration and as a reminder of where the bar has been set.

The funny thing is, technically, "Three Amigos" was based on "Seven Samurai."

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I hate black and white movies. But damn SS was ridiculous- Just imagine if my man had the technology we have to day to work w/ the picture.

1

...that i love seven samurai so much is that it doesnt revert to any of the technological boons that drive movies these days. it was a story told using interesting characters and cinematic devices that were natural and incredibly human.

but, shiiit. it'd be interesting to see what kurosawa woulda done if he had all this technology now.

ZERØ

but fuckin long...and i couldnt watch rashomon.it was just weird.

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Yeah, folks are getting at most of the crucial films.

Personally, I'm not wild about Roshomon myself, but if you're starting to get into Kurosawa you have to check it; it put him and Japan on the map (as far as movies go).

Red Beard is a personal favorite. This is the last film of his first period. He made about a mobie a year for maybe just over three decades. Man, that's a lot of movies. But this one took two or three years to finish and ended his friendship and collaboration with Toshiro Mifune. After this one they were all color, about one every fifve years.

But all that's history. Red Beard is, to me, one of Kurosawa's warmest pictures (as opposed to, say, Throne of Blood - which is fucking dope, but a bit cold and at arm's length). It's a period film, takes place in a country clinic, is also in the three hour column. It functions kind of like a chain of goodwill, where one action by one cat leads to the next act of good will by the next cat (like a good, Japanese, country Pay It Forward? ("I see good people..."), but never forget, GOOD as hell) Anyway, dope story, more of those mad good compositions, a couple of all time indelible images... check it.

Yeah, and as far as the contemporary stuff, yes High and Low is bananas. Also, check The Good Sleep Well (the literal translation of the title is maybe closer to The Worse You Are, The Better You Sleep, so you get the vibe), which has a film noir vibe. Aw, yeah, and Stray Dog -- love that shit, dawg.

The later films mentioned are also all good, Ran, Dreams. Check Kagemusha. I like Dersu Uzala, which was a co-production with some Russian cats and takes place in Russia.

Really, you can't go wrong. If you're hard core, download his filmography and just run through it. You'll be better for it.

It's worse than not insightful. It's not funny. --W. Allen

>Red Beard is a personal favorite. This is the last film of
>his first period. He made about a mobie a year for maybe
>just over three decades. Man, that's a lot of movies. But
>this one took two or three years to finish and ended his
>friendship and collaboration with Toshiro Mifune. After
>this one they were all color, about one every fifve years.

The toll of working 2 years on "Red Beard" pretty much severed the relationship b/w Mifune and Kurosawa. The only exaggerated segment of "Red Beard" is the fight scene w/ Mifune - it harks back to "Sanjuro" and "Yojimbo," but the rest of the movie is a warm, measured tale.

>Yeah, and as far as the contemporary stuff, yes High and Low
>is bananas. Also, check The Good Sleep Well (the literal
>translation of the title is maybe closer to The Worse You
>Are, The Better You Sleep, so you get the vibe), which has a
>film noir vibe. Aw, yeah, and Stray Dog -- love that shit,
>dawg.

I've seen it titled as "The Bad Sleep Well," which would better encompass the theme of the movie (seeing that Mifune's character fails to succeed at his mission and the major transgressors apparently continue along unimpeded after his death) - it's not a terribly optimistic tone, but Kurosawa is unforgiving here in his critique on big business and the duplicitous activities engaged in behind closed doors. "Stray Dog" likely is the first movie in which the Mifune Kurosawa team really finds itself ("Drunken Angel," the predecessor {and initial collaboration b/w the 2}, is somewhat overwrought in a melodramatic fashion).

Kurosawa = one of the directors I respect the most. I do need to see more of his films though. So far I've got (in no particular order): Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ran, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, Dersu Uzala.

Well, fine, maybe there was some order at the end - I was pleasantly surprised to see 2 or 3 people have already mentioned Dersu Uzala. It is a truly wonderful film and not always mentioned among the man's masterpieces - which is a big oversight. I recommend it with no reservation.

I need to watch it again. I got interested in him when I was much younger and only Rashomon and Throne of Blood were watched for the first time within the last few years. So I've re-watched Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, it's time for me to do Ran and Dersu Uzala again. I want to see Ikiru a lot. Hidden Fortress, too.

But yeah, out of the films I've seen, all are brilliant but Throne of Blood gave me a little trouble - I got slightly bored somewhere in the middle. Classic climax, though. Also, Yojimbo is really great, but in some ways I prefer A Fistful of Dollars (the spaghetti western remake). I know, I know, how can I call myself a Kurosawa fan...

one of my favourites is hidden fortress. not as famous perhaps as many of the rest but it fucking hilarious.

are the only Kurosawa films ive seen so far. Seven Samurai is amazing and yes, the 3 & 1/2 hours seem go incredibly fast. Toshiro Mifune is great.

Hidden Fortress is really entertaining. Nowhere close to Seven Samurai but a really fun film and as a Star Wars fan its nice to see where some of the influence came from

Im gonna check out Yojimbo and Rashomon next

Just got through watching it. Great Movie. Now im looking for a picture of the guy with the big hammer to make it my new avitar. Not having any luck though lol

>Just got through watching it. Great Movie.

See "Sanjuro" for the sequel to "Yojimbo" - not as influential perhaps and more slapstick, but a good view nevertheless.