I’m thinking about buying a pricey copy of either Rashomon, Yojimbo, Ran, or Seven Samurai. I’m leaning toward Ran, given its epic sweep, cinematic majesty and pretty colors.
Kurosawa is said to have considered Ran his greatest achievement, but the consensus opinion among US film critics leans toward Shichinin no samurai (aka “Seven Samurai”) as ichi ban.
Thoughts?
I’d suggest Ran.
Assuming you’re picking a pricey copy in order to go for high-quality/special extras (and not just to have something that looks good on the shelf), I’d go for Ran. Even if more people think Seven Samurai’s a better movie, Ran’s still a better movie to look at.
It’s also what I would pick as I prefer it to the others (but I know I’m not a majority of critics).
Seven Samurai is pretty much perfect in every way. Great acting, great scenes, great everything. It’s a perfect movie that people try to copy.
I’m going to go with Seven Samurai here. I may sound like a heretic but Ran started to get boring and even though SS is a long movie it never got boring. I also like Yojimbo and Sanjuro a lot and they’re considerably shorter.
Marc
Yojimbo.
Seven Samurai is very nice, but the pacing hurts me a little. Rashomon is awesome, I’d put that second to Yojimbo. Ran - it’s been too long since I saw it.
But Yojimbo is my favorite Kurosawa.
The Hollywood remake, Also Ran, is nowhere near as good.
For a purchase, I’d also go with Ran, but have you seen High and Low (sometimes titled Heaven and Hell)? It’s set in present-day (mid-60’s at the time) Tokyo, about a wealthy businessman (Toshiro Mifune) whose son is kidnapped for a huge ransom right when he’s leveraged everything he owns to save his company.
He quickly decides that his son’s life is more valuable than anything he owns and agrees to pay, but he then discovers the kidnappers didn’t get his son, they got his chauffeur’s son by mistake. Does he still go through with it?
If you follow Japanese film, the kidnapper is played by Tsutomu Yamazaki, who played the lead in Tampopo, as the trucker who saves the window’s ramen shop. He’s also starred in most of Juzo Itami’s other pictures, as well.
I would go with either Yojimbo or Seven Samurai. Yojimbo is a dark comedy of sorts, with a strong dose of cynicism mixed in with the action. It was later remade A Fistful of Dollars, and again as Last Man Standing. Seven Samurai is one of the greatest films of all time, and has a little bit of everything, finishing up with a beautifully savage fight. Magnificent Seven was based on this movie.
Ran is good, but I like the others better. And as far as Kurosawa adapting Shakespeare, Throne of Blood is much more powerful. (Ran is based on King Lear, Throne of Blood is based on Macbeth.) I tried to watch Rashomon but I found the pacing way too slow for my tastes. I might have to try again.
Luckily for you, every single Kurosawa film mentioned in this thread (as well as a few others) is available from the Criterion Collection, which means you’ll get excellent transfers and subtitles and extras. Of the ones you mentioned, I’d go with Seven Samurai, but you shouldn’t really be disappointed with any of them.
My personal favorite Kurosawa is Ikiru, but it’s not an action/samurai movie, so I don’t know if it would be what you’re into.
I’m watching Yojimbo for the first time right now, and it is much more entertaining than Seven Samurai. However, IMO Seven Samurai is the better movie.
Rashomon is on the same plane as Seven Samurai in that it’s a little slower paced but more rewarding.
I haven’t seen Ran yet, but I’ve heard good things about it.
Ran is more bang for the buck, in terms of feet (or minutes) of film and visual flair, but Rashomon says more about the essential intangibility of memory and perception (and has some awesome cinematography, to boot). If I had to have only one, Rashomon would be it.
I’m not clear on the draw of Shichinin no samurai; it’s a great film, mind you, but really a second-ran in comparison to other Kurosawa films like The Hidden Fortress, High And Low, Kagemusha, Ikriru, and even the underrated Ikimono no kiroku. I get the feeling that The Seven Samurai is so aplauded because of its association with The Magnificent Seven, another good but overrated film.
Stranger
*Rashomon * by a mile, then The Hidden Fortress. Then the “cowboy movies”: Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, Sanjuro (all remade as Westerns). I personally am not a huge fan of *Ran. Throne of Blood * is better, for Kurosawa’s color films.
(In any case, once you’ve seen some Kurosawa, try to track down some Mizoguchi. Mizoguchi, who IIRC was something of a mentor to Kurosawa, makes Kurosawa looke like Ron Howard; he’s, like, the Japanase Bergman. The only title currently available in the US is the Criterion ed. of Ugetsu, but there are used VHSes floating around of his other titles. *Sansho the Bailiff * and* Street of Shame * are my other favorites of his; all of his movies are absolutely essential.)
I agree on all points; *The Magnificent Seven * is a mediocre film. John Sturges made some good movies, but never IMO a great one. *TMS * is not his best.
Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned yet, but Dreams (Kurosawa’s last film) is in a class of its own…it’s nothing like anything he’s done before - it’s like looking at a moving painting (which is appropriate, since one of the segments features Martin Scorcese playing Van Gogh)
Rashomon is still my favorite though…every time I watch that movie, I philosophize for hours. To get back to the OP though, Criterion just re-released Seven Samurai on a 3 disc set, which also comes with a book. That’s probably the best “pricey” buy you can do.
No swordplay, but it sure goes after your tear ducts violently with a pair of plyers.
There’s also Dersu Uzala. No swords there, either, but one of the best outdoor adventure movies made.
(I never did see how “Hidden Fortress” was remade into “Star Wars.” I’m thick)
I haven’t seen Yojimbo, discovered Kurosawa through the international success of Ran.
Ran is great but the one that was completely unique to me (hey, Seven Samurai has been so copied that it feels “used” unless you remind yourself it was first) was Rashomon. I got Dad to record it one night it was on at 3am; he and Mom started watching it with me because they wondered what could be so good about a movie in Japanese with English subtitles… so there I am, watching Rashomon subtitled and translating the subtitles for my parents… and they watched it till the end and loved it!
refrains from spoilerizing the moment when they had to stop the VCR because they were laughing too hard
I think that Yojimbo is the most fun and the first movie to pull out if your friends don’t want to see Kurusawa.
I also liked Ikuru. But I’d also say that Roshomon is probably the best if you’re choosing for yourself.
I’ve never seen Ran or Hidden Fortress. They’re both at the top of my “must-see” list.
*Ran * and *Seven Samurai * are still on my queue. *Yojimbo * is one of my favourite movies (not just Kurosawa’s) and *Dreams * is a must see, like it or hate it.
Of the A.K. films I’ve seen Ran is my favorite. People keep telling me Rashomon is a good film but that’s not how I remember it.