The Prince Theater in Philadelphia is having a Kurosawa retrospective. I want to see a few of the films (I don’t have a list in front of me right now).
Can some knowledgeable dopers list Kurosawa’s best films and tell me what to look for thematically and/or technically in his films. I’m looking for broad guidelines here, mostly because I don’t know which films I’ll be able to attend.
Thanks
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Seven Samurai
Roshoman or is that Rashomon?
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
RAN
High and Low
With the exception of High and Low all of these are samurai movies. What I’d look for the most is how careful each of his shots seem to be. I’m hardly a film expert so that’s pretty much all I have to go on. I like how he frames his shots and most of the time there’s always something going on in a shot.
Marc
Also look for Toshiro Mifune who starred in a lot of his movies. Oh, and it is Rashomon. Let’s not forget Redbeard and The Hidden Fortress (one of the influences on Star Wars).
One more thing to look out for. A lot of his movies have large scale action sequences with a lot of people. Especailly in RAN which came out in the 80’s I think. I’m pretty sure those had an influence on other large scale action sequences.
Marc
Thanks, Marc
I had forgotten the name Ran. I take it you’re a fan? I’ve never seen his films except for a little bit of Ran. Besides Seven Samurai (redone as the Magnificent Seven), have any of his other films been outright adapted by English-speaking directors?
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Amongst those I’ve seen (mainly courtesy of the comprehensive retrospective the NFT in London ran last year), I’d suggest starting with The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Rashomon and Throne of Blood, in that order if possible. The first two can be enjoyed simply on the level of great action movies, though they’re so much more than that. Rashomon is both historically important (Venice in 1951 is when Japanese cinema goes global) and more subtle than it’s normally accorded. Throne of Blood is the most formal of this quartet, which makes it worth seeing early as an introduction to this side of Kurosawa, but it might be a bit formidable if you’ve not seen anything else. The Hidden Fortress has, of course, a certain interest in terms of its influence and it’s an extremely good film, but I wouldn’t rate it as as essential as these four.
The two biggest gaps in my personal exposure are Ikuru and Ran. The first seems particularly critically highly regarded these days. As for Ran, the NFT screenings sold out weeks in advance.
While I realise that this is a bit incidental given what you can see in the short term, don’t assume that Kurosawa is the be-all and end-all of Japanese cinema. Even in that period when he was at his height, the likes of Ozu and Ichikawa were up there too. (I confess, I’ve yet to see any Mizoguchi.)
I have seen Seven Samurai and Rashomon. I wasn’t overwhelmed by either but that may have been due to the mediocre VHS transfers. I liked them enough so that I will give them another try later on DVD.
There are Criterion DVD's of both films with commentaries by film scholars. After you have seen them on the big screen you might want to check them out.
Roger Ebert has articles on four Kurusawa films (Ikuru and Ran in addition to the above two) in his Great Movies series which you might want to read:
Further to bonzer’s post, while Kurosawa has always been the West’s favourite Japanese director, Ozu and Mizoguchi have always been the critics’ darlings.
Yojimbo was remade as A Fistful of Dollars. In the other direction, Throne of Blood is a version of Macbeth and Ran is King Lear.
The easiest way into his films is to view him as the greatest ever direction of action films. While, as bonzer said, his best films are much more than that, this should be sufficient for now as a way in.
It may be a bit of a stretch to call him “English-speaking,” but Sergio Leone remade Yojimbo as A Fistful of Dollars. The Hidden Fortress had an influence on Star Wars but you really have to squint to see the former in the latter.
One of my favorite movies of his is Do Des’ka Den. It’s not on DVD and darned hard to find to rent. His first color feature it’s not a costume drama but rather set in the Tokyo dump and features the . . . colorful denizens therein. A fascinating character study.
DD
If you find out you enjoy Kurosawa I highly suggest the 1985 documentary “A.K.” which chronicles the making of “Ran.”
Unforgettable footage of hundreds of costumed actors standing on their marks waiting for the cameras to roll while Kurosawa sits waiting for the wind to blow in the right direction.
I’m a mild fan meaning that I like his movies but I don’t know everything about the guy. In addition to Yojimbo I’m pretty sure High and Low had been remade. Though maybe it is just a common plot.
Marc
Yojimbo was also remade as Last Man Standing starring Bruce Willis and Christopher Walken. It was a horrible horrible movie.
Marc
Kurosawa has been the West’s favorite mainly for the Samurai flicks and the Mother of all Epics, Ran. In these films, the pace is relatively fast, there is a larger-than-life plot, there is some real action, and all of this is held together with subtle meditations on Life, such as power and honor.
But, I personally love his work in Ikiru, Dreams, Rhapsody in August, and High & Low.
The first two are IMO quite close to Kurosawa’s heart and mind, and are intellectually and emotionally fulfilling. High & Low, despite retaining a fast-paced feel is built on a strong theme. Rhapsody in August is a film very different from the rest. A slow, warm portrayal of children vacationing with their Grandmother who had lost her husband in the atomic bomb.
Overall, he is a versatile director and I suggest you sample the full menu. You would not be disappointed.
Rashomon was adapted into a film called The Outrage starring Paul Newman and several other notable actors in 1964. Most of the opinions I’ve read and heard about it say it is a pale shadow of the original. I tried to watch it once, I quit after about twenty minutes.
As for Western influences on Kurosawa films, the man himself said Yojimbo was partially inspired by Dashell Hammett’s novel Red Harvest. High and Low is an adaption of Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom.
Some other Kurosawa films that are worth mentioning that haven’t been yet: Stray Dog, I Live In Fear, Dersu Uzala, and The Bad Sleep Well.
The Seven Samurai is wonderful - each shot is beautifully framed.
Yojimbo is very good as well.
Ran is a remake of King Lear.
My suggestion when you see them is to be prepared for a long movie, that might unfold slowly.
I’m rewatching all these movies on DVD rentals from Netflix.
Another non-samurai movie is “Black Rain” which I believe has something to do with Hiroshima. Haven’t seen it.
These movies are not paced for the American retarded-gnat attention span, so be patient, they’re worth it.
The IMDB is your friend:
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Kurosawa,+Akira
I’ve been to a few Kurasawa festivals, and my favorites have been mentioned (I love Seven Samurai. In addition to The Magnificent Seven ripping off its plot, its plot was also stolen for Battle Beyond the Stars – with Robert Vaughn reprising his role – and A Bug’s Life).
Get a copy of Donald Ritchie’s The Films of Akira Kurasawa for discussion and details:
Finally, Kurasawa wrote treatments and screenplays even for films he thought he’d never get produced (that’s how Kagemusha, another of my favorites, started out. George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola finally got him money for it, I understand). The film Runaway Train is based on one such treatment he did.
I didn’t know that Runaway Train was developed by Kurosawa. Runaway Train is one of my favorite existentialists vs. the world movies. I loved it. The final scenes of that character played by Jon Voight (?) standing on top of the train…bravo!
Re: Runaway Train:
Actually, Black Rain is by Imamura, another one of Japan’s cinema giants.
One of the teachers in my school is one of the top experts on Kurosawa. He played Yojimbo to my class two times in a row once, the second time giving us an in-depth analysis of what was going on on-screen. It was fascinating.