Director Discussion: Akira Kurosawa

johnny_ultimate

Going to take a different direction with these threads for a while. Personally I'm interested in having a few discussions about some classic world cinema directors - ideally for everyone to discover gems in their filmography outside the big one or two they tend to be known for. Definitely would encourage anyone interested in a particular director to start their own thread Anyway, kicking this new lot off with one of my personal favourites, the great Akira Kurosawa.

Favourite film: It fascinates me that Rashomon is 61 years old, because watching it recently it still stands out as one of the most innovative, original and playful narrative structures in cinema history. Obviously technically cinema has moved on, but in many ways the four stories of Rashomon and its ambiguous morality and look at what constitutes truth and lies in cinema was well ahead of its time. Yojimbo and Sanjuro (prequel and sequel respectively) only have a loose story connection with the presence of Mifune's brilliantly casual samurai Sanjuro, but they're very similar in terms of tone and delivery. They have a great sense of playfulness and mischievous streak, but they're both punctuated by genuinely shocking violence, particularly the astonishing ending to Sanjuro. Leone may have remade Yojimbo but Kurosawa's erm Eastern Westerns remain in a league of their own.

Worst film: Of the ten or so Kurosawa films I've seen, I'd consider few of them less than great. But I Live in Fear doesn't have anywhere near the same impact as the others. Interesting focus on post war paranoia in Japan, but it all feels pretty overblown and occasionally silly. It's not a bad film, but Ikiru is a much more successful 'contemporary tale' from Kurosawa.

I honestly don't think there are many directors with filmographies as spectacular as Akira Kurosawa. Obviously Seven Samurai is the film he's often remembered for, but there's tonnes of other gems out there. Ran is one of modern cinema's most amazing achievements, a spectacular culmination of all his 'period' films and Shakespeare adaptations. A distinctly Japanese film-maker, he was the master of thoughtful samurai films, although plenty of his films are terrific fun even with their intimidating running times. Haven't seen many of his earlier films, although he certainly played around with a load of different genres. Ikiru is a deeply moving story set in post-war Tokyo, and shows he was confident in modern settings too. And I'll admit a fondness for the uneven and indulgent Dreams - far from his best, but the visuals and atmosphere were a beautiful achievement from the aging director.

Still lots to work through for me. Particularly interested in seeing Drunken Angel, as I'd like to see how he handles a detective story. Any recommendations from his early catalogue? But I think he was one of cinema's all time greats, and his influence is undeniable - you'd never have those cheesy wipes in Star Wars if Kurosawa hadn't done it first :P

Kess73

Kurosawa is one of my favourites as well, and whilst I differ with you in terms of what my favourite film of his is, pretty much everything else you said is bang on the money forme.

You mention Drunken Angel as one you have not seen yet. Watch it as soon as you can. Kurosawa's relationship with Mifune starts in this film, and it is a film that works on so many levels.

Yes it is a gangster film of sorts, and is probably the first of his films to use the circle of violence theme (many think that Rashomon or Throne Of Blood is where Kurosawa started using this theme), but it was also a film that was a clever protest against the US troops in Japan, and in many ways it is a film made by Kurosawa at his most bitter.


Another excellent film of his came the following year in 1949. Stray Dog saw Mifune return to play a young detective who is taken under the wing of a vertern detective, not unlike the relationship between the characters played by Freeman and Pitt in Se7en.

Put that mentor/pupil relationship (another much used Kurosawa theme) into a 1940's US Film Noir alon the lines of The Big Sleep or The Maltese Falcon and you get Stray Dog.

duckworth

His last film Madadayo is absolutely beautiful. One of my all-time favourites - yet it doesn't get much attention.

Kurasawa is on the level of D.W. Griffiths/Hitchcock/Bergman in terms of innovation and influence. There's very few films you see nowadays that are doing something that he didn't do first.

pickarooney

I don't think this thread offers much in the way of debate. It would be very hard to argue against Kurosawa, unlike most of the previous directors put forwad. This is more of a homage thread, no?

Dreams was the first of his films I remember seeing. I can't recall much of the plot (It's been over 20 years) but at the time it struck me as one of the most visually beautiful films I had ever seen.

In terms of plot, Rashomon is a fantastic film. A simple enough premise brilliantly executed, it's thought-provoking, humorous and memorable in equal measure.

I haven't seen enough of his fims to be able to pick out a 'bad' one.

johnny_ultimate

pickarooney wrote: »

I don't think this thread offers much in the way of debate. It would be very hard to argue against Kurosawa, unlike most of the previous directors put forwad. This is more of a homage thread, no?

New title perhaps more appropriate Aiming for more of a retrospective alright!

Yeah, Dreams was my first Kurosawa film, remember catching a few segments of it on Friday night TG4 maybe six, seven years ago - the solider in the tunnel one always stood out. Took me ages to track it down again, DVD isn't available in Europe or something. Eventually watched it again a few months ago, and while it is inconsistent since it's effectively just a short film collection, there are moments of true beauty in it, and a nice personal indulgence after Ran. Advancing some of the gorgeous surrealism he tampered with in Kagemushua. Very similar in some regards to Kobayashi's Kwaidan, another stunning collection of Japanese short stories: both notably share a supernatural blizzard segment, and both are spectacularly shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sc-wRT3JlQ

Going to dig into a few of the ones recommended here over the next while

Kess73

pickarooney wrote: »

I don't think this thread offers much in the way of debate. It would be very hard to argue against Kurosawa, unlike most of the previous directors put forwad. This is more of a homage thread, no?

Dreams was the first of his films I remember seeing. I can't recall much of the plot (It's been over 20 years) but at the time it struck me as one of the most visually beautiful films I had ever seen.

In terms of plot, Rashomon is a fantastic film. A simple enough premise brilliantly executed, it's thought-provoking, humorous and memorable in equal measure.

I haven't seen enough of his fims to be able to pick out a 'bad' one.

Given the amount of simply brilliant films that the man made, it is indeed hard to argue against him.

I don't think he actually has a bad film to his name. Like Johnny_Ultimate, I would regard I Live in Fear as the Kurosawa film I rate the least, but it is still not a bad film, it just pales beside his other works.

Sanjuro

Kurosawa, is part of that handful of directors whom the word 'genius' is definitely not an exaggeration. Other examples would be Stanley Kubrick, or Alfred Hitchcock. Kubrick made fewer films, for sure. And Kurosawa and Hitchcock have their lesser films, but looking at their body of work, it's hard to deny their impact on cinema.

I'm a big fan of Kurosawa (as my user name will attest), and I love, love, love Yojimbo and Sanjuro. But Seven Samurai, for me, is his masterpiece. It doesn't matter how many times I watch the defence of the town battle in the rain, I never bore of it. It's a stunning piece of film making.

Kess73

Sanjuro wrote: »

Kurosawa, is part of that handful of directors whom the word 'genius' is definitely not an exaggeration. Other examples would be Stanley Kubrick, or Alfred Hitchcock. Kubrick made fewer films, for sure. And Kurosawa and Hitchcock have their lesser films, but looking at their body of work, it's hard to deny their impact on cinema.

I'm a big fan of Kurosawa (as my user name will attest), and I love, love, love Yojimbo and Sanjuro. But Seven Samurai, for me, is his masterpiece. It doesn't matter how many times I watch the defence of the town battle in the rain, I never bore of it. It's a stunning piece of film making.

It really is an amazing film that seems to grow some more each time you watch it. I saw it for the first time, followed within a week or two by Yojimbo and Sanjuro, in the mid 1980's and was blown away by it.

It is one of those films that you can watch every year, sometimes a few times a year, and just go wow.

Recently I got to see it on blu ray (Region 1 version) and the viewing experience was enhanced further by the improvements in picture and sound. An added bonus was the fact that it was the full 207 minute version.

Yojimbo and Sanjuro I also saw on blu ray and they look even better than Seven Samurai does.


The one thing I am not too happy about is the talk of a remake that is to be set in modern times should it get the green light. Someone should tell The Weinstein Company that their idea for a remake sounds a lot like the last Rambo film.