Akira Kurosawa Appreciation Thread

[_Everybody Wang Chung]

One of the greatest directors of all time.

Classics like "Ikiru", "Ran", "Yojimbo", "Seven Samurai" and yes, even "A Rhapsody in August" with Richard Gere, have entertained and inspired me.

What are your favorite Kurosawa films, and why?

[_hans castorp]

It's hard to pick favorites out of such an oeuvre. But here goes:

Ikiru. An unforgettable performance by Takashi Shimura; the scene on the swing always makes me cry.

Throne of Blood. Toshiro Mifune as Macbeth. And as for Lady (Isuzu Yamada)--oh, my!

hc

[_Everybody Wang Chung]

It's hard to pick favorites out of such an oeuvre. But here goes:

Ikiru. An unforgettable performance by Takashi Shimura; the scene on the swing always makes me cry.

Throne of Blood. Toshiro Mifune as Macbeth. And as for Lady (Isuzu Yamada)--oh, my!

hc

Hans,

Ikiru never fails to move me. I try to watch it at least once a year. It really helps to put things in perspective. I think it's one of the few movies that can actually change someone for the better.

[_SteelHead]

Well of the genre I really like the Zatoichi films. ;)

[_Kittens_and_Jesus]

I too love Kurosawa's works.

The first one I ever saw was Yojimbo after I heard that A Fist Full of Dollars was based upon it. I have always been interested in stories about samurai, so I loved it. I've since seen several of his films, though not as many as I should have. The last one I saw was Dreams. Amazing!

[_SteelHead]

7 Samurai, and the Samurai Trilogy (Musashi Miyamoto) are definitely worth watching.

[_Everybody Wang Chung]

Well of the genre I really like the Zatoichi films. ;)

I watched the modern remake of Zatoichi starring Beat Takeshi. I enjoyed it, but because of the ending, I'm still not sure if Zatoichi is really blind or just faking it.

[_Everybody Wang Chung]

I too love Kurosawa's works.
The last one I saw was Dreams. Amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OTj5Qv153U

[Guest]

Kurosawa's films were masterpieces.

"Throne of Blood" is the one that has haunted me the most. The scene in the forest when Washizu and his men encounter the witch is, in my humble view, the greatest and most effective portrayal of supernatural in all of cinema. Washizu's rapidly escalating madness conveyed the sense of tragedy I'm sure Shakespeare intended for "MacBeth", but in a fashion more powerul than even the great bard could probably have imagined. The final scenes of the film, where Washizu's own men quietly, worldlessly turn on him and attack him with arrows is almost unspeakable. (I have no idea how Kurosawa filmed that scene, or how Mifune Toshiro actually got through it unscathed.)

Another one that comes to mind at the moment is Kursawa's final film, "Dreams". "Dreams", released around the year 1990, was a collection of shorts, some better than others. But there is one short entitled "The Tunnel" where a lone military commander is returning home from a terrible war (and all wars are terrible). He is walking alone in the desolate, thickly wooded mountains of late autumn-Japan and passes through an abanndoned tunnel along the road. When he reaches the other side, he hears some sounds and turns back to face the tunnel from which he's just emerged. First, a snarling dog appears from the tunnel and torments him. Then, the ghost of a dead soldier - one of the men who'd served under his command - appears and reports for duty. It takes all the emotion this broken commander has left to convince his deceased commrade that he is dead, and that he must come to terms with it. And then the ghosts of the commander's whole platoon, all of whom lost their lives fighting for their nation and their homes and families, suddenly emerge from the tunnel and the commander has to repeat his forlorn communication to all of them collectively. Interesting how 15 minutes of cinema can teach us eternal lessons.

[_Everybody Wang Chung]

Kurosawa's films were masterpieces.

"Throne of Blood" is the one that has haunted me the most. The scene in the forest when Washizu and his men encounter the witch is, in my humble view, the greatest and most effective portrayal of supernatural in all of cinema. Washizu's rapidly escalating madness conveyed the sense of tragedy I'm sure Shakespeare intended for "MacBeth", but in a fashion more powerul than even the great bard could probably have imagined. The final scenes of the film, where Washizu's own men quietly, worldlessly turn on him and attack him with arrows is almost unspeakable. (I have no idea how Kurosawa filmed that scene, or how Mifune Toshio actually got through it unscathed.)

Another one that comes to mind at the moment is Kursawa's final film, "Dreams". "Dreams", released around the year 1990, was a collection of shorts, some better than others. But there is one short entitled "The Tunnel" where a lone military commander is returning home from a terrible war (and all wars are terrible). He is walking alone in the desolate, thickly wooded mountains of late autumn-Japan and passes through an abanndoned tunnel along the road. When he reaches the other side, he hears some sounds and turns back to face the tunnel from which he's just emerged. First, a snarling dog appears from the tunnel and torments him. Then, the ghost of a dead soldier - one of the men who'd served under his command - appears and reports for duty. It takes all the emotion this broken commander has left to convince his deceased commrade that he is dead, and that he must come to terms with it. And then the ghosts of the commander's whole platoon, all of whom lost their lives fighting for their nation and their homes and families, suddenly emerge from the tunnel and the commander has to repeat his forlorn communication to all of them collectively. Interesting how 15 minutes of cinema can teach us eternal lessons.

Wonhyo,

The segment from Dreams called "The Tunnel" is something that one truly will never forget. It is haunting, beautiful and unforgettable.

It makes one of the most powerful anti-war statements I've seen.


ANY WITH THIS POST, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I HAVE NOW REACHED GODHOOD!!!

Thanks, I'll be here until Friday. Try the veal.