I Live in Fear wasn't all that compelling
― Dan S, Sunday, 3 November 2019 03:04 (four years ago) link
I did like the final scene in the asylum stairway with Nakajima's daughter and Dr. Harada passing each other, it seemed very potent
― Dan S, Monday, 4 November 2019 00:30 (four years ago) link
I remember liking that one and some knowledgeable friend of mine describing the lead perform as “tightly coiled,” although it’s been awhile.
― Ferlinghetti Hvorostovsky (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 4 November 2019 01:18 (four years ago) link
Throne of Blood did have some of the best ever Kurosawa scenes at its end, but the most indelible scene for me was near the beginning, the prophesying spirit in the forest with the weaving spool.
I know it’s an adaptation of Shakespeare, but it also seems very connected to Seven Samurai in portraying the tension between collectivism and individualism
― Dan S, Saturday, 9 November 2019 01:20 (four years ago) link
seeing The Lower Depths (1957, based on a Gorky play) made me wonder if it was an influence for Kore-eda’s Shoplifters
― Dan S, Friday, 15 November 2019 01:36 (four years ago) link
there are some really great scenes in The Hidden Fortress - the prisoner uprising, the spear fight, the bonfire especially
I didn’t realize it was an influence on Lucas for Star Wars, including the telling of the story from the point of view of the lowliest characters
― Dan S, Wednesday, 20 November 2019 02:53 (four years ago) link
The Bad Sleep Well is relentless and grim, even for Kurosawa
― Dan S, Saturday, 23 November 2019 02:01 (four years ago) link
it doesn’t seem at all interested in supplying a satisfying ending, which I like about it
― Dan S, Saturday, 23 November 2019 02:17 (four years ago) link
Yojimbo is another really good samurai film, and is different from his previous ones with its frontier town Western quality
― Dan S, Thursday, 12 December 2019 02:34 (four years ago) link
it's based on the classic hammett book Red Harvest and it really shows its source material
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Thursday, 12 December 2019 02:43 (four years ago) link
Watched Stray Dog last week and I loved loved LOVED it - it's so good simply in basic film-making terms (blocking, editing, show don't tell), and the gritty noir vibe and denouement felt timeless. But I'm a Mifune tragic so I guess I was going to like it.
― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Thursday, 12 December 2019 03:32 (four years ago) link
I need to see it again! I've been immersed in Kurosawa but he made so many films that it's really hard to absorb them all
― Dan S, Thursday, 12 December 2019 04:00 (four years ago) link
it's hard to pick a favorite Mifune performance, but I think he was really good in Yojimbo
― Dan S, Thursday, 12 December 2019 04:17 (four years ago) link
Throne of Blood for me
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Thursday, 12 December 2019 05:09 (four years ago) link
saw Red Beard for the first time and thought it was fantastic, such a humane story and memorable Toshirô Mifune role
it has been really interesting to watch Kurosawa’s films in order and see the evolution of Mifune’s performances
― Dan S, Thursday, 2 January 2020 01:47 (four years ago) link
Dodes’ka-den is not the most interesting of Kurosawa’s films narratively, but its style is fascinating. It feels like a real break from his previous work
― Dan S, Saturday, 11 January 2020 23:51 (four years ago) link
it was his first color film, with brightly painted surfaces reminiscent of Red Desert. Also it had his first use of zoom lenses and cycloramas
― Dan S, Friday, 17 January 2020 01:43 (four years ago) link
the stylization of it kind of overwhelmed his previous social realism
― Dan S, Friday, 17 January 2020 02:32 (four years ago) link
Dersu Uzala is another really great Kurosawa film.
Gary Arnold in the WP in 1978 had a very dismissive review of it as “a pastoral epic about the inherent superiority of a man who lives alone and in harmony with nature” which “reflects a decline in dramatic power and a doting, futile taste in sentimental hero-worship.”
I don’t think that describes it at all. The kindness of it reminds me of Red Beard, and it has a lot to say about our current disrespect for other people and our disregard for the environment.
― Dan S, Tuesday, 21 January 2020 00:38 (four years ago) link
Takashi Shimura's role as the lead samurai in SEVEN SAMURAI is a beautiful work of art
― budo jeru, Saturday, 2 December 2023 19:53 (three months ago) link
huh, who knew we even had a separate film board. well, at least i don't have to worry about anyone responding to my post
― budo jeru, Saturday, 2 December 2023 19:54 (three months ago) link
Ha, it’s cursed, like one of those storefront locations that Jerry Seinfeld once referred to as “a black hole of retail.”
― Shifty Henry’s Swing Club (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 2 December 2023 23:36 (three months ago) link