Ranking Kurosawa's Films

seeing The Lower Depths (1957, based on a Gorky play) made me wonder if it was an influence for Kore-eda’s Shoplifters

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

The Bad Sleep Well is relentless and grim, even for Kurosawa

it doesn’t seem at all interested in supplying a satisfying ending, which I like about it

Yojimbo is another really good samurai film, and is different from his previous ones with its frontier town Western quality

it's based on the classic hammett book Red Harvest and it really shows its source material

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.

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

it's hard to pick a favorite Mifune performance, but I think he was really good in Yojimbo

Throne of Blood for me

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

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

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

the stylization of it kind of overwhelmed his previous social realism

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.

Takashi Shimura's role as the lead samurai in SEVEN SAMURAI is a beautiful work of art

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

Ha, it’s cursed, like one of those storefront locations that Jerry Seinfeld once referred to as “a black hole of retail.”