You've read part one and youve tirelessly watched those four movies. Now, you want more, but where are you going to get it? Right here, that's where!
Thoughts: Possibly one of the most brutal, beautiful movies ever made. The costumes, sets, and cinematography really have to be seen to be believed. Watched on a big screen it's almost achingly gorgeous. The action scenes are brutal and exquisite, and are wonderful displays of costumed man-management. This on its own makes it worth seeing. The DVD extra feature I have on this, a making of, is one of the few I've ever seen which makes me more in awe of the achievements in the movie. The costumes were individually stitched from silk to match the time period.
The battles involved literally thousands of costumed extras, and the sets were solid enough to withstand an actual siege. It's an amazing, technicolour achievement, but there are some downsides. Some of the acting is less than compelling (I'm looking at you faggy* jester guy) it also features the worst female character in any movie ever, not just a Kurosawa movie. The title of Ran means Chaos, or upheaval, and the utter misery of the conclusion leaves a sour taste behind. This is probably one of the ten movies to see before you die, although it's hard to see it more than a few times, despite the stunning beauty of some scenes.
Thoughts: This is a good, surprisingly funny adventure movie. However it is hampered by two incompetent Kurosawa women, who are just idiots in this movie. Also not helping are the 12 conspirator samurai, who never make any right decisions and bicker like schoolchildren. This is played a little too frequently to just be for laughs. This is a loose sequel to Yojimbo, in that it features a grizzled, lazy, highly skilled, but unnamed samurai played by Toshiro Mifune.
Largely it's a light-hearted romp, held together by the towering central forces of Nakedai and Mifune. Their performances in particular raise this from pedestrian Summer-fare to something more enthralling. The fact that the conclusion is mentioned in any review you read, including this one, and features only the two of them, is proof of their performances. Funny, and then tense, and entertaining, but not the best of the Samurai movies. Still worth watching though.
Thoughts: I watched this again recently, having dismissed it previously. It follows a warrior clan in the warring era, and yet shows very little action,. We're shown troops besieging, or leaving battlefields, or grouped en masse, but most of the action remains offscreen. The result is we deal with the human effect of constant war, giving the feel of an intimate epic. I was very impressed with it on the second viewing. There are some brilliant scenes, such as the massed army marching past the sun, or the march past of the shadow warrior, passing his massed troops, but which we view from above next to some enemy spies.
The sets and costumes, and ambitions show this to be almost a training version of Ran, but in a way it's a more satisfying movie than that. The shadow warriors death / suicide at the movie's conclusion is a choice, and gives him a sense of honour, despite his former clan being entirely wiped out. Compare this to the unneccesarry killing of the last son in Ran, and this choice makes it a little less nihilistic, despite the devastation. Kagemusha is a little overlong perhaps, and there are some weak scenes, such as the Shinto-inspired dream sequence. Scenes with the shadow warrior bonding with the child are also irritating at times. . Still, this is a remarkably epic, beautifully shot movie which is underrated, especially by myself. I also like that the doppleganger is twice outed by a horse, as the people are unaware. As much as Kurosawa hated women, he loved horses.
Thoughts: My DVD of this has arch film revisor George Lucas explain that the plot is the first of its kind, and that it influenced the telling of the original Star Wars. Notably, it lets the story unfold from the point of view of two seemingly superfluous, lower-class characters, much like C-3P0 and R2D2. Other than that, it would probably have faded into insignificance. Toshiro Mifune is an imposing character here, but he's given little to do, and the most important character in the piece, the princess, is just terrible.
I read somewhere that she didn't act again after it, and I can kind of see why, she's pretty enough, and isn't a terrible character, but seems to equate screaming with acting. The purpose of the movie is to prevent her capture, but she's such a pain that I wouldn't have minded at all if she had been taken, kicking and screaming. This is largely light-hearted, but with some tense moments, and a relative lack of action. The scene at the fire sequence is good too. Overall, this is the least imperative of the Kurosawa samurai movies, and even that still influenced Star Wars. That in itself is probably more impressive than the movie.
So there you have it, 8 - EIGHT! - samurai movies to get on with. Lucky you. Hope you're all fantastic.
*Please note, I'm using faggy here in the sense of 'messing around incompetently and constantly', not the homosexual insult. I am typically loathe to use the word, but this guy gives me little choice.
5. Ran [1985]
Plot In One Sentence: It's King Lear in Japan, as three brothers fight amongst themselves after their father decides to retire from kinghood. Thoughts: Possibly one of the most brutal, beautiful movies ever made. The costumes, sets, and cinematography really have to be seen to be believed. Watched on a big screen it's almost achingly gorgeous. The action scenes are brutal and exquisite, and are wonderful displays of costumed man-management. This on its own makes it worth seeing. The DVD extra feature I have on this, a making of, is one of the few I've ever seen which makes me more in awe of the achievements in the movie. The costumes were individually stitched from silk to match the time period.
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| There are several versions of the DVD, all of which have pretty striking covers. |
6. Sanjuro [1962]
Plot In One Sentence: A sequel (possibly) to Yojimbo, as a grizzled ronin helps out a group of 12 hopeless, young samurai against a corrupt lord. Thoughts: This is a good, surprisingly funny adventure movie. However it is hampered by two incompetent Kurosawa women, who are just idiots in this movie. Also not helping are the 12 conspirator samurai, who never make any right decisions and bicker like schoolchildren. This is played a little too frequently to just be for laughs. This is a loose sequel to Yojimbo, in that it features a grizzled, lazy, highly skilled, but unnamed samurai played by Toshiro Mifune.
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| Who is, judging by this poster, 20 feet tall. |
7. Kagemusha [1980]
Plot In One Sentence: A thief acts as a doppleganger for a shogun during the era of warring states. Thoughts: I watched this again recently, having dismissed it previously. It follows a warrior clan in the warring era, and yet shows very little action,. We're shown troops besieging, or leaving battlefields, or grouped en masse, but most of the action remains offscreen. The result is we deal with the human effect of constant war, giving the feel of an intimate epic. I was very impressed with it on the second viewing. There are some brilliant scenes, such as the massed army marching past the sun, or the march past of the shadow warrior, passing his massed troops, but which we view from above next to some enemy spies.
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| Kurosawa's own artwork, which looks not dissimilar to things I draw while on the phone. |
8. Hidden Fortress [1958]
Plot In One Sentence: Two peasants trapped in enemy territory, help a general and their princess to transport gold back to their home region Thoughts: My DVD of this has arch film revisor George Lucas explain that the plot is the first of its kind, and that it influenced the telling of the original Star Wars. Notably, it lets the story unfold from the point of view of two seemingly superfluous, lower-class characters, much like C-3P0 and R2D2. Other than that, it would probably have faded into insignificance. Toshiro Mifune is an imposing character here, but he's given little to do, and the most important character in the piece, the princess, is just terrible.
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| We like short-shorts, now stop asking! |
So there you have it, 8 - EIGHT! - samurai movies to get on with. Lucky you. Hope you're all fantastic.
*Please note, I'm using faggy here in the sense of 'messing around incompetently and constantly', not the homosexual insult. I am typically loathe to use the word, but this guy gives me little choice.
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