A year ago this week, I was in Kyoto, Japan enjoying blooming cherry trees and Zen Rock Gardens. Prior to the trip I watched a number of films by the great Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998). I consider Kurosawa to be one of the greatest directors of the second half of the 20th century along with Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, and Federico Fellini.
These are my five favorite Kurosawa films and I recommend them all to you. (All are available through Netflix.) What comes through is the quality of Kurosawa's writing (top notch), and his concern with the different moral dimensions of human beings. These films give you much to think about. They also showcase the fine acting skills of Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura.
Seven Samurai (1954). With Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. This film is absolutely stunning. I felt the virtue and nobility of the leading characters wash over me (it will happen to you, too). The film is about a veteran samurai who answers a village's request for protection from bandits. He gathers six other samurai to help him. The film culminates in a huge battle when the bandits attack the village. This film was basis of the Hollywood film "Magnificent Seven" (1960) with Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen, but the original Kurosawa version is far superior. This film is nearly four hours long, and I watched it over two sittings.
Rashomon (1950). With Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. The classic example of "point of view" means just about everything. This film is set in 12th century Japan. A samurai and his wife are attacked by the notorious bandit Tajomaru, and the samurai ends up dead. The bandit is captured and is put on trial, but his story and the wife's are so completely different that a psychic is brought in to allow the murdered man to give his own testimony. And then a whole different story emerges. Finally, the woodcutter who found the body tells his version, and it's completely different from the others. Mifune is wonderful in this film!
Ikiru (1952) Starring Takashi Shimura. This was the first Kurosawa film I saw, and I can't recommend it highly enough. The title "Ikiru" means "to live." A longtime bureaucrat learns he is dying of cancer and wants to find some meaning in his life. He finds himself unable to talk with his family, and spends a night on the town with a writer, but that leaves him unfulfilled. He next spends time with a young woman from his office, but finally decides he can make a difference through his job. This film has many plot turns, and the music is wonderful. The final scene of the protagonist sitting in a swing at night in the falling snow is haunting, and will stick with you for a long time.
Throne of Blood (1957) With Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. Kurosawa transports Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' to medieval Japan. This film made me see and understand "Macbeth" in a whole new way. A very fine adaptation and production.
Ran (1985). This is one of Kurosawa's final films. It's also the only one I saw in color (all the others from the 1950s were in black in white). Kurosawa borrows the story from Shakespeare's "King Lear." Kurosawa's insights into human relations are displayed in full glory. A story of greed, a lust for power, and ultimate revenge. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like the "burning castle" scene. Very colorful, but the tone is dark and pessimistic. Kurosawa gives you a lot to think about regarding the human condition.
Question: What are your favorite Kurosawa films?
Roger: Kurosawa is a favorite of mine, too. All these films are outstanding. Seven Samurai is a film I've watched dozens of times and is a top five on my list. The one that I've found most interesting -- and that I've only watched once, to my recollection -- is Rashomon. A feudal Japanese 'who done it'. Outstanding film.
(Although this has nothing to do with anything -- but since we're talking about Japanese film -- if you'd like a change of pace from the heavy lifting of Kurosawa, pick up a copy of 'Tampopo').
Posted by: Stephen Denny | 22 April 2007 at 07:14 PM
Seven Samurai was my first experience. Later I saw Yojimbo and had a blast. Ran was ok, a bit long but insightful on the nature of territorial politics, families, and the quest for power. Dreams was slow but VERY colorful and poetic.
Posted by: Mario Vellandi | 22 April 2007 at 07:59 PM
I just loved Dersu Uzala.
Posted by: Vickie Carr | 22 April 2007 at 08:31 PM
Imo, it's nigh impossible to pick the best Kurosawa film, but without a doubt Yojimbo is my favorite. There's a shot that I'll never forget near the end when a leaf blows by Mifune's character Sanjuro.
The Bad Sleep Well had a great story, Rashomon has some great storytelling methods, Madadayo had some great style, Seven Samurai was of course a classic... they all really stick out more consistently than most directors from the 20th century, so I totally agree with you. And I second the suggestion of Tampopo-- that's probably one of my favorite Japanese movies.
Posted by: Tieg | 22 April 2007 at 10:15 PM
Great choices! Seven Samurai and Ikiru are my favourites - the ultimate Samurai film and a magical, haunting film about what it means to really live.
I've not seen Rashomon yet, must sort that out...
Posted by: Mark McGuinness | 23 April 2007 at 02:46 AM
It's nice to hear from so many Kurosawa fans.
Stephen and Mark: Yes, Seven Samurai is ennobling!
Mario and Tieg: I liked "Yojimbo" as well, and it would have made my "Top 7" list.
Tieg and Stephen: I'll have to rent "Tampopo" in the near future; and "Dersu Uzala" as well — on Vick's recommendation!
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 23 April 2007 at 09:57 AM
My personal favourites are probably 'Ran', 'Stray Dog' and 'One Wonderful Sunday', although there are only very few films by Kurosawa that I can't enjoy over and over again. Almost all of them get just better with repeated viewings.
With so many Kurosawa fans here, would I be allowed a little bit of self-promotion and invite you all to check out http://akirakurosawa.info/ ? :)
PS. It's actually "Toshiro", not "Tashiro" Mifune. (10 points for you for spelling "Rashomon" correctly, though -- for some reason people tend to write "Roshomon" or "Rashoman", the latter of which always makes me giggle.)
Posted by: Vili Maunula | 23 April 2007 at 10:18 AM
Vili: Thanks for stopping by. I've since corrected the spelling of Mifune's first name. I checked out your site.
How did you come to dedicate a whole to Kurosawa?
Lots of good stuff. I especially liked this post:
http://akirakurosawa.info/2007/04/21/seven-samurai-seconded-by-the-japanese/
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 23 April 2007 at 10:51 AM
Thanks for checking out the site!
I've been fascinated by Kurosawa's films for most of my life, and since no one else was maintaining a (living) Kurosawa website, I thought that I might just as well do it, myself.
It has also been a great way of meeting like-minded people and doing some research on my own. And since I now have the responsibility of sorts to gather all the info I can find, I now find myself actually doing research and not only thinking about doing it, as used to be the case.
Regarding this, there's going to be a rather big update with the content side of the website within the next couple of weeks. I just need to put on the finishing touches for the new navigation structure before I launch it.
Posted by: Vili Maunula | 23 April 2007 at 12:06 PM
... and for a last bonus half-point, Toshiro is actually his first name... not that we're awarding points or anything...
(And yes, Yojimbo is the reason Clint Eastwood is a household name. I think the remake on that one was A Fistfull of Dollars, right?)
Posted by: Stephen Denny | 23 April 2007 at 01:28 PM
Vili: Good luck with your site.
Stephen: Yes indeedy. When I watched "Yojimbo" I thought to myself, "So that's where Sergio Leone got his idea."
Posted by: Roger von Oech | 23 April 2007 at 07:16 PM
There is actually a story behind "A Fistful of Dollars", which Leone made from "Yojimbo" without asking any permission for it. And not only is the story of "Fistful" copy-pasted from "Yojimbo", but so are many directorial decisions (shot composition, editing), Eastwood's acting mannerisms, and even Morricone's score is said to be similar to Sato's original.
Well, Kurosawa wasn't really happy about this, and wrote to Leone: "Signor Leone -- I have just had the chance to see your film. It is a very fine film, but it is my film. Since Japan is a signatory of the Berne Convention on international copyright, you must pay me."
The funny thing is what Leone did when he received the letter: he ran around waving it to everyone, pointing out that Kurosawa had written to him and *liked* his film. I guess we see what we want to see.
It took the legal processes about a year, after which a conclusion was made: Leone would personally make no money out of the film, while Kurosawa received 15 percent of whatever "Fistful" would earn. Some claim "Fistful" as a result to be the film Kurosawa actually made the most money out of, which may be true considering that he had no production costs for it.
Finally, note that the American release of "A Fistful of Dollars", which opened after all this had taken place, had no screenplay credit at all.
Posted by: Vili Maunula | 23 April 2007 at 09:32 PM
Without a doubt Ikiru is not only my favorite Kurosawa film but one of my favorite movies of all time. The image of the man in the business suit, sitting on a swing, while surveying the empty playground is powerful. I think he is singing a song about love as he swings. I imagine that the song lingers in the air after his death- whispering his message of love to the children as they engage in carefree play. He lost the ability to play- to create- during his life as a bureaucrat but regained it as he approached death. His legacy was giving the gift of play to children. What could be better than that?
Posted by: Carolyn Wilson Koerschen | 24 April 2007 at 06:33 AM
Wow...first off I haven't been to your site in quite awhile and am happy to see you have a blog... awesome! I'm a big fan of your books and whack packs and am usually on the lookout to see if you have any new books whenever I go to the book store.
I see you have something called "the ball of whacks"... well now, I guess I'll have to add this to my collection! :)
Posted by: Funny Animal Videos | 24 April 2007 at 05:03 PM
Among Kurosawa movies, my number one is Kakushi toride no san akunin (a.k.a. Hidden Fortress).
Posted by: Goddess Artemis | 26 April 2007 at 02:19 AM
Roger, check out "High and Low" and "Drunken Angel"
Posted by: Owen | 23 May 2007 at 02:47 PM
I, too, recommend both "The Hidden Fortress" and "Yojimbo".
Just as with "The Seven Samurai" both of these films inspired other classic movies. As mentioned above, "Yojimbo" inspired "A Fist Full of Dollars". "The Hidden Fortress" inspired "Star Wars".
It's great to be able to take a day and watch through these Kurosawa classics.
I recommend that you check out another favorite, "Kikujiro" by Takeshi Kitano (also known for the game show Takeshi's Castle in Japan or MXC here in the US).
Posted by: Douglas Dolan | 24 October 2008 at 01:05 PM