# Akira Kurosawa



## Tsujigiri

How many people have seen Kurosawas works?

It would be nice to have a list, perhaps of your top choices.

Mine are:

Sanjuro (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0056443/)
Yojimbe (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/)
Seven Samurai (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0047478/)
Rashomon (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0042876/)
Kagemusha (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0080979/)

I think that Sanjuro is the film that most inspired me to continue watching hsi work, as well as encouraging me into a 21 year martial arts career!

For those people who have never experienced a Kurosawa film, take a chance on go for it!
Bio of Kurosawa (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0000041/bio)


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## dwndrgn

I've see the Seven Samurai and must admit to having been pulled in completely by it - probably one of my favorite films of all time.  Unfortunately I've not seen any of the others I don't think.


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## Tsujigiri

In the UK they are now available for fairly cheap due to their age, they may be available similarly in the US.
Of you could check Amazon.com. The films listed above all have that same brooding and slightly oppressive quality of The Seven Samurai.

The very quality that was lost when Hollywood made the Magnificent Seven.


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## PenDragon

Sanjuro, Seven Samurai and Kagemusha are probably my favourites, I quite like his surreal stuff too.


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## Shoegaze99

Tsujigiri said:
			
		

> How many people have seen Kurosawas works?


see post from other thread

In my book, Akira Kurosawa is second only to Alfred Hitchcock as far as directors are concerned.


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## Winters_Sorrow

I've seen all of those apart from Kagemusha.
I probably liked Rashomon the best.
I haven't seen Hidden Fortress yet, although I hear thats supposed to be very good
Other Kurosawa films I've seen are Ran & Dreams


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## Tsujigiri

Hitchcock is a little overrated in my opinion, yes, a pioneering director but I think people make too much of him.
Hidden fortress is also good Winters_Sorrow, incidentally if you have seen Sanjuro you should watch Yojimbo, Sanjuro is the sequel.


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## Winters_Sorrow

Tsujigiri said:
			
		

> Hitchcock is a little overrated in my opinion, yes, a pioneering director but I think people make too much of him.
> Hidden fortress is also good Winters_Sorrow, incidentally if you have seen Sanjuro you should watch Yojimbo, Sanjuro is the sequel.


 
I watched Yojimbo before Sanjuro. I didn't even realise Sanjuro was a sequel to Yojimbo until I watched it on an Akira Kurosawa 'season' on BBC2

As regards Hitchcock, I agree he is probably made a lot of these days, but I think he is a much better director than Orson Welles (who I think is the original over-rated director). I really enjoyed Dial M for Murder.

I reckon it's a bit pretentious to appear in all your own movies though. At least Hitchcock had the decency to do so as a background cameo (M Night Shaymalan has speaking parts in his movies!! And he's a terrible 'actor'!)


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## Tsujigiri

Sequel may be too definate a term when applied to Sanjuro, it is the same central character but that's about it.

Orson Welles was an important part of film history, but yes..a little overrated. I have a personal gripe with Hitchcock due to long hours being forced to watch his interminably long films at college 

I think if I was directing I would have to stay out of my own movies....the urge to arse about would be too great to resisit


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## Shoegaze99

Winters_Sorrow said:
			
		

> I reckon it's a bit pretentious to appear in all your own movies though.


It had nothing to do with pretention. It began as a matter of necessity, became a bit of fun, and ended up being something his fans _expected_ of him, almost an obligation. If it's pretenious to continue what had been a joke because your fans desire it so much (in the latter portions of his career, Hitchcock often considered the cameos something of a burden), well, so be it.


> I agree he is probably made a lot of these days


Any director who manages a run of critical, commercial and artistic successes like Hitchcock did from 1954 to 1963 - Dial M For Murder, Rear Window, To Catch A Thief, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and then Vertigo, North By Northwest, Psycho and The Bird all right in a row - _deserves_ to have a lot made of him.

His 1940 to 1951 run was almost as impressive (if sprinkled with a few less classics), featuring Rebecca, Suspicion, Shadow Of A Doubt, Spellbound, Notorious, Rope and Strangers On A Train.

Hitchcock does not continue to be taught in film classes because some people have an unreasonable Hitchcock fetish.


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## Tsujigiri

Shoegaze99 said:
			
		

> Hitchcock does not continue to be taught in film classes because some people have an unreasonable Hitchcock fetish.



That's true and I appreciate his merits...nonetheless...some people, notably my old film tutor, had an unreasonable and fairly dirtubing Hitchcock fetish. To him Hitchcock was a god who mere mortals could only study and never hope to emulate.

bleh.

I simply prefer Kurosawa, not least because he crossed cultural boundaries either way with an ease and efficiency that persists not only in his own work but in the films based upon his work.


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## ravenus

I love Kurosawa movies like
*
Throne of Blood
Rashomon
Yojimbo
Ran
Kagemusha
High & Low
*
I generally prefer his period pieces to contemporary works, the dramatic style of acting he favored being more credible to me in a costume drama. H&L was a great thriller with a very taut screenplay.


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## Elyssandrel

Seven Samurai
Throne of Blood
Rashomon
yojimbo
Sanjuro

Unfortunatley I fell asleep during Hidden Fortress.  Not through me finding it boring, just that it was 2am and I was tired.


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## Foxbat

Just watched Kagemusha. Some fine photography in this period piece of sixteenth century Japan (particularly the hilltop scenes at night that give the impression of battle without showing too much of it). 

A poignant and thought provoking movie that was deftly handled by a director firmly in control of his vision. I loved it!


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## ScottSF

I'm sure most of ya'll know this but Hidden Fortress was one of the main inspirations for Star Wars.  Once I heard that I could easily see the parallels while watching it.  His non-samurai movies are pretty great as well.  I thin my favs are:

Seven Samurai
Throne of Blood (the witch is soooo creepy)
Dreams
Ran 
Yojimbo

I like his shakespear interpretations a lot.  You know I think I have never seen Red Beard.  I'm affraid to see all his movies because then there will be none left that I haven't seen.


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## ravenus

I personally found *Red Beard* a very preachy and boring movie.


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## world in progress

Have seen Seven Samurai (and confess, prefer The Magnificent Seven), Rashomon (very good), Ikiru (very good) and Ran (needed a second viewing to appreciate it). Others are on my "to-get" list.

Oh, and have seen Tora! Tora! Tora!, but then there's only about a minute of Kurosawa's footage in that movie, so I don't think that counts.


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## Jaggy Jai

Seven Samourai is a great film.....but Throne Of Blood is my all time fave.......I like the source material alot too!!!!!!


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## littlemissattitude

Three words: _Rhapsody in August_.  Not the best reviewed of his films, and it was controversial becuase it dealt with the bombing by the United States of Nagasaki at the end of World War II.  Still, I found it a beautiful film.


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## Jaggy Jai

Its not one that comes instantly to mind with me.....but when possible I will view it, especially with the current climate, it seems alittle more pertinent. Thanks.


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## Nesacat

My favourites are:
Throne Of Blood - nothing else comes close to being as good as this
Rashomon
Dreams

I've also seen Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ran, Sanjuro and Kagemusha.


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## j d worthington

Jaggy Jai said:
			
		

> Seven Samourai is a great film.....but Throne Of Blood is my all time fave.......I like the source material alot too!!!!!!


 
Definitely a great film! I thought the handling of the tale, transferred to the Eastern setting, was nothing less than superb! It is one of the best adaptations of _Macbeth_ I've seen....

I also have a great fondness for *Dersu Uzala*, which I find to be a very poignant film in many ways.


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## Vetch

world in progress said:


> (...)have seen Tora! Tora! Tora!, but then there's only about a minute of Kurosawa's footage in that movie, so I don't think that counts.


I didn't know any of his footage made it into the final version! Which scenes are by him?


My favourite Kurosawas:

*Yojimbo* (my all time favourite film)
*Yoidore Tenshi* (aka Drunken Angel; the first he did with Mifune.)
*Kumonosu jô *(aka Throne of Blood -- so beautiful!)
*Shichinin no Samurai*
*Rashomôn*


*Sanjuro* is great, too, very funny, but also has too much  unnecessary, cheezy violence to make it into my Top 5.


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## The Ace

I do know that C3PO and R2D2 were a direct lift from Kurosawa's work (he used slaves/soldiers ? I forget).  But the technique of having minor characters give the story a nudge every so often or discuss offscreen events, thereby informing the audience, is hardly new.

I was fortunate enough to see the parts of, 'Tora, Tora, Tora,' directed by Kirosawa in which he explored the Japanese viewpoint and why the attack became necessary, just about all of which were deleted from the film, supposedly to reduce it to a manageable length.


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## Vetch

R2D2, C3PO: The peasants who start *Kakushi-toride no san-akunin* and bicker the whole film through.
Though Makabe Rokurota (Mifune) is the most robotic personality in the whole film. 




> I was fortunate enough to see the parts of, 'Tora, Tora, Tora,' directed by Kirosawa in which he explored the Japanese viewpoint and why the attack became necessary, just about all of which were deleted from the film, supposedly to reduce it to a manageable length.


The DVD I got tells the story from the Japanese and the American pov, but the director of the Japanese part is not Kurosawa. He had started filming, but being the meticulous madman he was, his progress was so slow, and there were problems with his way of treating the crew and actors, so they removed him.

So I wonder: did you really see his footage? Can't be much; only 15 minutes or so. 

On IMDb they tell a different version of the story:


> Akira Kurosawa agreed to direct the Japanese part of the film only because he was told that David Lean was to direct the American part. This was a lie, David Lean was never part of the project. When Kurosawa found out about this, he tried to get himself fired from the production - and succeeded.



While I'm at it: here the other quotes concerning AK, from IMDb's trivia section:


> Of all the time and money spent by Akira Kurosawa, less than one minute of the film he shot is in the final release version.





> When Akira Kurosawa was fired from the production, the Japanese sequences were at least three weeks behind schedule.





> Akira Kurosawa attempted to cast friends and business associates, including some high-level industrialists, in key roles in the film's Japanese segments as a quid-pro-quo for later funding of future films. Twentieth Century Fox was not amused by this, and finally, the breach became the cause for Kurosawa's dismissal from the project.



The true reason for AK not directing the Japanese part truth is probably a mix of all this. Rashomôn anyone?


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## Troo

I think my favourite has to be Yojimbo. Absolute genius, loved every second of it


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## Vetch

Yea, *Yojimbo*: a flawless film. Friend of mine and me watched it so often that we don't need the subs anymore.


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## Kostmayer

Almost on topic - Runaway Train, a favorite film of mine, was based on a screenplay written by Akira Kurosawa.


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## Connavar

*Yojimbo* is one of my alltime favorites.  Awesome in so many ways !   Toshiro Mifune is the japanese Clint Eastwood to me.  He does these kind of characters perfectly.  He carries the movies with his awesome style and acting.

I just finished watching *Sanjuro* and its was also great.  Mifune was so funny in it.  

Me and me brother laughed at his many small wierd movements,the way he walked around so cool. 
 I liked the action scenes too, they were very fast and effective for older film that it was.  The duel at the end was so fast.

I have only seen these two movies and *Ran*.   Ran was like a Shakespearian epic but without the usual weakness a of those movies.  It felt more like a play than a movie.  Was not surprised to find out later that it was loosely based on a Shakespeare work.

Im starting to get addicted to Mifune and Kurasawa.  Next time i watch one of their movies i will get dvds and not old library VHS with bad quality.

I havent even seen Seven Samurai....


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## Vetch

I kinda envy you. So much to discover. Look forward to _Seven Samurai_ (make sure you're watching the long, uncut version). For Shakespeare there is also the very stylish (beautiful!) _Throne of Blood_ (based on Mcbeth).


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## Marcus15

The Magnificent Seven was basically an American version of the Seven Samurai


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## Scifi fan

I'm also a fan of Akira Kurosawa, and I've watched

Ran
Rashomon
Dreams
Throne of Blood
Kagemusha

I didn't know he was involved Tora, Tora, Tora, though. 

I've just watched "The Hidden Fortress", which is the inspiration (in part) for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. I'll post a review on a seperate thread.


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## mygoditsraining

For interested readers, Stuart Galbraith produced a really excellent biography of the lives and films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, called The Emperor and the Wolf.

It's a beast of a book, but it is enormously detailed, including a chronological list of every film made by both men, histories of the Japanese cinema production companies during their lifetimes, and some absolutely brilliant interview excerpts.

As for movies, I'm a big fan of Seven Samurai.  Best three and a half hours of your life, cinematically speaking.  For performances from Mifune, I personally love the General in The Hidden Fortress - the bold, raw character he shows preparing for the spear fight really brought the film to life far more than the hapless bickering comic relief did.

That said, Ikiru is great, too.  A completely different movie to the former, and a fantastic performance drawn out of Takashi Shimura.


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## Scifi fan

I am interested in Akira Kurosawa's biography. 

This is a good review of the biography, though it notes, as you do, that 800 pages is quite a commitment for the reader. The New York Times review suggests, in the same vein, that the tome could be smaller, by cutting out redundancies. 

I would like to get it from one of the local libraries, but I'm wondering if there's a shorter work.


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## mygoditsraining

I would say in spite of its length that The Emperor and the Wolf is more than worth the time. There are some appendices, lists of movies and collaborative details and suchlike, that you can skip altogether, but the main narrative that comprises the bulk of the book is compelling throughout, especially for an enthusiast of the subject matter.

My girlfriend would like to add that when I first read it, I "devoured" the book over the course of 3 days, having packed it with the intention of making it last for an entire week on holiday.

Personally speaking, the account of their lives at the end of WW2 particularly touching (I think it was perhaps reading it in such close proximity to a visit to Hiroshima that played a part), and I think that it gives an enormous insight, particularly into the character of a man like Toshiro Mifune. A lot of Galbraith's material comes from personal interviews, and for this reason alone, the book is monumentally worth it.


> _"In the military", said Tomio Sagisu, "superiors would strike the lower ranks, but Mifune couldn't watch without complaining...He'd say to his superiors, 'I don't care. Take your stripes off. You and me. Let's fight as men, one-on-one.' He had such powerful eyes that his superiors would usually back down."_


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## Scifi fan

I know of the bullying attitudes in the Japanese military, which is why they committed such atrocities - they thought that was normal.


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## HanaBi

Am so pleased to have found (and brought back to life), this wonderful thread!

Am a big fan of Japanese cinema, but have never really had the time or inclination to devote much time to the great Kurosawa! That is up until now.

Spent the weekend watching the 3 hours epic '*Seven Samurai*', and now I yearn for more! So with the help of this thread, I intend to buy a Kurosawa boxset of his greatest films.


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## Anne Spackman

I have only ever seen "Ran", which was pretty good.  I also didn't have time to devote to Kurosawa or much film watching in general until recently, but I am intrigued.  I enjoy Asian and Japanese films and am glad to have noticed this thread.  I guess I should see "Seven Samurai" if I were to pick one more of his films to start with.  I studied Japanese at university, and I really enjoy learning about the Japanese language and culture.  I wonder if "Seven Samurai" is his best overall film, if any of you had to pick an absolute favorite film by Kurosawa?  Or what would it be?


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## HanaBi

Anne Spackman said:


> I studied Japanese at university, and I really enjoy learning about the Japanese language and culture.  I wonder if "Seven Samurai" is his best overall film, if any of you had to pick an absolute favorite film by Kurosawa?  Or what would it be?



Well I'm not overly qualified to give a definitive "best ever Kurosawa" because we have different tastes. *Seven Samurai, *is very good, but is also 3 hours long and quite demanding for what it is;

*Yojimbo*, is also very good, and a lot of people rate it as his best; but after viewing it only yesterday, I would personally say it plays second fiddle to Seven Samurai.

For me, I would say *Sanjuro*, is his best, which is yet another Samurai film with traits of Yojimbo & Seven Samurai, thrown into the mix. But for me, it is perfection. And I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in his work


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## HanaBi

Just an update from an old post here: have since watched around 15 Kurosawa-directed films, some of which have had repeated viewings either because they're so engrossing and/or require another look to understand/appreciate the involving plot.

So in a rough order of preference:-


Seven Samurai (1954)
High and Low (1962)
Sanjuro (1962)
Yojimbo (1961)
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Throne of Blood (1957)
Scandal (1951)
Ran (1985)
Red Beard (1965)
Rashomon (1950)

Some of these star the irrepressible Toshiro Mifune.


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## Connavar

To update my best Kurosawa:

1. *Seven Samurai* - best 3 hours of cinema i have seen, not a minute wasted.
2. *Sanjuro*
3. *Yojimbo*
4. *Ran*
5. *Rashamon*
6. *Stray Dog*
7. *Drunken Angel*


I have on purpose not seeing *Hidden Forrest*, *Red Beard*, *Throne of Blood*, i wanted to save for later,rainer days the better Kurosawa, Mifune films


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## HanaBi

I re-watched "Seven Samurai" over the weekend.  I think this is perhaps the 3rd or 4th time I have seen it this year! And as you say, probably the best 3 hours cinema I have seen, and well deserved too!


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## Connavar

HanaBi said:


> I re-watched "Seven Samurai" over the weekend.  I think this is perhaps the 3rd or 4th time I have seen it this year! And as you say, probably the best 3 hours cinema I have seen, and well deserved too!



Im jealous of you seeing it so many times, i need collect new DVD collections of it, his other classic films.  I have seen most of his films through library vhs, old dvds.  Im looking forward to re-watching Seven Samurai, Sanjuro, Yojimbo this spring when i have more free days. 

Have you seen his early works like Drunken Angel, Stray Dog?   So funny, weird seeing Mifune, Shimura in modern setting, times of 1940s,1950s Japan.


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## lynnfredricks

Connavar said:


> Have you seen his early works like Drunken Angel, Stray Dog?   So funny, weird seeing Mifune, Shimura in modern setting, times of 1940s,1950s Japan.



He was a very versatile actor. High and Low was quite good. I have The Quiet Duel on DVD and it is quite good, though tonally quite different without crime or samurai.


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## Cat's Cradle

Seven Samurai is one my my 4-5 favorite films. Amazing. Another great, powerful Kurosawa film with a modern setting is Ikiru. Shimura is heartbreaking here...there is a scene toward the end that makes my wife and I cry every time we see it. I highly recommended it.


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## Lumens

Not many mentions of "Dreams", one of my all time favourite movies. Must see some more of his.


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## BAYLOR

dwndrgn said:


> I've see the Seven Samurai and must admit to having been pulled in completely by it - probably one of my favorite films of all time.  Unfortunately I've not seen any of the others I don't think.



One of the greatest films ever made. .


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## dwndrgn

BAYLOR said:


> One of the greatest films ever made. .


I watched it in my school's library on a small screen in a cubicle wearing headphones and still enjoyed the heck out of it.


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## HanaBi

I watched "Seven Samurai" not so long ago (and not for the first time either), and I was quite struck by the performance of one, Toshiro Mifune.

So much so that I tracked down and watched a number of his films, not least:-

Yojimbo (which was the inspiration for Clint Eastwood's "A Fistful of Dollars")
Throne of Blood
The Hidden Fortress
Samurai Saga
and Sanjuro

All very very good, but do not come anywhere close to Seven Samurai.


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## Extollager

I've seen, let's see:

Throne of Blood
 Rashomon
 Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Red Beard
 Ran
 Kagemusha
 High & Low 
Dersu Uzala
Dreams
The Idiot
The Seven Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Rhapsody in August -- I'm pretty sure -- just once
Ikuru -- maybe -- just once, if so

I suppose my favorites, in order, would be Throne of Blood (1), Dersu Uzala (2), and The Seven Samurai (3).  Dersu Uzala was an essential influence on my story "Rusalka" -- without which, not.  Throne of Blood is a movie I'd have liked to take C. S. Lewis, one of my favorite authors, to see.  

Without doubt he's my favorite director.  The only thing I would fault him for is the overly insistent "Bolero" soundtrack music in Rashomon.


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## HanaBi

An excellent listing, some of which I will try to track down and/or download if I can. I know Criterion sometimes do Samurai collections either by director or notable actor. So will try those guys first.


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## Bick

Yes, good topic - and one of my favourite directors.  I watched many about 10-15 years ago.  I should re-watch some.  
My favourites, probably in this order:

The Seven Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Throne of Blood
Ran
Rashomon
Kagemusha

I really like Hidden Fortress, especially to see the use of the two hapless peasants who's perspective in the movie influenced Lucas in making Star Wars (we follow the movie though the 'peasants', in this case the droids R2D2 and C3PO).


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## Extollager

Donald Richie's *Films of Akira Kurosawa* seems to me a good book.  I don't own a copy, but I've checked it out more than once.

Some moments that stand out in my memory:

The climactic battle with the bandits in the rain, in *The Seven Samurai*, in which the world seems to be dissolving into primordial chaos -- and at the same time it's just a thrilling battle sequence
The windstorm on the lake in *Dersu Uzala*
The storming of one of the castles in *Ran*, during which smoke covers up the sun
The wedding march of the fox spirits in *Dreams*
The train sequence in *High and Low*
The climax of *Throne of Blood *-- so audacious -- another director wouldn't dare do this for fear the audience would laugh in the wrong places

By the way, Arseniev's book *Dersu Uzala the Trapper* is a good read.


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## HanaBi

I still haven't completed "Ran" despite 2 or 3 attempts. 

Not quite sure why I am having so much difficulty getting through this film. I realise this epic is based around Shakespeare's King Lear, but for whatever reason I just gave up after around 40 minutes or so.

Clearly the film is hugely popular with critics and fans alike - more so on Rotten Tomatoes, where the average score is around 96%; but at present I just cannot show much love for it.


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## KiraAnn

Rashomon was on a cable channel a couple of weeks ago then was followed by The Outrage. Both were good, the latter being an American remake set in late 19th century Arizona. It starred Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom with Edward G Robinson, William Shatner, and Howard Da Silva in supporting roles.


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## tegeus-Cromis

Off the top of my head, I have seen:

Throne of Blood
Hidden Fortress
Rashomon
Yojimbo
Seven Samurai
Dodeskaden
Ran
Kagemusha 
Dreams

I'm pretty sure I saw all these at the cinema, either on their first run (Ran and Kagemusha) or at various revival houses or university film societies. But I don't think I've seen any Kurosawa in the last 2+ decades.


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## Guttersnipe

Ikiru. A very touching film. I thought Dreams was pretty interesting. Rashomon was quite good, too.


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