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Rashomon (1950)
This is the film that started it all. It rightly won the Venice film festival and the critics all went wild about this simple story of a rape alledgedly committed in the woods. The thing about the film that made it original was the fact that the crime is shown many times, each from the viewpoint of the different witnesses or participants as they each testify at a court to get to the bottom of it all. Endlessly imitated, sometimes more flashily, sometimes awkwardly but never really equalled. This was the first time I had seen Toshiro Mifune, and he gives an intense performance here, as he does in all the other Kurosawa films in which he was involved (a total of eight collaborations in all). |
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Ikiru (1951)
If someone asks me who my favourite Japanese actor is I automatically say Toshiro Mifune, but if I stop and think about it it's actually Takeshi Shimura; I think he has a wider range than Mifune when push comes to shove. His performance in Ikiru is just stunning. He plays a city clerk who is told he's going to die soon and he sets about authorising the plans for a children's playground as a final act of kindness. You can keep your overblown, sentimentalised Hollywood films full of tearful drama queens; this is the real deal. True sorrow, genuine regret and authentic human emotion portrayed in a quiet, undramatic and moving way. And it's all up there on Shimura's face. A truly heartbreaking film. |
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Seven Samurai (1954)
This is the film that most critics and many movie buffs cite as being the best that Akira Kurosawa has to offer, but it's never been one of my favourites. It is a monumental work to be sure and is heart-stoppingly entertaining at times, but it is just a tad overlong and does drag a little at some points for me. While it's difficult to focus on all the characters equally some are given more screen time than others and for me the lion's share should be Takeshi Shimura's character rather than Toshiro Mifune's. These are small criticisms though in the grand scheme of things. Everyone knows the story of the seven mercenaries hired by villagers to keep the local bandits at bay as it was remade in Hollywood as The Magnificent Seven. The final batttle scene in the rain is a cinematic marvel that aspiring filmmakers would do well to study. |
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Throne of Blood (1957)
A remake of Macbeth set in fuedal Japan and also known as Cobweb Castle, this features a great performance by Kurosawa regular Toshiro Mifune and is saturated by an eerie, moody, forebearing quality. There's much fog and darkness and the sounds have a claustrophobic, closed-in feeling to them. The set design is eerily authentic and the attention to detail in the costumes is impressive. The whole film exudes a creepy quiet calm-before-the-storm kind of feeling, and the slow build up of tension over the course of the film is very well done. When the action finally gets underway all hell breaks loose and the change of pace is expertly handled. This film also features one of the most startling final scenes, all the more effective for the time it was made. |
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The Hidden Fortress (1958)
George Lucas is continually citing this film as a big influence on him when he was making Star Wars and you can see why: Two of the main characters - one tall and skinny, the other short and dumpy could easily be transposed into the Star Wars films as C3PO and R2D2. They're involved in rescuing a beautiful princess aswell, so it's probably just as well Lucas fessed up to his 'homage' or everyone would be crying 'foul'. This is one of the most purely enjoyable of Kurosawa's films. Although 'The Hidden Fortress' still features impressive set-pieces and Kurosawa's usual eye for compositions and great attention to detail, at its heart it's simply a good yarn. Toshiro Mifune is excellent as always and there are moments of good-natured humour and a sense of fun throughout the film. |
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Yojimbo (1961)
Depending on what kind of mood I'm in this may well be my favourite Kurosawa film. Toshiro Mifune is sublime as the irrascible wandering samurai who plays two corrupt families off each other and walks off at the end of the film a lot better off while leaving a trail of devastation between the two families. Sound familiar? Yes, it's been remade twice now - once unofficially as 'A Fistful of Dollars' (apparently Kurosawa made more from suing the producers of this film than he did from the profits of the original). Whatever the ethics of this remake, Sergio Leone did a stunning job on it. More recently Walter Hill had a stab at it with 'Last Man Standing', with Bruce Willis, which wasn't very good at all. It goes without saying that 'Yojimbo' is the best of the three by a long way, and will certainly still be around long after Hill's effort has faded into the mists of obscurity. |
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Sanjuro (1962)
A light-hearted sequel to Yojimbo, with the same samurai played by Toshiro Mifune and it's the same kind of story too. This was the only sequel Kurosawa ever made - probably because making these light-hearted samurai films with his friend was a lot of fun. Mifune certainly looks to be enjoying himself immensely in his reprised role as the wandering samurai. There's a lot more violence than in Yojimbo and a lot less subtlety - a sign of the changing mood in Japan at the time I suppose. The story is more convoluted this time round, and a little hard to follow at times. But it's watching Toshiro Mifune playing Yojimbo again, and seeing him manipulate those greedy enough to employ him thinking they're taking advantage of his reduced circumstances that makes this such a treat. |
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High And Low (1963)
High and Low is one of Kurosawa's less well-known films. Most people think of samurai epics when they think of Kurosawa and he's certainly done his fair share of those films, but he did do some very interesting modern day dramas aswell. This film features one of Toshiro Mifune's best performances in a Kurosawa film. He plays a businessman whose young son's friend is kidnapped by mistake instead of his son. The kidnappers want a lot of money from Mifune who is having difficulty in raising the cash, and is faced with the added dilemma of the fact that it isn't his son that's been kidnapped. It's an interesting idea and it's one of my favourite Kurosawa films that's set in the modern age. This was an adaptation of an Ed McBain novel called King's Ransom. The build up of tension at the predicament instigated by the kidnappers - who we never see - is perfect in its execution. |
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Ran (1985)
This would be a fitting film to cap off a wonderful carreer. It's an epic Shakespearean tragedy based on King Lear. An old warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons each of whom eventually becomes dissatisfied with his share and wants the whole lot. Sooner or later you just know everything is going to come to a head. Sure enough all hell breaks loose as the film nears it's climax (the title means 'chaos'), and everything explodes in an orgy of coloured banners and soldiers on horseback converging on the burning castle steps. This is my favourite Kurosawa film when I'm in the mood for an epic battle. The cinematography in this film is absolutely stunning and the compositions are masterly. Every frame is perfect. One of Kurosawa's very best efforts. Very highly recommended
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