Film Persona

  Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" I've spent the last couple of days considered what to say and write about for Akira Kurosawa's 1985 masterpiece " Ran ." With any normal masterpiece, I feel like there is normally so much to say about it; so much to gush over. While that is certainly true for " Ran ," I also feel myself at a loss for words. The sheer scale of the film is breathtaking, along with the visuals Kurosawa is able to conjure. There's so much that could be said, but I feel as though the film itself does most of the talking.  The film is based on William Shakespeare's " King Lear ." It tells the story of an aging Sengoku-period warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. What follows is sheer chaos as the sons begin a campaign of betrayal, destruction, and chaos.  One of the reasons for the film's magnificence is its grandiose production design. Kurosawa had entire megastructures built, just to have...

  Akira Kurosawa's "Kagemusha" After a few years in which he was uncertain about his future with filmmaking, Akira Kurosawa got a little help from his friends in making his 1980 film " Kagemusha ." That is to say that Kurosawa fans and fellow filmmakers George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola assisted Kurosawa in getting the remainder of his budget paid. They persuaded 20th Century Fox to fund the remainder of the film's over bloated production budget in return for international distribution right. The extra cost of these budgets went to the climatic battle sequences, which used over 5,000 extras.  The film takes place in 1571 during the Sengoku period of Japan. A petty thief is recruited to impersonate an aging warlord in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When the warlord dies, his generals agree to have the imposter take over as the ruler.  The film, for me, only seemed like a test-run for Kurosawa's 1985 masterpiece, " Ran ." I felt t...

  Akira Kurosawa's "Dersu Uzala" Akira Kurosawa was always very interested in Russian literature and Soviet films. One piece of literature he always was drawn to was V.K. Arseniev's 1923 memoir " Dersu Uzala ." Kurosawa originally wanted to turn the novel into a film in the 1930s, but could not because the Soviet government rarely allowed foreigners to travel the taiga region, where Kurosawa insisted that the film would need to be shot. It wasn't until the early 1970s that Kurosawa finally was able to get permission to travers the Siberian landscape, on the condition that the production team was heavily monitored.  The film tells the story of a topographical surveyor, Captain Arseneiv mapping the Siberian region of Russia. After happening upon a nomadic Goldi hunter, the surveyor enlists the hunter to join the team. Through terrain both beautiful and harsh, the two form an unbreakable bond.  I feel as though the film did a successful job in communicating...

  Akira Kurosawa's "Red Beard" Perhaps this is going to get me into trouble with the film community, but for some reason, I did not connect with Akira Kurosawa's 1965 film " Red Beard " as much as most do. That being said, I completely 'GET' the movie and what it is trying to accomplish. In fact, I still find it to be an outstanding film. However, my emotional connection to the film was lacking.  " Red Beard " is, by far, Kurosawa's most un-Kurosawa film in his more impressive works. That isn't to say that it doesn't have Kurosawa written all over it. I'm simply saying that the narrative and camerawork points to a more matured and subtle Kurosawa. Not that Kurosawa's previous work is immature, by any means. However, I do think that this level of mastery in subtly leavse the kineticness and vibrancy that Kurosawa is accomosted to in his work behind. I am typically not the kind of film viewer to judge something by how long...

  Akira Kurosawa's "High and Low" Going in to Akira Kurosawa's 1963 film " High and Low ," I wasn't sure what to expect. The premise of the film is rather simple: a wealthy industrialist becomes the target of a ruthless kidnapper. Seems like it would be an interesting thriller, especially at the hands of a master like Kurosawa. However, what I received from the film was something much more than just a commonplace thriller.  The film is structured by three acts. Each act seems to act as its own movie. The first act, what I would consider the 'high' from the film's title, takes place mostly in the wealthy industrialist's (Kingo Gondo) luxury apartment home. Gondo is a shoemaker and plans to take over his company through a total buyout. He sinks all of his fortune into this plan. However, before he is able to execute his plan, he gets word that his son has been kidnapped and the ransom is $30 million. However, it comes to light that the kidn...

  Akira Kurosawa's "Sanjuro" Akira Kurosawa's 1962 film " Sanjuro " is loose sequel to his 1961 masterpiece " Yojimbo ." It follows the nameless samurai, known only by his fake name Sanjuro, as he attempts to help nine young samurai against their corrupt lord. I do not feel there is an elevated level of social commentary in the film. Despite this, I found the film to be an entertaining actin/adventure film from Kurosawa. There was plenty of intrigue to go around, as well as the protagonist being thoroughly engaging. 

  Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" Akira Kurosawa's " Yojimbo " is not only one of the best films in his filmography, but it also helped shape the 1960s American Western. Its influence is boundless. With direct adaptations like Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, or looser adaptations like 1966's " Django " and even the " Star Wars " films, " Yojimbo " has become an endlessly imitable classic of global cinema.  " Yojimbo " tells the story of a nameless samurai who wanders into a small town to find two rival gangs occupying it. The two gangs are at war and creating so much violence that most of the town's inhabitants stay in their homes. The samurai is able to manipulate the situation so that each gang destroys the other. Once he has saved the town from this violence, he leaves as mysteriously as he appeared.  While I was watching " Yojimbo ," I attempted to assert a sense of thematic metaphor over the fi...

  Akira Kurosawa's "The Bad Sleep Well" On his previous film, " The Hidden Fortress ," Akira Kurosawa constantly bumped heads with Toho Studios over budget issues. Because of this, he started his own film company, Kurosawa Productions, in 1959. Kurosawa wanted the first film coming out of his new production company to be something with a greater social importance. He managed to achieve that with " The Bad Sleep Well ." " The Bad Sleep Well " is a film about a man who acquires a prominent position in a postwar Japanese company in order to expose the men responsible for his father's death. Kurosawa wanted to use the film to showcase and offer a critique on modern corporate corruption. The film also takes notable inspiration from William Shakespeare's " Hamlet ."  While I did find the ending of the film incredibly engaging, specifically due to what is withholds, I found much of the 2 hours 31 minute runtime to be a rather slugg...

  Akira Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress" First and foremost, we should address the elephant in the room. Before going in to watch Akira Kurosawa's 1958 " The Hidden Fortress ," I was fully aware of the impact it had on George Lucas' 1977 box-office explosion " Star Wars ." While watching the film, I did notice all sorts of parallels. From plot points, to camera shots, to the way the editing was done. I think it is safe to say that it's easy to draw such parallels. However, I found myself finding " The Hidden Fortress " far more preferable to " Star Wars ."  I began the film in a state of boredom, not sure if the story would get going soon. However, the story becomes increasingly more tense and exciting as our characters go further and further into their mission. I feel as though this movie leaned far more heavily on the adventure aspect over the thematic aspects. However, there were some thematic aspects to be had. I not...