I’ve been slowly working through Kurosawa’s movies, and I thought this could be an interesting discussion since there are so many of them.
I just finished Yojimbo, and it was fantastic. It pulls you into the story of a ronin who comes to town where two rival gangs are feuding, and he plays both sides off of each other. I really enjoyed how the relationship between the tavern owner and the ronin developed through the movie.
I think my favorite that I’ve seen is Seven Samurai. Even though it’s been copied to death for other movies, this is still the best version. Kikuchiyo is such a compelling character, and Kambei is great to watch as the leader who you hope can rise to the occasion.
I’ve also seen Ran (which I loved as an adaptation of King Lear) and The Hidden Fortress (which I loved as an adaptation of Star Wars [jk]).
Which should I watch next? I’d like to get into something set in contemporary times, so maybe Rashomon?
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Sanjuro goes with Yojimbo, and is an even better story I think.
Three of his movies are my favorites though I haven’t seen anything of his short of great yet.
Yojimbo (1961)
Mifune is probably at his coolest here. An action-comedy that plays with every bit of a small town.
Rashomon (1950)
Groundbreaking and yet it still holds up completely. Incredible use of weather.
Ran (1985)
If you had to press me, I’d say this is my favorite simply because of his incredible use of color.
Yes
Ikiru
Seven Samurai. It really kinda defines Kurosawa’s style to me.
Also, there’s seven samurai. If only one had beem southern…
Love Rashomon, it was so good. Definitely make it your next watch. Pioneered ambiguous endings in movies. It gives the audience a reason to keep thinking about it after watching because it allows them the freedom to determine their own canon version of the story.
Ran (1985).
Great cinematography, slow burn rising action like the building of a storm, and Lady Kaede is quite possibly one of the most subtly unsettling characters I’ve ever seen portrayed in fiction.
I’ve only seen Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Dreams. Of those, I actually like Dreams the best. I suppose that’s probably going to be an unpopular opinion.
Woah, the trailer for Dreams doesn’t look like any movie I’ve ever seen. I’ll check it out for sure!
It’s a series of vignettes like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, except the vignettes are based on dreams Kurosawa had.
Ran
Throne of Blood is my favorite. Was my first Kurosawa - free showing at my college and there was a cool film professor discussion afterwards.
It’s an adaptation of Macbeth, just in feudal Japan. So not quite scratching your urge for contemporary, but it’s just so gritty. Lady Macbeth is demonic.
I agree with the other 7 Samurai people as that being his best.
But don’t sleep on 天国と地獄 (I think the English title is High and Low?)
Also，Ichikawa Kon’s Revenge of a Kabuki Actor is top-shelf.
Kagemusha is to me very dear, a very round and well made story about identity and legacy. Furthermore, you can see clearly how much Kurosawa style has matured if compared with older movies, though probably his zenith is Ran, Kagemusha is still an original story (based on true events) with more modern storetelling.
I was taking film classes and thought I’d wanted to be a director, I saw Ran and gave up on that dream because I realized I would never make anything as half as good looking as that no matter how hard I tried.
