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?
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.