Dorian Quell Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 Who here enjoys Akira Kurosawa's works? I love the man's film. I think they are great and very poetic in a way. Who will join me in saying hooray! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ultra Definition Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 Great director. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Neary Posted March 13, 2004 Share Posted March 13, 2004 If you like Kurosawa, also check out Yasujiro Ozu- (Tokyo Story and Good Morning, and a zillion others). Really brilliant filmmaking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Wendell_Greene Posted March 13, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted March 13, 2004 My favorites: Yojimbo Dreams Ran Seven Samurai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted March 14, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted March 14, 2004 One of my favorites. I love showing students shots from "Red Beard" shot indoors on a 500mm anamorphic at f/22 for a deep-focus telephoto look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorian Quell Posted March 14, 2004 Author Share Posted March 14, 2004 i love rashomon, sanjuro, seven samurai, and high and low. i really wanna see dreams. i ordered stray do and one wonderful sunday. should come in soon and be very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ultra Definition Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 I just got this as the latest news: Kurosawa epic turned into video game http://www.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http...ies/14LEVI.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vivian Zetetick Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Great filmmaker. Don't forget the other Kurosawa: http://midnighteye.com/interviews/kiyoshi_kurosawa.shtml ...a contemporary Japanese filmmaker whose work seems to be overlooked in the U.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorian Quell Posted March 16, 2004 Author Share Posted March 16, 2004 thanks Vivian. Im interested to see the other kurosawa's films. Cure looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberto Hernandez Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 I have only seen Dreams, but I love it! Very poetic and beautifully filmed. Any other recommendations? :D Roberto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted May 5, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted May 5, 2004 Hi, I appreciate the cultural connections with "Seven Samurai," but I don't think it's really any more clever than me making a film about medieval knights. However I haven't seen it in years, must update Mental Note card. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister X Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 Altho his period films get the most attention, another film that deserves a viewing is IKIRU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted May 6, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted May 6, 2004 Jeez, Phil, considering that I would place "Seven Samurai" in the top ten list of greatest movies ever made, I can't believe you can be so dismissive of such a major artistic achievement. It's like seeing the Taj Mahal or the Mona Lisa and saying "I don't see what all the fuss is about!" I mean, you're free to express such an opinion, of course, but it's like calling Beethoven's Fifth a mindless piece of pop music. I would give a limb to have directed two films more than any others: "Seven Samurai" and "Dr. Strangelove." To me, they are almost perfect works of cinema. After those two, it would be "2001" and "Lawrence of Arabia." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Belics Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 I've got to agree with Phil here. I saw Ran on dvd last month and just turned it off. Maybe it's just because the father looked awful to me. Maybe it's because Japanese stuff is not my thing. I say 'stuff' because I can't pinpoint what it is. I'm not at all interested in visiting Japan though I enjoy some of the beautiful photographs from there. I have no interest in their culture but please don't take that to mean I look down on them. It's just not 'my thing'. I tried to watch it for the cinematography but just didn't see anything. I loved the documentary on his life, though. I thought it was better than anything Kurosawa ever did, but I haven't seen all of them. I didn't like Lawrence either except for the cinematography which was spectacular. I thought O'Toole was corny with his staring off into the distance. I know that was considered OK then but that doesn't mean I have to like it now. I'm hardly a kid and I grew up during those years so it's not my age. Just personal preference I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Pytlak RIP Posted May 6, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted May 6, 2004 For me, films that can transcend cultural lines to examine our common human condition, like "Seven Samurai" and "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Schindler's List", are timeless. Freddie Young's cinematography in LOA is wonderful, and the film shows what 65mm can do for image quality, but the political message is still very relevant with today's events in the Middle East. There are lessons to be learned from history, and great films help convey those lessons more than any textbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Meachin Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 I have to agree with John P here. LOA is a excellent. Personally I think O'Toole is fabulous as is Omar Sharif (spell check?). O'Toole has charisma something Mr John Wayne certainly doesn't! Clint all the way! As for David Lean, well he must be put up there with the greats! As for Kurusawa I personally think that it's to easy too dismiss such classics as 'Seven Samurai', remember it was made in 1954. The only thing I would say is that, had Seven Samurai not been made we wouldn't have been blessed with the remarkable Mag 7, NOT! If you can't find meaning in Kurusawa's films try Film school! How could you not admire the atmosphere and dramatic spectacles? For me Kagemusha is very under-rated though funded by Mr Lucas. Ran for me is a work of art! Thank god for Japanese and European cinema or we'd be watching tripe like Bad Boy's (though nicely shot) and Independance Day all our lives! Only my opinion which probably counts for very little! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted May 6, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted May 6, 2004 A lot of this comes down to taste. However, even though I don't care for modern jazz or much of modern art, the failing lies in me, not in them. If you want to rank Kurosawa's films, it's difficult because there was such a stylistic shift by the time of "Ran", so if you're a fan of his earlier gritty and humanistic efforts, the bleakness and theatricality of "Ran" will be less appealing. I admire "Ran" but I do not love it like I do "Seven Samurai". As others have noted, "Seven Samurai" is so much more than a knight's tale done in medieval Japan -- I dare anyone to find a medieval times film from that period of cinema history with that sort of animalistic energy. It's more akin to a western by John Ford but none of his films have the sort of visceral power of that last battle in the rain. And it's certainly not fair to compare it to modern films that have built themselves on Kurosawa's work, such as works by Sergio Leone, George Miller, Ridley Scott, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Wells Posted May 8, 2004 Share Posted May 8, 2004 RAN is my favourite film by Kurosawa. It's the ultimate refinement of his style. If we're going to talk about other classic Japanese directors, in reletion to Kurosawa, you've got to look at Kenji Mizoguchi's films --- UGETSU, SHIN HEIKE MONOGATARI, SANSHO DAYU... -Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Downes Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 The mention of 65mm reminded me of a question, does Kodak still make 65mm or 70mm film? And if so, where could one find the cameras? Back to Kurosawa, the first film of his I saw was Ran, in my cinematography class in high school. We ran through the movie with the sound off, then sound on, to compare/contrast the visual with the audio. One of the most magnificent achievements of filmmaking. I also enjoyed Seven Samurai, and agree that it is one of the best films ever made. I also enjoyed the Hidden Fortress and Dreams, but sadly have not given time to Kurosawa's other works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member John Pytlak RIP Posted May 10, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted May 10, 2004 Yes, Kodak stocks a full line of 65mm camera negative and duplicating films, and 70mm KODAK VISION Color Print Films. Modern cameras for 5-perf 65mm are available from Panavision and Arriflex. Labs include Technicolor/CFI, Imagica, FotoKem. http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products....1.4.18.4&lc=en http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products....1.4.18.6&lc=en http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en.../colorPrint.pdf http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newslett...lak/dec98.shtml http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newslett...k/march99.shtml http://www.gearpreview.com/film/65mm/765.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Downes Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Ok, whenever I get a decent budget for a movie (the fact I've not yet done a movie notwithstanding) I am definately going to shoot it in 70mm. I loved hitting the local 70mm super-screen when I was younger, and miss the crispness. then again, I'd love to see Maxivision48 take off as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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