Akira Kurosawa’s 25th film, Dersu Uzala, sits alone amongst his other work. It’s his only film not set and shot in Japan and without Japanese actors or dialog. It’s the only one shot in a large format—Sovscope 70, the Russian equivalent of Todd-AO and Super Panavision 70. And it won him his only Best Foreign … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 25: Dersu Uzala

Akira Kurosawa’s first color film, Dodes’ka-den, bursts with vibrant hues like a Technicolor musical. Yet it is arguably his most depressing work. A commercial flop when initially released (its failure so upset the director he attempted suicide), it has never gained a classic reputation. That’s too bad, because it deserves one. I rediscovered Dodes’ka-den last … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 24: Dodes’ka-den

With the release of Red Beard, we come to an important turning point in Kurosawa’s career, although not one that he was aware of at the time. From here on in, he would make fewer, and far more somber, motion pictures. Counting years, his career was less than half over. He had been making movies … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 23: Transition

We live in a cruel and indifferent universe, so we must act with kindness and charity. That’s the dominant theme of Akira Kurosawa’s works. But that theme was never stated as clearly, as forcefully, or as didactically as in Red Beard, the final work of Kurosawa’s most productive and artistically successful period. I don’t remember … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 22: Red Beard