Getting back to the diary after a long break. I watched Stray Dog Sunday night, continuing my project of watching all of Akira Kurosawa's films (at least those available) in chronological order. I had seen Stray Dog once before, long ago, on VHS. The Criterion DVD was a big improvement. As I've noted before, in … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 5: Stray Dog

Early in his career, Akira Kurosawa seemed unable to be make two good films in a row (or at least films that seem good from a distance of 6 decades and several thousand miles). While his odd-numbered films prove very good, with a promise of the master to come, the odd-numbered ones are usually a … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 4: The Quiet Duel

I watched the Drunken Angel DVD Saturday night, the most recent film in my Kurosawa saga (Kurosaga?). I had seen it several times before, including a Voom Network HD broadcast a few months ago. In other words, this wasn't a new discovery or a rediscovery. Drunken Angel represents a major step towards mature Kurosawa. It … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 3: Drunken Angel

Still playing catch-up. Kurosawa became a great artist in the post-war years of American occupation, but he couldn't seem to make two good films in a row. He would make a good, really good, or even great motion picture, then follow it with an out-and-out turkey. He didn't break this cycle until he followed Ikiru … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 2: First Post-War Films