As I watched Criterion's beautiful new Blu-ray edition of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, I noticed how patterns of three ripple through this masterpiece. You have, of course, the love triangle (well, more like a lust and violence triangle) that centers the story. But you also have the three men under the Rashomon gate. And the three … Continue reading Blu-ray Review: Rashomon
Tag: kurosawa
What’s Screening: December 9 – 15
Shakespeare, Truffaut, and killer Androids (and I don’t mean smartphones). Here in the Northern Hemisphere, which includes the Bay Area, December is the darkest month of the year. It’s cold. People look for indoor activities. It’s also, outside of summer, the biggest month for movie-going. And yet, no festivals this week or, ASAIK, this month. … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 9 – 15
Kurosawa Diary, Part 13: The Lower Depths
Akira Kurosawa turned two classic European stage plays into Japanese films in 1957. But while the first of these adaptations, Throne of Blood, is exciting, action-packed, and expressionistic, the second, The Lower Depths, is dialog-heavy and relentlessly realistic. I was also going to call it low-key, but I realized that wasn’t quite accurate. There’s a … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 13: The Lower Depths
Kurosawa Diary, Part 10: Seven Samurai
Seven months ago, personal responsibilities forced me to lay aside my goal of watching every available Kurosawa film in the order they were made. I’ve just restarted it. The long break came in-between my two favorite Kurosawa films, Ikiru and Seven Samurai. I own both films on DVD, so I can’t even blame Netflix for … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 10: Seven Samurai
Kurosawa Diary, Part 9: Ikiru
After the overlong, stultifying mess of The Idiot, we come to one of the great masterpieces of world cinema. The title, Ikiru, means “to live” (or so I’ve been told), and I’d be hard pressed to think of a better film about the mortality that shapes and shadows our lives. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 9: Ikiru
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