Akira Kurosawa

Started by xerxes, January 10, 2003, 12:56:53 AM

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rustinglass

I just saw Dersu Uzala and it's really very good. Perfect cinematography, beautiful script. The best kurosawa film I saw.

I added it to the group of grand epics I like to watch on christmas afternoons: films like undergroud, ben-hur, lawrence of arabia, apocalypse now, 2001, the elephant man, limelight.
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Stefen

Anyone pick up the Criterion Ikiru today? Still waiting for mine to arrive. Any thoughts?
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analogzombie

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modage

just saw Hidden Fortress which i liked.  i definitely agree about something about his black and white seems really cool to look at.  noticed a few Star Wars similarities, (although this cant touch SW!)  its only my 3rd kurosawa film after Seven Samurai and Rashomon (all of which i liked).  next up will be Ikiru, Throne Of Blood, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, and High And Low.  so interesting how these foreign directors were obsessed with american directors and filtered their own things into their homages to them.  and in turn now they are influencing tons of directors themselves.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

ono

Umm... wasn't it the other way around?  I always thought the westerns and Star Wars stole borrowed everything from Kurosawa in the first place?

cine

Quote from: OnomatopoeiaUmm... wasn't it the other way around?  I always thought the westerns and Star Wars stole borrowed everything from Kurosawa in the first place?
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MacGuffin

But Kurosawa said he was influenced by John Ford and Frank Capra before him.
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modage

Quote from: MacGuffinBut Kurosawa said he was influenced by John Ford and Frank Capra before him.
yeah kurosawa was heavily heavily influenced by john ford.  and in turn influenced other filmmakers like Lucas etc.  just like godard was influenced by american gangster flicks and ended up making some of his movies.  who in turn influenced people like Tarantino.
Quote from: OnomatopoeiaUmm... wasn't it the other way around?  I always thought the westerns and Star Wars stole borrowed everything from Kurosawa in the first place?
smartass.  not everything some director who was from another country did means he was working without any sort of road map.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

cine

Yes, and people like Fassbinder were influenced by the likes of Douglas Sirk.
Perhaps we got confused and just channeled our thoughts to Lucas and his love for ripping off Kurosawa. :wink:

ono

Quote from: themodernage02smartass.  not everything some director who was from another country did means he was working without any sort of road map.
Down, man.  That was hardly necessary.  I wasn't being sarcastic or anything.  Just trying to clarify what I'd read, because I haven't seen the films in question yet.

modage

not directed in an angry way.  but the snide 'stole borrowed' seemed to ring of sarcasm.  it just bothers me that a lot of people assume that all these classic foriegn film directors were doing something totally different and turning their noses up at what had come before, when that wasnt the case at all.  they were trying to emulate their favorite american directors, but ended up filtering it through their own lenses.  everybody has only been ripping off everyone else since silent movies.  i dont see why lucas should be singled out when everyone has done it?
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

cine

Quote from: themodernage02everybody has only been ripping off everyone else since silent movies.  i dont see why lucas should be singled out when everyone has done it?
At least what you're saying is that Lucas did rip off Kurosawa's structure. :wink:

modage

Yojimbo was used as source material ripped off for Sergio Leone's first "spaghetti Western," A Fistful of Dollars .

now beat up on Leone! :wink:
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

cine

Actually I thought it was already universally known that Leone's A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More were western remakes of Yojimbo and Sanjuro, respectively.

modage

yes, but you dont see anyone beating up Leone for doing it.  because he's foriegn, so he's a genius!  but if John Sturges wants to remake seven samurai as the magnificent seven it's not any good, cause he's american!  i think its a double standard.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.