J-Film Blog

Japanese Films from an American Perspective

Entries Tagged ‘kurosawa’

Sanjuro | 椿三十郎 (1962)

Hm.  Kurosawa? Check.  Toshiro Mifune? Check.  Samurai action? Check.  Humor? Check.  Hm.  Must be the sequel to Yojimbo, Sanjuro.
Yeah, but I didn’t get a lot out of this one.  Once again Mifune returns as the nameless ronin, this time taking the name of “Tsubaki Sanjuro”….  And pretty much does the same thing here that he [...]

The Bad Sleep Well | 悪い奴ほどよく眠る (1960)

The Bad Sleep Well | 悪い奴ほどよく眠る (1960)

The Bad Sleep Well, aka 悪い奴ほどよく眠る, or “the bad guys sleep well”…. an apt description for this complex drama from master Akira Kurosawa.
Look, I’m going to be honest with you.  This movie’s plot is quite complex.  I’m not even sure I understood exactly what all was happening.  Its a [...]

Rashomon | 羅生門 (1950)

Rashomon | 羅生門 (1950)

I dunno about Rashomon.  One of Kurosawa’s definitive classics, you really have to be prepared to stick through the whole thing to get to the heart of the matter.  Until then, you’re kind of wondering what the point of it all is.  Which, after all, is the point of it all….  Maybe [...]

Seven Samurai | 七人の侍 (1954)

Seven Samurai | 七人の侍 (1954)

There are epic movies.  And then there are epics.  The ones that the other so-called epic films look up to and say “someday I want to be just like you.”
Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is one of the few in that latter category.  It’s also one of the few films I’ve seen [...]