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 [...]
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 [...]
Ichi
Wow! What a movie! TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) brings a welcome update to the classic “Blind Swordsman Zatoichi” franchise with the aptly titled “Ichi.” And the bottom line?
I loved this movie. I loved nearly everything about it. It’s the perfect blend of samurai action, drama, comedy, story, soundtrack… you name it.
Rated 4/5 on Jan 20 [...]
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 [...]
Ah, the Samurai, the cowboys of ancient Japan. Well, maybe not quite so ancient in this film, Yojinbo, aka “The Bodyguard.” I’m not sure that “bodyguard” is an apt translation, but its all I can find!
This is it, the classic Akira Kurosawa film which as you might know, inspired the Clint Eastwood film “A Fistful [...]
