Kurosawa. Kurosawa has two films that many cinephiles triumph as the best, or one of the 5 or so best, of all-time. He has a consistent narrative worldview, is a dynamic editor- specifically in action sequences, and boasts a filmography of great depth. From Scorsese: “The term ‘giant’ is used too often to describe artists. But in the case of Akira Kurosawa, we have one of the rare instances where the term fits.”
Best film: Seven Samurai. This is actually fairly close with Rashomon. They are both magnificent films- one a tightly-wound narrative atom-bomb—the other a powerful epic saga. Both are clearly very influential which I’ll get to more in stylistic traits.
total archiveable films: 16
top 100 films: 2 (Seven Samurai, Rashomon)
top 500 films: 6 (Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ran, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, Ikiru)
top 100 films of the decade: 7 (Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ran, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, Ikiru, High and Low)
most overrated: Ikiru is the choice. It’s #112 on TSPDT and that’s #3 for Kurosawa. I have it at #453 of all-time and #6 when ranked amongst his oeuvre. I love the film (simply overrated because of the lofty consensus ranking) but I find the unending wailing by the bureaucracy in the last 30 minutes or so tough to get through. I just wish it wasn’t there or it wasn’t emphasized so much.
most underrated : Yojimbo. TSPDT has it as #399 and I have it at #273. I have no idea how to explain how TSPDT underrates this film and its remake (Leone’s Fistful of Dollars) so much. It’s probably Kurosawa’s most accessible and enjoyable film and it’s still packed with directorial flair and one of Mifune’s best performances. The sequel, Sanjuro, isn’t nearly as good, but is still entertaining (simple Recommend/archiveable for me). A runner up for underrated here is Hidden Fortress probably best remembered now as the film that launched or most heavily influenced Star Wars. It isn’t in the TSPDT top 1000 or Kurosawa top 12 and that’s wrong.
gem I want to spotlight: Ran. The compositional visual beauty of the long shots and mise-en-scene detail are masterpiece worthy—Kurosawa makes great use of every extra, color flourish in the frame, and set piece (whether it’s the mountains in the final climax battle, the valley in the opening, or the castle on fire (picture above) in the film’s best scene/segment. Second to the pictorial composition I have to praise the formal elements Kurosawa goes back to again and again with the shot of the clouds and meditating on dreams and fate. Based on Shakespeare’s King Lear but set in Feudal Japan. Gorgeous bright primary colors—a reminder of the work when Kurosawa first went to color along with some of the early color experimentations like Godard with contempt, Antonioni with Red Desert and Fellini with Juliet of the Spirits. There are really only two types of shots here in the film—there is the long shot (battle sequences mainly and establishing/landscape shots) and the medium shots where most of the dialogue is delivered. The long shots are stunning and I frankly wish it was more of running time— Kurosawa stages the battles so beautifully—and he uses the frame almost like a Tati film—the dialogue-laden (though always sharp, engaging and a fantastic narrative) does get a little visually monotonous. Costume design best Oscar win. The continual self-interest in every character as an ongoing theme is nothing new to Kurosawa- he’s been doing it brilliantly since Rashomon. The entire cast is superb but Tatsuya Nakadai as Lord Hidetora Ichimonji is amongst the best performance of 1985 as is Mieko Harada as Lady Kaede as the Machiavellian wife of Lord Hidetora’s eldest son. The battles sequences with no audio except the non-diegetic music score is sublime—color guards. It’s almost ballet like. I may be reaching here but I think the long shot battle sequences with the extras is also a bit of a statement on the sheep-like or ant-like order-taking sacrifice for essentially nothing. It’s not as apparent a criticism as say Chaplin with the sheep in the factor cutaway in modern times but still. The film has gravitas like the godfather. The shot of Nakadai’s character leaving the burning castle, down the stairs with the red and yellow color guards on both sides is a jaw-dropper. “it’s a mad world. Only the mad are sane”—dog-eat-dog nihilism as per always with Kurosawa. Meditation on the downfall of pride as well. End is a fitting long shot.
stylistic innovations/traits: It’s impossible to talk about action sequence direction without talking about Kurosawa. The use of slow-motion photography, crisp editing, combined with his dog eat dog worldview and cynicism (which is a great match for the adaptations of the bard as we’ve seen) are all traits of the great master. You can see it readily in Sam Peckinpah for sure. While Kurosawa was influenced by John Ford (his Samurai film is the Western) he influenced many more in the West in turn. We have George Lucas of course, Leone and then back to the east with John Woo. Kurosawa is one of the great editors taking Eisenstein’s montage model for energy and the rush of the action scene but intermixing longer shot for compositional beauty and formal structure. Kurosawa’s nihilism fits the Shakespeare adaptations (and Peckinpah again). I have to confirm this but I believe the shot from the ground up to the heavens or sun through trees is actually from Kurosawa and I think I’ve been attributing it to Malick all these years. Lastly, since I didn’t get a chance to mention it above Rashomon and its manipulation of the narrative structure—going to non-linear– is something I mention all the time—whether it’s Jarmusch’s Mystery Train or the work of Tarantino—genius and influential.
top 10
- Seven Samurai
- Rashomon
- Ran
- Yojimbo
- Throne of Blood
- Ikiru
- High and Low
- Hidden Fortress
- Kagemusha
- The Lower Depths
By year and grades
| 1948- Drunken Angel | R |
| 1949- Stray Dog | R |
| 1950- Rashomon | MP |
| 1952- Ikiru | MS |
| 1954- Seven Samurai | MP |
| 1957- The Lower Depths | R |
| 1957- Throne of Blood | MS |
| 1958- Hidden Fortress | |
| 1961- Yojimbo | MS/MP |
| 1962- Sanjuro | R |
| 1963- High and Low | |
| 1965- Red Beard | R |
| 1974- Dersu Uzula | |
| 1980- Kagemusha | |
| 1985- Ran | MS/MP |
| 1990- Dreams |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
Good question, so it’s tricky because he is so great on a per minute basis in Rashomon. He’s so commanding if Yojimbo and the solid but lesser Sanjuro but plays more complex characters in The Bad Sleep Well and Drunken Angel. I actually find ranking performances more difficult than films for that reason. But here it goes:
1. Seven Samurai
2. Yojimbo
3. High and Low
4. The Bad Sleep Well
5. Drunken Angel
6. Rashomon
7. Throne of Blood
8. Sanujuro
9. The Hidden Fortress
10. I Live In Fear
Red Beard would definitely make the top 10 but I have only seen it once and need another viewing to place it. The Lower Depths and especially Scandal are lesser Kurosawa films but he is solid in both.
Would you agree that his greatest performance is in Samurai Rebellion?
@RW – No, but I have seen Samurai Rebellion just once and it was a few years ago so would need another viewing but from what I recall it is an impressive film and performance.
My ranking of Kurosawa`s films that I`ve seen:
1. High and Low MP
2. Seven Samurai MP
3. Rashomon MP
4. Ikiru MP
5. Ran MP
6. The Bad Sleep Well MP
7. Yojimbo MP
8. Throne of Blood MS
9. Stray Dog MS
10. Red Beard MS
11. Sanjuro MS
12. Kagemusha MS
13. Drunken Angel HR/MS
14. Dersu Uzala HR
15. Sanshiro Sugata R/HR
16. The Quiet Duel R
17. The Idiot R
18. Sanshiro Sugata Part Two R
20 Best Performances
1. Shimura- Ikiru
2. Mifune- Yojimbo
3. Mifune- Seven Samurai
4. Shimura- Seven Samurai
5. Mifune- Rashomon
6. Nakadai- Ran
7. Mifune- Throne of Blood
8. Mifune- High and Low
9. Mifune- The Bad Sleep Well
10. Mifune- Stray Dog
11. Shimura- Stray Dog
12. Nakadai- Kagemusha
13. Harada- Ran
14. Yamada- Throne of Blood
15. Yamazaki- High and Low
16. Mori- Rashomon
17. Kyo- Rashomon
18. Mifune- Red Beard
19. Mifune- The Quiet Duel
20. Shimura- Drunken Angel
I like your list. It’s very close to how I would order mine and I agree that Kurosawa has no less than 6 MPs. Like you, I’m high on Red Beard and think it’s underrated by just about everyone. Kurosawa easily makes my top 5 and would contend for #1.
Kurosawa really might be the best director of all time. I have actually also seen Dreams (1990) recently and it would probably rank between Dersu Uzala and Sanshiro Sugata.
How does you ranking look?
@RujK – I noticed we both have 7 MP and all the same films in a slightly different order. I admire you putting High and Low (1963) at # 1. It is my personal favorite and just might be his best work although I still can’t quite put in over Seven Samurai
1. Seven Samurai
2. High and Low
3. Ikiru
4. Rashomon
5. Ran
6. The Bad Sleep Well
7. Yojimbo
@James Trapp- how would you rank Mifune performances in the Kurosawa collaborations?
Not James Trapp but I’d definitely put Scandal on the list.
@RW- I will put Scandal on my watchlist. Is it also a good movie, or is it worth watching just for Mifune?
@RujK – Scandal is solid! Kurosawa doing a courtroom drama
@RujK-Not the highest of praise for Scandal here. Looks like it is near or at the bottom of Kurosawa’s 27 archivable films.
https://thecinemaarchives.com/2020/06/04/scandal-1950-kurosawa/
Personally I’d put it a lot higher. I found it one of the most emotionally affecting of the Kurosawa films.
Final Ranking
Seven Samurai (1954) – MP
High and Low (1963) – MP
Ikiru (1952) – MP
Rashomon (1950) – MP
Ran (1985) – MP
The Bad Sleep Well (1960) – MP
Yojimbo (1961) – MP
Throne of Blood (1957) – MS
Stray Dog (1949) – MS
Kagemusha (1980) – MS
The Hidden Fortress (1958) – MS/HR
Sanjuro (1962) – HR/MS
Drunken Angel (1948) – HR/MS
Red Beard (1965) – HR
Dersu Uzala (1975) – HR/R
Dreams (1990) – HR/R
One Wonderful Sunday (1947) R/HR
The Lower Depths (1957) – R/HR
Madadayo (1993)
Sanshiro Sugata (1943) – R
No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945) – R
Scandal (1950) – R
I Live In Fear (1955) – R
Final Ranking and Grades:
Study Summary:
Kurosawa is on my Mount Rushmore aside Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, and Alfred Hitchcock. His case is just about as strong as anyone for GOAT status. I covered 24 of his films in the study and all are worth viewing in my opinion
He has 7 MP; this was my 19th Director Study and so far, no one else has more than 5. Films as strong as Throne of Blood and Stray Dog are only his 8th and 9th best
Unlike some of the other Director Studies I have done so far like Welles or Malick, Kurosawa took a bit before he made a MP level film but once he hit his stride, he went on some of the most incredible runs imaginable. In fact, you could argue that he was the Best Director of the 50s (probably 2nd to Hitchcock) and the 60s (though this might be a bit of a stretch)
The trio of Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune, and Takashi Shimura has to be amongst the greatest ever. The only one I would put ahead would be Scorsese, De Niro, and Pesci
Kurosawa incorporates nature and the 5 elements into his films as well as anyone, certainly Tarkovsky and Malick are right there as well. Weather plays a crucial role in so many of his films. Just think of the rain throughout the main timeline of Rashomon or the final battle in Seven Samurai. There is an amazing scene in Dersu Uzala where the titular character and a Russian Captain survive a brutal windstorm in Siberia. Think of the hot summer day in Stray Dog or the snow falling around Takashi Shimura’s character as he sings peacefully on the swing set in Ikiru (1952)
Kurosawa is such a master at compositions, Rashomon (1950) uses so many amazing deep focus and triangle compositions that it took me almost 3 hours to watch the 88 min film as I kept pausing to takes notes, I adjusted my note taking after that a bit otherwise watching say Seven Samurai (1954) would have taken like 8 hours. Speaking of Seven Samurai, the camera movement, particularly during the battle sequences is just incredible. Kurosawa was a huge admirer of John Ford’s work, particularly his great Westerns. The influence goes both ways between Kurosawa and other legends such as Leone who essentially remakes Yojimbo (1961) with Fist Full of Dollars (1964)
Kurosawa takes on contemporary issues in films like The Bad Sleep Well and High and Low; both films work well as they fit into the “dog eat dog” worldview that Kurosawa demonstrates consistently throughout his filmography. His films that are critical of modern-day Japanese problems never come across as preachy though. And of course, Kurosawa is not someone who would ever be accused of being overly sentimental
Kurosawa’s is more versatile than some give him credit for. Not only does he have films across multiple genres, but even within genres there is diversity. For example, think of how different Seven Samurai is from say The Hidden Fortress or Yojimbo in terms of the mood/atmosphere as the two ladder films are much lighter and less serious and have relatively happy endings
Here are my final rankings for Kurosawa, it was not easy to do, in particular the MPs. As much as I love and respect all of his MP’s I am confident putting Seven Samurai at # 1. In fact, the only two films I currently have ranked higher is The Godfather (1972) and Raging Bull (1980). So I am confident that Seven Samurai (1954) is his ultimate MP. # 2 through # 5 are all really close; that is High and Low, Ikiru, Rashomon, and Ran are all really close. The Bad Sleep Well and Yojimbo are the other 2 MP’s. That’s right Yojimbo is only his 7th best film, which is absolutely ridiculous, most directors would kill to make a single film that great
Below the MPs you have films like Throne of Blood, Stray Dog, Kagemusha, and The Hidden Fortress. These are great films that are only his # 8 – # 11
Below that you have Sanjuro, Drunken Angel, Red Beard, Dersu Uzala, and Dreams as the # 12 – # 16 and then after you have the simple R
Kurosawa’s final film Madadayo (1993) is a simple story but a nice film to end his legendary career on even if it’s not one of his best films. Ran (1985) was released 8 years prior was in a way Kurosawa’s last major film, he really went all out with that one putting over 10 years old work, the man actually painted every scene on the storyboard for a nearly 3-hour film
Madadayo (1993)
Notes:
Set in 1943, starts with professor, based on real life person named Hyakken Uchida, joking with his students but then announcing his retirement
4 min it is clear the professor is well-liked by his students
16:30 professor announces 60th birthday to students who visit him in his house with his wife
17:40 table filled with students on both sides and professor at head of table in his house, in background of the frame facing the camera, set up similar to funeral scene in Ikiru (1952)
20:20 horse story
25:18 frame in frame composition showing Professor’s new home after his house was destroyed during air raids, we learn this via voice over narration from one of the students
34:18 triangle composition and nice use of framing
41:12 cutaway shot to the moon
47:19 the professor chugs a huge glass of beer, takes me back to my college days
1:02:27 nice composition with the empty beer bottles and glasses in the foreground
1:05:15 camera pans to Professor’s new house his students had built for him
1:10:45 great blocking with Professor in the foreground and his students and wife behind
1:25:15 great blocking with close up on the Professor in the foreground who is crying in despair about his lost cat with two of his students in background of composition, also in close ups
1:47:02 camera set low with the Professor in background of composition
1:52:18 the beer glass again, the Professor chugs in front of room of students
1:54:18 presented with flowers by daughters of his (former) students as this banquet is no longer all an male party
1:56:41 light dims, nice shot of Professor blowing out candles on Cake
Thoughts:
Kurosawa’s final film is a simple yet effective story, it is almost something you would sooner expect from Ozu than Kurosawa. It’s far from a MP but a nice film to go out on
Tatsuo Matsumura is solid playing the lead role of Hyakken Uchida, but I would have loved to see Takashi Shimura if not for the fact that he passed away 11 years earlier. Chishû Ryû would have interesting as well, he actually worked with Kurosawa before, the 3rd of these collaborations was just 3 years prior in Dreams (1990), however Chishû Ryû actually passed away in 1993, the same year this film was released
Verdict: R