A Collection of Akira Kurosawa

I’ve begun to really appreciate Kurosawa.  Several years ago I watched Seven Samurai and loved it.  A month ago I started watching a few other of his films and have rarely been disappointed.  He is known for being inspired by American and British stories and transferring those plots to feudal or modern Japan with great success.  All of these movies are available for instant watching on Netflix.

(1950) Rashômon (2/5)
The retelling of a crime from 3 biased points of view, this may be one of the first movies to use that approach in a story.  It was mildly interesting, but the pacing was too slow for my liking.  Cinematography buffs will enjoy some of his techniques.

(1952) Ikiru (4/5)
Set in post-war Japan, an old bureaucrat and widower learns he has terminal cancer.  Instead of being crushed by the news, he manages to live heartily in the last 6 months of his life.  I really liked this movie; his new spirit and attitude remind me of my grandmother.  I think if I ever go through a mid-life crisis, I would do well to watch this again.  A little slow to start and again in the middle.  The long funeral scene at the end was quite moving.

(1954) Seven Samurai (4/5)
One of the great epic movies, with a band of samurai helping to protect a village.  It’s long, but awesome pretty much the whole way through.  I should rewatch this soon, maybe I’ll bump it up to 5 stars.

(1958) Hidden Fortress (3/5)
Two peasants survive a battle and stumble across the  hidden fortress where the losing side’s last remaining royal family, the princess and her general, are hiding out.  Together they try to escape across the border.  The story was decent but the pacing was too slow in the beginning for my tastes.  I wonder if Lucas got his idea of Threepio and Artoo from this movie.

(1961) Yojimbo (4/5)
The first of two awesome movies.  A  samurai comes across a town divided by two feuding families, and each side tries to hire him as a bodyguard.  A great mix of story, acting, and occasional brevity.

(1961) Sanjuro (5/5)
The sequel, with the same samurai who has wandered on to another town bedeviled by corruption.  His chance arrival saves the lives of 9 men who are just starting to recognize the local officials as what they are, and together they attempt to depose them despite great odds.  What worked great in the first movie comes back even better in this movie!  I think I was spoiled by watching Yojimbo and Sanjuro first before the other Kurosawa movies, but they’re still my favorites of his.

(1963) High and Low (4/5)
Set in the early 1960s, a wealthy businessman must chose between saving the life of his chauffer’s son (who was kidnapped by mistake; they meant to take his son) or protecting his position in his company by buying more shares.  A great movie with several twists along the way.    The first half of the movie focuses on the businessman, the second half focuses on the police investigation.  Great pacing and acting all the way through.

I have a few more movies of his to watch, but I would recommend any of the 4+ star movies above to everyone!  Especially Yojimbo and Sanjuro.