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Kurosawa having fun!
by Neil (movies profile)
Feb 10, 2009
The only thing this movie demands is that you watch it in black-and-white. If you don't have a problem with that, relax and enjoy this Kurosawa masterpiece.
So before Sergio Leone, the Man With No Name as well as the tongue-in-cheek film began with Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa is normally more theatrical with his movies, but he and Toshiro Mifune look like they are having fun here.
The plot: The Dude of All Time comes to town and cleans it up. Along the way you get cowardly but refreshingly realistic villains(the only exception is that guy with the gun, peculiarly psycho and off-putting), honest townspeople, and that guy running the restaurant.
Not the best plot summary you've ever read, but obviously you can see the cliches. Kurosawa though, makes the film with such a sense of fun and command that the material feels fresh. Cinematographer Kasuo Miyagawa is also doing some neat effects here from the blowing sand to the lightning speed swordfights to that conclusion with the neat shot of the villains walking towards the camera. I simply admire all of Miyagawa's works.
The acting is something I have to talk about because it has as much to do with Kurosawa as it does with Japanese culture in general. So first thing: KUROSAWA IS NOT A REALIST. He often gets his actors to perform in an unnatural style that is more visually dramatic and impulsive. This exaggeration is also apparent in Japanese theatre. Toshiro Mifune is thus Kurosawa's favorite actor for the job. He has that rare gift of exploding with emotion in a split second through facials and body language. Most acting has even a little bit of hesitation before the big effect, but not Mifune's acting. There's nothing stopping this guy for some reason to articulate depth in such speed; and for a director like Kurosawa that is the best thing in the world.
This film is the one that has the most fun with itself in Kurosawa's canon. It is probably a good start if being introduced to Kurosawa. Trust me, you do not want to start with Rashomon...it is in my opinion the least accessible of Kurosawa's films. |
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