The Silver Screen Oasis

Okay folks, which films would you recommend I record (besides "7 Samurai" , "Rashomon" or "Ran")?
thanks.

The Bad Sleep Well, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, oh well, don't ask me, I'd say watch everything you can (as I will be). I love Kurosawa.

I love Throne of Blood and Ran. Any man who can control the weather and make trees walk is great in my book.

I agree, there is nothing of his you shouldn't try to see. I think the particulars of who likes which of his films is very subjective. I personally don't much go for Rashomon, which is one of the greats, but it just doesn't appeal to me as much as others. Most would probably say the opposite.

I guess I would go for the stuff that you might not be able to rent or see easily.

Red Beard (1966) is my personal favorite of his work.

Others I recommend recording:

No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
Drunken Angel (1948)
The Idiot (1951)
Ikiru (1952)
The Lower Depths (1962)
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Yojimbo (1961)
I Live in Fear (1955)
High and Low (1963)
Stray Dog (1948)
Throne of Blood (1957)
Kagemusha (1980)

Fans of Film Noir (you know who you are) should really enjoy Stray Dog, The Bad Sleep Well, and the devastating High and Low.

I'd probably say Ikiru (1952), as well as Yojimbo (1961)--though heck, any of Kurosawa is worth seeing. Great storytelling on film.

moirafinnie wrote:heck, any of Kurosawa is worth seeing. Great storytelling on film.

Listen to the Lady on this one!
Myself, I always get hung-up between Dersu Uzala, and The Hidden Fortress (two very different films), when choosing the best from Kurosawa is proposed.

Of the Kurosawa I've seen, my two favorites are IKIRU and THRONE OF BLOOD, which TCM is showing. I'll be recording HAKUCHI and THE LOWER DEPTHS because I haven't seen them.

But HIGH AND LOW isn't far behind.

"The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail" is worth a look. It is about 45 minutes long and clearly shot on a soundstage, but it shows a very different, rather playful, side of Kurosawa.

I love "Dersu Uzala," "High and Low," and "The Hidden Fortress" of the "lesser known" Kurosawa films.

I'd say record as many as you can too. I love Kurosawa, if I had to go for my favorites then it would be Ikiru, High and Low, Hidden Fortress and Throne of Blood. You must record Rashomon too, it's probably his best known work after The Seven Samurai.

I'm glad you liked Throne of Blood.

I think Kurosawa does Shakespeare better than anyone because he is so much better at magic than we westerners are. We are almost embarrassed by the magical parts of the Shakespeare plays, and we try to get past them as quickly as we can, so we can get to the "drama". We have spent the last 50 years working to find the "reality" in everything. Kurosawa embraces the magical, the unexplained, the unimaginable. I love him because he stuns me and uplifts me and terrifies me with his huge imagination, and his ability to somehow make nature bend to his command. I completely believe what happens in his movies. There is no doubt in my mind that men can be lost in a magical fog, and keep following the same path over and over again, at the whim of some great presence. Or that trees can come to life....or a ghost man can fly up into the air and disappear.

I thought Ikiru was AMAZING. I had never seen it before, and was surprised at how very modern it was..... Takashi Shimura's face was so full, all the time... he broke my heart over and over again. A beautiful, beautiful and very true movie.

JackFavell wrote:I thought Ikiru was AMAZING. I had never seen it before, and was surprised at how very modern it was..... Takashi Shimura's face was so full, all the time... he broke my heart over and over again. A beautiful, beautiful and very true movie.

One of my favorites as well. If you liked this one, be sure to check out Red Beard.

I will, thanks, Mr. Arkadin!

Your suggested quadruple feature of the day: IKIRU, UMBERTO D., TOKYO STORY, MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW.

Let me know in advance of watching them so I can buy stock in Kleenex. Then I'll call my parents just to say "I love you."

Arkadin, is that a new avatar?