Movie Thread

vienna · 04-04-11, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Today, I'm gonna finally see Kagemusha and if I'm still in condition, Harakiri.

Both great films and both starring the great actor Tatsuya Nakadai. There is scene in "Kagemusha" where Nakadai transforms himself to impersonate another character that is truly amazing. I have always liked actors who can act with merely the expressions on there faces or small gestures rather than large, overt actions. Nakadai, by the way, is also the actor who has the great final duel scene with Toshiro Mifune in Kurosawa's film "Sanjuro", another must see samurai film.

frau kaleun · 04-04-11, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vienna

Both great films and both starring the great actor Tatsuya Nakadai. There is scene in "Kagemusha" where Nakadai transforms himself to impersonate another character that is truly amazing. I have always liked actors who can act with merely the expressions on there faces or small gestures rather than large, overt actions. Nakadai, by the way, is also the actor who has the great final duel scene with Toshiro Mifune in Kurosawa's film "Sanjuro", another must see samurai film.

Agree to all, altho in truth I prefer the predecessor "Yojimbo" to "Sanjuro"... however they are both fantastic. "Yojimbo" may well be my very favorite Kurosawa film, and that's saying a lot. I am still PO'd that Steven Spielberg didn't do the obvious "homage" shot to it when he was making "1941"... a movie about which the only really good thing I can say is that Mifune was in it.

Nakadai is also great in "Ran" and IIRC starred in the (non-Kurosawa) trilogy "The Human Condition" (about a Japanese soldier in WWII)... which is supposed to be outstanding tho I've never seen it. Buried somewhere in my Netflix queue, no doubt.

vienna · 04-05-11, 01:19 PM

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I am still PO'd that Steven Spielberg didn't do the obvious "homage" shot to it when he was making "1941"...

Spielberg has redeemed himself somewhat in that he supported Kurosawa in his final years of filmmaking. He was instrumental in getting financial support for Kurosawa's film "Dreams" and was among the several other directors like Lucas, Coppola and Scorsese to offer aid and support for his final films. I have often thought a form of royalty should have been paid by those directors, screenwriters, and producers who benfitted from remakes and/or adaptaions of Kurosawa's works. Certainly, with out Kurosawa's "Hidden Fortress", George Lucas never would have made his 'minor' franchise of "Star Wars"...

flatsixes · 04-05-11, 01:29 PM

I did not know that about Spielberg, Vienna. That's a very pleasant surprise.

Thanks.

frau kaleun · 04-05-11, 02:49 PM

As hard as it may be to believe, in his later years Kurosawa simply could not get the funding he needed to keep working (at the level he demanded of himself) from within Japan or the Japanese studio system.

It took deals with investors and companies in Europe and the US plus a lot of support from folks like those mentioned above, in order for him to get those last few films made.

One of my favorite things is to spot a Kurosawa reference or inspiration in somebody else's work. Which is why the absence of the no-brainer in "1941" annoyed me, because I was just waiting for it. There's a scene where the German officer aboard the Japanese sub pulls a gun on Mifune's character (who is commanding the sub) and I thought, oh, Mifune's gonna take out a knife or something and throw it into the German's gun hand. BUT NO.

It would have made sitting through that thing almost worthwhile.

flatsixes · 04-05-11, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

It would have made sitting through that thing almost worthwhile.

But first, I'd enjoy nice rare steak.

vienna · 04-05-11, 06:22 PM

Kurosawa's inabilty to get funding in his later years ultimately led to a suicide attempt and that act caught the attention of the rest of the world outside Japan. The outpouring of concern was immense and resulted in the many offers of assistance from other filmakers and industry people.

His inability to get funding was partly due to his filming style. He took way more time to film than was estimated and he spent way more than budgeted. For example, for his film "Throne of Blood", he had an entire medieval samural castle built. The studio balked at the expense but gave in with the expectation the castle could be used in other productions. Imagine the studio's shock when Kurosawa destroyed the castle filming the final battle scenes. It may be OK for John Wayne to build a duplicate Alamo in the desert and destroy it (U.S. studios weren't as concerned about the expense), but when Kurosawa did essentially the same thing, he was labelled as a wasteful spendthrift.

04-05-11, 01:29 PM	#4
flatsixes Weps Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Virginia Posts: 362 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	I did not know that about Spielberg, Vienna. That's a very pleasant surprise. Thanks.

04-05-11, 02:49 PM	#5
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	As hard as it may be to believe, in his later years Kurosawa simply could not get the funding he needed to keep working (at the level he demanded of himself) from within Japan or the Japanese studio system. It took deals with investors and companies in Europe and the US plus a lot of support from folks like those mentioned above, in order for him to get those last few films made. One of my favorite things is to spot a Kurosawa reference or inspiration in somebody else's work. Which is why the absence of the no-brainer in "1941" annoyed me, because I was just waiting for it. There's a scene where the German officer aboard the Japanese sub pulls a gun on Mifune's character (who is commanding the sub) and I thought, oh, Mifune's gonna take out a knife or something and throw it into the German's gun hand. BUT NO. It would have made sitting through that thing almost worthwhile.

04-05-11, 06:22 PM	#7
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,719 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Kurosawa's inabilty to get funding in his later years ultimately led to a suicide attempt and that act caught the attention of the rest of the world outside Japan. The outpouring of concern was immense and resulted in the many offers of assistance from other filmakers and industry people. His inability to get funding was partly due to his filming style. He took way more time to film than was estimated and he spent way more than budgeted. For example, for his film "Throne of Blood", he had an entire medieval samural castle built. The studio balked at the expense but gave in with the expectation the castle could be used in other productions. Imagine the studio's shock when Kurosawa destroyed the castle filming the final battle scenes. It may be OK for John Wayne to build a duplicate Alamo in the desert and destroy it (U.S. studios weren't as concerned about the expense), but when Kurosawa did essentially the same thing, he was labelled as a wasteful spendthrift.