Customer Reviews

Kurosawa

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Akira Kurosawa directed my favorite film, "Shichinin no samurai." When I was teaching Honors World Literature I would show the film to my students in between their reading of Homer's "Iliad" and Cervantes's "Don Quixote" as part of a trilogy on the nature of heroism. Whenever I would teach a course on movies I would screen "Rashomon," and if I taught "King Lear" to a class they would see "Ran." If I had ever gotten around to teaching "MacBeth" I would have shown them "Throne of Blood." Consequently, I have taken advantage of any and all opportunities to advance the cinematic gospel of Akira Kurosawa.

This 2001 documentary about "Kurosawa" combines a chronological look at the director's life offering biographical insights into his films with some critical explications of his work. The latter is relatively limited and while I would have liked to have seen more cinematic analysis we do have a whole series of Criterion Edition DVDs of Kurosawa's film with superb commentary tracks by knowledgeable film critics. There are also almost 100 minutes of additional filmed interviews provided, arranged thematically. What this documentary offers that uniquely fills in the gap in any such home film appreciation course are some direct comparisons of scenes from Kurosawa films and their American versions (e.g., "Yojimbo" and "A Fistful of Dollars"). Similarly, there are some juxtapositions of key scenes from Kurosawa films with images from his life as well as the paintings he did while preparing for film projects.

The documentary combines footage from most of Kurosawa's films and interviews with key colleagues such as screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto and actor Tatsuya Nakadai, as well as interviews with Kurosawa himself and excerpts from his autobiography (read by Paul Scofield). At two hours in length the documentary has to neglect some popular ("The Hidden Fortress") and critically acclaimed ("Stray Dog") films. However, I would not be surprised if for every Kurosawa film you note is missing you will discover a hitherto unknown Kurosawa film that you can add to your list of what to see next (somehow I have missed out on "Red Beard" to this point in my life).

As long as you have seen at least a couple of Kurosawa's films you should be able to find this documentary informative and insightful. Even those who consider themselves knowledgeable about his career and his films should this documentary and its bonus interviews to be of more than passing interest.

I saw this on PBS' Great Performances. This documentary is about film genius Akira Kurosawa. The documentary charts Akira Kurosawa's early life in pre-WWII Japan to the end of his life. Kurosawa brought Japanese cinema to a world wide audience. I recommend this DVD for anyone who is a Akira Kurosawa fan. Plus the DVD has 100 minutes of bonus interview footage not seen on the PBS program and Kurosawa filmography.

PBS did an outstanding job in putting this documentary together. It covers his entire life and career and includes scenes from some of his lesser known and much more difficult to find films. The documentary includes many interview pieces with Kurosawa himself which gives you some added insight into what the man was really like. Also, there are comments from noted Japanese film historian Donald Richie. As a Kurosawa fan watching this on PBS when it aired, the hour and forty five minutes seemed like about half an hour. It is an excellent documentary about perhaps the greatest director of the twentieth century.

"KUROSAWA" is a thoughtful and artistic overview of the epic master Akira Kurosawa who set new boundaries for world cinema and created a string of masterpieces unrivaled in motion picture history.

Included are provocative, intelligent and perceptive interviews with Kurosawa's family, colleagues and critics from Japan and America. The observations create a surprisingly comprehensive assessment of his achievements.

Carefully selected clips from his greatest films, including "Rashomon," "Seven Samurai," "Throne of Blood," "Yojimbo," "Kagemusha," "Ran", "Dreams" and "Madadayo" greatly enhance this inclusive videography.

This is the first major documentary on the legendary filmmaker since his death in 1998. There are over 100 minutes of bonus footage, including 90 minutes of interviews, Easter Eggs, a Kurosawa filmography, and weblinks. Worth owning for the devoted videophile.

"Kurosawa" is a well-produced, rather easy going documentary of a master film maker. It reads like a fan letter to Kurosawa, each moment heaping praise on the director, while leading the viewer through a biographical timeline of his life. An enjoyable piece to watch.

That being said, I was disappointed in the depth of the documentary. There is little discussion of Kurosawa's impact on film, his innovations and, most importantly, what he was trying to achieve with his films and his success in achieving that goal. Kurosawa was a film maker with a definitive focus, seeking no less than to change the world for the better using films as his medium. This message is never really mentioned, which surprised me as it is so crucial to understanding his films. Few, if any, of his films are examined critically and little insight is gained as to why Kurosawa is such an important artist of the 20th century.

Even with its lack of depth, "Kurosawa" makes for a fine, nostalgic documentary. Clips of Kurosawa at work on his films are enjoyable, as is the reunion of the "Roshomon" workers and the interviews with a few former Kurosawa-film beauties. The presentation of artifacts, such as the Noh mask used for "Throne of Blood" and the Ryokan in Kyoto where Kurosawa wrote his screen plays, adds a human element to the piece.

The DVD adds to the missing depth with a good length of interviews of varying interests, each focusing on personal reminiscences of Kurosawa. The Suntory whisky easter eggs are quite charming, and a nice touch. This is why we have DVDs.

Should have been longer, should have been deeper, but still good.

This recent PBS documentary gives a great insight into the director's life; in particular his childhood, and how many of these early experiences were the stimulus that drove his prodigious career.

As well as a chronological examination of his films, "KURASAWA" contains numerous interviews with the director drawn from various sources and eras, and voice-overs quoting Kurasawa's 1983 memoir "Something like an Autobiography" are sprinkled throughout. As the film reaches "RASHOMON" (the first Kurasawa film embraced by the international community), the documentary branches out to include interviews with Clint Eastwood and James Coburn, who discuss the impact of the director's work on Hollywood.

Surprisingly, the film does gloss over quite a few of his works: "Nora Inu/Stray Dog", "Kakushi Toride N San Akunin/The Hidden Fortress", "Tsubaki Sanjuro" and "Tengoku To Jigoku/High and Low" are just a few of the films that fail to even rate a mention, although they're widely acclaimed and now available in the west on DVD. This is a minor quibble, however; the documentary makes no claim to comprehensively cover each Kurasawa film, and even without discussion of these other films the program goes for over 3 hours and still keeps a viewer engrossed.

The extra features included on the DVD proved to be unexpectedly interesting. With over 90 minutes of bonus interviews, one might expect dry, boring footage of talking heads, but this is not the case. The director's colleagues discuss the human side of Kurasawa, the effort he put into each project, and offer details on the writing, editing and visualisation process of his works.

This disc is a must for any Kurasawa fan. With knowledge of the director's childhood, his pioneering techniques and his influence on later generations, you can't help but immediately want to revisit his works. Finally, the easter-eggs are very amusing, and you'll be surprised at just how many of them are sprinkled throughout the menus.

Casual fans who have never seen a Kurosawa picture should have a look at this well-shot, well-organized DVD. This documentary covers the whole of Kurosawa's life, from his childhood experiences of a Tokyo earthquake to his final days after his last film, Madadayo.

Die-hard Kurosawa fans will also be pleased because the documentary looks at some of the lesser-known pictures such as the early No Regrets for our Youth and the classic Ikiru, and traces Kurosawa's early flashes of genius and his development as a storyteller. (They would be less pleased that the film avoids some of the more controversial points of his career, such as the Yojimbo-Fistful of Dollars plagiarism suit.)

It's somewhat disappointing that Westerners who chose to discuss Kurosawa were actors (James Coburn and Clint Eastwood) who appeared in Kurosawa-inspired films, as opposed to directors such as George Lucas and Francis Coppola. However, this deficiency is made up for by the inclusion of Kurosawa scholar Donald Richie.

There are Easter eggs in this DVD, consisting of several commercials that Kurosawa made for Suntory whisky during the 1970s. Even in these ads, a film fan can see the Kurosawa touch at work.

There are two parts to this DVD: the main part that tells of the
life story of Kurosawa and highlights of his filmography, and the
bonus materials that consist of interviews with actors,
producers, cinematographer, sound techinicians, and others
involved in making movies with Kurosawa. I find the bonus
interviews much more interesting than the main part of the DVD.
From these interviews you get a picture of how Kurosawa works,
from competitive team writing of scripts to simultaneous filming
with *eight* cameras. It is true that as a fan one would like to
see the films discussed more, but the producer has crammed as
much as they can into a single dvd. To fully document the life
and work of Kurosawa will probably require a 3-or 4-dvd set!

What I like best from the DVD: Kurosawa's regret that he hasn't
done anything to resist Japan's war efforts, the frank discussion
of his suicide attempt, the discussions of his work ethics and
methods, his failed collaboration with Hollywood on ``Tora! Tora!
Tora!'', and the demonstration of the Iaido sword drawing
technique! What I wish they have covered better: the break
between Kurosawa and Mifune after Red Beard, and more
illustrations from the films when interviewees discuss various
aspects of the films.

One film that is strangely not mentioned at all in the whole DVD
is the Hidden Fortress. Interestingly, in his interview included
at the end of the Hidden Fortress Criterion Collection DVD,
George Lucas denies Hidden Fortress' influence on Star Wars. He
came across as rather annoyed by the question, actually. As for
the Seven Samurai, Michael Lesk's running commentary in the
Criterion Collection discusses in depth Kurosawa's directing
techniques. The present DVD also gives some more ``making of''
information on Seven Samurai. Kurosawa and Seven Samurai are
mentioned in perhaps two sentences in the ``making of'' special
feature of the Magnificient Seven's DVD.

Almost the entire time, the narrator reads directly from Kurosawa's "Something Like an Autobiography" making this 'documentary' more like a quick synopsis of Kurosawa's book.

Unfortunately, to make it worse, they continually cut away to pictures of unrelated Japanese landscape (like people walking around, neon signs, etc) while playing music. I suppose they expect you to reflect & meditate for a few minutes on the 5 words that the narrator just said; it is ridiculous fluff added to extend the run-time of the documentary.

On the plus side, they do add some interviews with people, including Clint Eastwood who was successfully sued by Kurosawa for stealing the storyline/plot to Yojimbo in Clint Eastwood's "Fistful of Dollars".

All-in-all, don't buy this expecting some new information that couldn't be gleaned from reading Kurosawa's autobiography or simply watching his movies. The still-photo cut-aways and other unrelated fluff is insulting in how much time it wastes.

Kurosawa reaches for great heights with Sam Shepherd narrating the body and Paul Scofield acting as the voice of Kurosawa's autobiography. It's certainly worth watching as a compelling story of a famous man, but it fails as an examination of his work. If it weren't for the films, Kurosawa would hardly be an interesting subject, but the documentary is only interested in certain films important to his overall career. The first half-hour is an interesting but empty tribute to how important he is supposed to be. I find it interesting to hear about Kurosawa's experiences with Hiroshima and his brother's suicide, but that should be a secondary attribute, not the heart of the film. Though decent length is spent on Rashomon and Seven Samurai, the films Hidden Fortress and High and Low aren't even discussed. Many actors and writers from the films are interviewed in current times, and they even return to the locations of the films. It was also interesting to see Clint Eastwood and James Coburn discuss the films and characters that they would later play in western remakes. But I still wanted more. A look at how Kurosawa's early rearing readied him for future art is would have been more worthwhile, had the actual work been discussed for its own merits.