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Mundos
28-10-2001, 22:45
I have never seen any of Akira Kurosawa's films ( :o )and I was wondering where to start. Do I just plough straight in with all 3+ hours of Seven Samurai or is there a better one to start me off and guage whether or not I am going to like the others?

On top of that, which DVD versions are the best ones to get?
Narshty
28-10-2001, 22:50
Use any excuse you can to watch Seven Samurai!

There's controversy over which version to watch, but I recommend the Criterion, if only for the wonderful commentary by Michael Jeck - probably the best scholarly commentary I've ever heard.
Henry
28-10-2001, 23:58
I think the wonderful "Hidden Fortress" would be a great place to start. It's available on an excellent disc from Criterion that's relatively cheap (£17.99 from *********). "Rashomon" is another must-see and I think Criterion will be releasing it in the near future.

I saw "Seven Samurai" after watching most of his other films and, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Although that might have something to do with how I watched it - it was at London's NFT and the print they used had no English subtitles, so the audience had to wear headphones and endure a 3 hour simultaneous translation by a man 'doing' all the voices! It was a rather painful experience that I'd rather forget.
Noel M
29-10-2001, 07:36
I saw "Seven Samurai" after watching most of his other films and, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Although that might have something to do with how I watched it - it was at London's NFT and the print they used had no English subtitles, so the audience had to wear headphones and endure a 3 hour simultaneous translation by a man 'doing' all the voices! It was a rather painful experience that I'd rather forget.

That sounds like a terrible way to see the film, as it would be most distracting. This is the way Polish television dubs most of their television programmes. I spent an amusing couple of hours once flicking around the channels in a hotel in Poznan, listening to films and American TV sitcoms with a male Polish translator flatly doing the voice-over for every person, male, female, adult or child. Totally surreal!

My choice for a first Kurosawa film would be Sanjuro. A brilliant balance of humour and drama, plenty of swordplay, a great performance by Toshiro Mifune and a stunning ending. The beautiful Criterion edition of Hidden Fortress is also worth considering.
Michael Brooke
29-10-2001, 08:03
If you're at all familiar with 'Macbeth', <I>Throne of Blood</I> is a good place to start, and better than most, as Kurosawa's style is used to support a story Western viewers will probably already know.

The new BFI disc is far from perfect, but it's worth a look - here's my <A HREF="http://www.bulletsnbabesdvds.com/article.php?sid=576&mode=thread&order=0">review</A>.
Mundos
29-10-2001, 20:16
Thanks for the comments, I think I'll start with Hidden Fortress as that has received two mentions and see how it goes from there.
Cornelius
29-10-2001, 21:26
Hidden Fortress is an excellent choice, Seven samurai is a bit long at over three hours which is a bit much to wade thru to see if you like something.
LarsT
30-10-2001, 02:19
I have Seven Samuria on DVD - want to make me an offer ?
Mundos
30-10-2001, 08:35
Is it the Criterion?
LarsT
30-10-2001, 15:06
No it isn't but this does make it a fair bit cheaper - any reasonable offer considered !
Grumpy
30-10-2001, 15:33
When I was a kid the first subtitled film I ever sat through was the Seven Samurai and it left a lasting impression on me.
So my advice to you is go for it and I hope you enjoy it
heemee
31-10-2001, 23:31
The NFT are doing a complete Kurosawa retrospective in Jan/Feb next year. Might be worth seeing his films on the big screen before buying any DVD's.
Saber
03-01-2004, 01:15
Dum de dum...thought I would bump this instead of starting my own "What is your favourite Akira Kurosawa film" thread.
Narshty
03-01-2004, 01:30
Have you no respect for the dead?!
Walrus Man
03-01-2004, 15:12
Originally posted by Narshty
Have you no respect for the dead?! Kurosawa or this thread?
Narshty
03-01-2004, 22:09
:notworthy :lol:
Saber
03-01-2004, 23:59
I just got Seven Samurai but have not watched it yet.
Superstar P.J.
04-01-2004, 02:36
Originally posted by heemee
The NFT are doing a complete Kurosawa retrospective in Jan/Feb next year. Might be worth seeing his films on the big screen before buying any DVD's.

Wish I'd read ahead and realised the bump of such an old thread before I looked ahead with glee and happiness to a Kurosawa season at the NFT :cry: