Sazar
Rest In Peace
- Joined
- 12 Apr 2002
- Messages
- 14,905
I watched this movie a long time ago, gave it another look/see tonight since I was bored.
The classic Kurosawa movie has spawned many imitators, many plot lifts, many pretenders and there are none that come even close to this great movie.
It has some minor flaws, undoubtedly, but keep in mind when this was made.
A lot like Gone with the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird, this movie is a timeless classic.
The framing of the scenes, the way in which new scenes are introduced (yep, Star Wars borrows heavily from this movie), the sheer depth of the characters, the various goals and vendetta's, the literal humanity of the characters with their flaws and virtues, they all take this movie a notch above great.
For a movie involving so much swordplay and so many stunts, this movie has zero blood. Yep, that's right, no blood. All the deaths are pure choreography. By today's standards (think Blade or something similar) it is very tame, but the poignancy of the actions and the reactions of the people make it a much better.
The major characters are tremendously acted. The villagers portrayed with the right amount of fear, regret, courage and madness. The samurai's are perfectly represented by the brave, the courageous, the crazy, the young, the exceptional and so forth.
It is a long movie and you have to truly appreciate this art form to like this movie. I rarely sit through an entire movie like this. Let's just say the evening started with 3 people watching and ended with me being the only one still up. But it was well worth it, all 15 hours of it.
I have to give this movie a 5/5 (my first) even with the flaws, just because of what it represents and the impact Kurosawa had on movies in the western world. This movie is the epitome of movie makers strive to achieve. He did it, and followed up with some more unbelievable classics over the years
The classic Kurosawa movie has spawned many imitators, many plot lifts, many pretenders and there are none that come even close to this great movie.
It has some minor flaws, undoubtedly, but keep in mind when this was made.
A lot like Gone with the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird, this movie is a timeless classic.
The framing of the scenes, the way in which new scenes are introduced (yep, Star Wars borrows heavily from this movie), the sheer depth of the characters, the various goals and vendetta's, the literal humanity of the characters with their flaws and virtues, they all take this movie a notch above great.
For a movie involving so much swordplay and so many stunts, this movie has zero blood. Yep, that's right, no blood. All the deaths are pure choreography. By today's standards (think Blade or something similar) it is very tame, but the poignancy of the actions and the reactions of the people make it a much better.
The major characters are tremendously acted. The villagers portrayed with the right amount of fear, regret, courage and madness. The samurai's are perfectly represented by the brave, the courageous, the crazy, the young, the exceptional and so forth.
It is a long movie and you have to truly appreciate this art form to like this movie. I rarely sit through an entire movie like this. Let's just say the evening started with 3 people watching and ended with me being the only one still up. But it was well worth it, all 15 hours of it.
I have to give this movie a 5/5 (my first) even with the flaws, just because of what it represents and the impact Kurosawa had on movies in the western world. This movie is the epitome of movie makers strive to achieve. He did it, and followed up with some more unbelievable classics over the years