Category: Criterion
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Criterion: Further downstream of The Virgin Spring to The Last House on the Left
…it’s remarkable how far a medieval ballad can reach through time, even if what comes out on the other side holds little resemblance to the significance of the tale.
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Criterion: Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (***): Feels like number 20
It’s not a disappointing film. It’s just not memorable either.
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Criterion: Samurai Rebellion (****1/2): Receive the wife, free the wife
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For those worried that Mifune’s film quality might recede without his great collaborator, this is exhibit D (The Samurai Trilogy being A, B and C) that his instincts were good.
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Criterion: The Sword of Doom (***) doesn’t land flush
A weak third act tears down the momentum of what could be a classic film.
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Criterion: Red Beard(****) -Kurosawa’s Last with Mifune
This is not Kurosawa’s best work. In many ways, it is a film of its time. Much of Kurosawa’s work is more of the timeless quality. This feels like something one might have seen from some of the better television dramas of the 1960’s. For that, it is still worth our time.
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Criterion: High and Low (****) Parasite from the age of the morality play
The director’s master of wide screen is such an art by this point that it feels like an entirely different story is being told for long, wordless passages.
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Criterion: Yojimbo and Sanjuro – The Masters at play (****1/2)
It’s a pleasant consequence of having the skill to turn above average into the unforgettable. These films should not be important bedrock films. Yet here they are, standing head and shoulders above, almost 60 years later.
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Criterion: The Bad Sleep Well (****1/2) Pigs on the Wing
Like anything Kurosawa does by now, it’s completely worthwhile and a keeper for the memory book. No one has better control of the images one sees through lighting, angles and dialogue. He controls the mood of the viewer at his whim. It’s hard to imagine a better film maker from his time.
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Criterion: Muhomatsu, the Rickshaw Man (****) – Life in your own lane
See this film if you want to smile, but don’t expect to go away with the idea that stoicism is easy. Even if Mifune makes it seem that way.
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Criterion: The Hidden Fortress (****) Gold in the wood
This is a good film, with some wonderful elements. Even if it is a bit too indulgent with wackiness, the story and Kurosawa’s eloquent use of wide screen are worth repeated viewings.
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