Criterion – Page 5 – Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews

Criterion: The Lower Depths (****) life by the drop

May 22, 2020

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in 4 Stars, Criterion, Drama, Foreign Films I Don’t Hate, Movie Reviews, Toshiro Mifune

Into this miserable world walks an old, happy man (Hidari) who has something positive and distinct to say for everyone. This is enough to get several of the stories to explode into the open.

Criterion: Throne of Blood (*****) is a tragic beauty

May 13, 2020

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coolpapae

in 5 Stars, Classic, CPE, Criterion, Drama, Foreign Films I Don’t Hate, Movie Reviews, Toshiro Mifune

It’s hard to list Kurosawa’s films in terms of greatness. Ranking is almost impossible.

Criterion: Samurai III: Duel At Ganryu Island (****) settles down

May 11, 2020

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coolpapae

in 4 Stars, Action, CPE, Criterion, Foreign Films I Don’t Hate, Historical Nugget, Movie Reviews, Toshiro Mifune

The last installment of the trilogy narrowly avoids greatness by concentrating on the love story. It’s not that any of the storylines are done poorly. On the contrary, they’re about as evocative as was possible at the time.

Criterion: Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple – is giant

May 8, 2020

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coolpapae

in 5 Stars, Classic, CPE, Criterion, Foreign Films I Don’t Hate, Historical Nugget, Movie Reviews, Toshiro Mifune

Musashi’s presence is undeniable as the burgeoning samurai. His is one of the giant characters in episodic history, every bit worth the value of the legend he represents.

Criterion: I Live In Fear (*****) has reason on all sides

May 5, 2020

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coolpapae

in 5 Stars, Classic, CPE, Criterion, Drama, Foreign Films I Don’t Hate, Historical Nugget, Movie Reviews, Toshiro Mifune

Kurosawa, Shimura and Mifune by this point are in full swing. There is nothing in the world that matches their ability to relay a story.

Criterion: Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (****) begins a great adventure

May 5, 2020

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coolpapae

in 4 Stars, CPE, Criterion, Foreign Films I Don’t Hate, Movie Reviews, Romance, Toshiro Mifune

This is definitely a star turn for Mifune, if there ever was one. His performance is exceptional and layered.

Criterion: Vendetta of a Samurai (****) – Correcting a history of violence

May 4, 2020

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coolpapae

in 4 Stars, Action, CPE, Criterion, Movie Reviews, Toshiro Mifune

Mifune, learning from his mentor (Shimura) a sense of subtlety, is able to further his effectively obvious passion through restraint. Even without words, we understand both perfectly.

Criterion: Red Sun (*) You can’t spend ideas

May 2, 2020

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coolpapae

in 1 Star, Action, CPE, Criterion, Movie Reviews, Toshiro Mifune, Western

Director Terence YoungScreenplay Denne Bart Petitclerc, William Roberts, Lawrence RomanStarring Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Toshirō Mifune, Alain Delon, Capucine Red Sun is a Franco-Italian gimmick film made on the cheap. It seemed like a great idea, I suppose. Mifune’s move to making American films always feels gimmicky. Race relations had evolved only to the point…