Ghost of Tsushima/Kurosawa

[jpmelville]

So, I originally posted part of this in “Ghost of Tsushima” review thread, but I believe that it is too rich of a topic for it to be buried in there...

What is incredible to me is how Akira Kurosawa’s films have inspired so many other works during the past 40 years.  Star Wars was a complete rip-off of Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress”, from the plot, dialog and characters.  “Seven Samurai” inspired the American Western, ”The Magnificent Seven,” et al.  If you know the story of Kurosawa and how the powers that be in Japanese cinema told this master artist that he was no longer a viable filmmaker, leading to his attempt at suicide, I truly hope that  “Ghost of Tsushima” will inspire all of us in the gaming community to explore the films of this legendary filmmaker.

 

If I could recommend one of Kurosawa’s films, it would have to “Rashomon”.  What makes it so compelling is how it examines the subjective nature of truth.  When considering the current state of the world that we live in, one could argue that this film is more important today than ever before.  

 

What films of Kurosawa do you recommend?  Or, do you plan on watching his films for the first time after playing “Ghost of Tsushima?”  

Edited July 16, 2020 by jpmelville

[EPICRAGE]

11 minutes ago, jpmelville said:

What films of Kurosawa do you recommend?  Or, do you plan on watching his films for the first time after playing “Ghost of Tsushima?”  

 

While not a samurai film, one of my favorite movies of his, and one of my top 5 favorites of all time, is Ikiru. High and Low is also a masterpiece. 

 

For his samurai films I have to say you can't go wrong with Seven Samurai. I know it's the most well known and always the go-to film when talking about samurai films but it has that reputation for a reason. I also love Throne of Blood.

[KennethMcCormick]

30 minutes ago, jpmelville said:

[...] What films of Kurosawa do you recommend?  [...]

 

All of them?

 

Ok, tough question. Apart from the rather obvious Seven Samurai, some of my faves are:

• Red Beard
• Throne of Blood
• Drunken Angel
• Yojimbo
• The Lower Depths
• Ran (to name one in colour)

Edited July 16, 2020 by KennethMcCormick
Format

[SaviorMercenary]

Ran is an absolute classic of cinema.

Yojimbo and Sanjuro are his best chambaras.

Throne of Blood is one of the best adaptations of Shakespeare ever adapted to film.

Red Beard is a judo and medicine theme masterpiece.

If you enjoy judo like Red Beard, early films by Kurosawa Segata Sanshiro and it's sequel.

 

And then "contemporary" films like surrealist Dreams and heavily reflexive Madadayo are my personal recomendations. And, of course, Dersu Uzala, made in the Soviet Union. Really beautiful film. In general every movie made by Akira Kurosawa is good and enjoyable. 

[jpmelville]

41 minutes ago, KennethMcCormick said:

 

All of them?

You just reminded me of another film that changed how I looked at the cinema...  “Stray Dog”, partly filmed on the streets of Tokyo after it was bombed into oblivion after WWII.  A story about a detective that has his gun stolen, then leads to his gun being used by the perpetrator in a murder.  The detective sets out to solve the case, in brilliant fashion.  

[Golden Devil Gamer]

Every Kurosawa film I've watched were amazing, but Throne of Blood might be my favorite. Not only is it the best Macbeth adaptation out there, it's probably has my favorite performance from Toshiro Mifune too. Out of all of his non-samurai/historical stuff, I found Ikiru to be my favorite. 

[Kevvik]

So many classics to choose from... 

 

Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and The Hidden Fortress coming in with strong samurai storytelling.

Rashomon being such a unique film in its time and possibly the first to truly address multiple character perspectives over a single viewpoint, in addition to being the film that really showed the world the force that was to be Toshiro Mifune.

Throne of Blood and Ran showing that Shakespeare is not trapped in Ye Olde England.

Stray Dog and Drunken Angel being early signs of the masterful combination of Kurosawa and Mifune

Ikiru and I Live in Fear showing that succeeding in films with historical settings did not blunt his contemporary vision in the slightest.

 

I think I ultimately have to go with High and Low though, a masterful combination of police procedural and class analysis that, like the short novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain that it was based on, transcended genre trappings to make a multi-dimensional crime drama that is on par with some of the best films ever.

 

There are a few interesting experiments like The Idiot and The Bad Sleep Well that show flashes of greatness but are on the whole more known as being weaker films overall.  Even his early films show the coming strength of his vision so it's really hard to go wrong with anything though obviously some subjects will be more in tune than others with each viewer's individual tastes. 

[Jigsy1]

I've been watching various Japanese movies recently (Yakuza ones like Sonatine and Battles Without Honor and Humanity, and others like "Life of Oharu", "Sword of Doom," "Harakiri," etc.), but I did watch Kagemusha the other day which I absolutely loved.

 

Also loved Sanjuro, Yojimbo, Yume, Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, High and Low, Ikiru, etc.

 

I believe the only movies of Kurosawa I didn't like were Ran, Kumonoso-jou (both because I hate Shakespeare) and Rashomon (which I would still rewatch over the first two).

 

I've still got to watch Akihage, "Drunken Angel," "Stray Dog" and "The Bad Sleep Well."

Edited July 16, 2020 by Jigsy1

[KiraBobbySan]

This thread warms my heart, as I always considered myself first and foremost a film buff, and secondary a casual lover of video games. To see the two combined, is a joy to behold. In fact, playing this game, I am already finding myself in a bind in wanting to experience it in Kurosawa mode, but then also to see what rich vibrant colors of feudal era Japan it recreates.

 

Regarding Kurosawa, the man was undoubtedly a master of his craft, but his godlike reputation and stature has overshadowed many other prominent Japanese directors of that era. I'll quickly answer the OP's original question and recommend my favorite Kurosawa film in Red Beard. It's the last film he collaborated with Toshiro Mifune as the production caused them to have a falling out but it is undoubtedly their best as well. All of Kurosawa's films are stunning however, I have seen 19 of his films and none failed my expectations.

 

Back to other Japanese master class directors. There is one in particular that I want to recommend who is my favorite Japanese director, even above Kurosawa, in Masaki Kobayashi. He made samurai flicks like Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion (also with Mifune), he made Japanese folk horror Kwaiden, and made a anti-war trilogy of films that I personally hail as my favorite films of all time The Human Condition. Onto other directors, seek out Ozu, Mizoguchi, Teshigahara, Ichikawa, and more. In fact, here is a list of almost 200 of my favorites from the country https://letterboxd.com/bbeksinski/list/japanese-film-enthusiast/ .

[jpmelville]

On 7/17/2020 at 10:04 PM, KiraBobbySan said:

This thread warms my heart

It has been too long for me since I remembered my passion for the cinema.  Perhaps you and I can write critical reviews on here in the same vein as Godard and Truffaut before they became filmmakers?  

[Sicho]

Are any of his movies on any relevant streaming service? Or are Blu-Rays and older media the only choices? (besides illegally torrenting the movies)

[imminent_jargon]

17 minutes ago, Sicho said:

Are any of his movies on any relevant streaming service? Or are Blu-Rays and older media the only choices? (besides illegally torrenting the movies)

 

A lot of his films are on Kanopy. I think they have a license with Criterion for streaming. 

[Sicho]

50 minutes ago, imminent_jargon said:

 

A lot of his films are on Kanopy. I think they have a license with Criterion for streaming. 

 

that does not seem to be an option for me as you need to be a member of a participating library to use the service. And I think it's for american libraries only (I'm from Europe).

Edited July 19, 2020 by Sicho

[Kevvik]

2 hours ago, Sicho said:

Are any of his movies on any relevant streaming service? Or are Blu-Rays and older media the only choices? (besides illegally torrenting the movies)

The Criterion Channel streaming service carries most of his films. I don’t know what it’s availability is in Europe. (I’m from Canada)

[jpmelville]

On 7/19/2020 at 10:32 AM, Sicho said:

Are any of his movies on any relevant streaming service? Or are Blu-Rays and older media the only choices? (besides illegally torrenting the movies)

 

Have you tried Amazon?  Amazon have a small handful of AK films available, to digitally rent.  

[Sicho]

1 hour ago, jpmelville said:

 

Have you tried Amazon?  Amazon have a small handful of AK films available, to digitally rent.  

 

for some reason, I can only use Prime Video streaming in my country, not renting movies  probably a rights issue. I live in a small country and we often get the short stick when it comes to digital offers. Many providers don't want to pay the necessary licensing fees to offer a service in a country that only has 600k inhabitants ...

[KiraBobbySan]

On 7/19/2020 at 0:43 AM, jpmelville said:

It has been too long for me since I remembered my passion for the cinema.  Perhaps you and I can write critical reviews on here in the same vein as Godard and Truffaut before they became filmmakers?  

 

For sure. I have gotten away from review writing for film over the last few years but I used to be very devoted to it. It was like a compulsion that I needed to review every movie I watched, but it got to be too much. I amassed over a thousand reviews on my Letterboxd account. I did dip my toes into trying to write reviews for games on my blog. I've only wrote 4 so far, since December when the critical divide of Death Stranding split gamers the same way Last of Us Part II is doing. I do want to recommend Letterboxd.com if you have not heard of it before. It's a social media platform specifically for film, similar to how PSNProfiles is for trophy hunting. Here are some of my blog reviews:

Death Stranding 9/10

Pokemon Sword & Shield 5/10

The Last Door 7/10

The Last of Us Part II 8/10

 

 

On 7/19/2020 at 11:32 AM, Sicho said:

Are any of his movies on any relevant streaming service? Or are Blu-Rays and older media the only choices? (besides illegally torrenting the movies)

 

JustWatch is a useful website that lists whatever streaming services any movie is currently being showcased on. For example, here is Kurosawa's filmography and what movies are available where: https://www.justwatch.com/us/search?q=Akira%20Kurosawa&person_id=29799

[TalalHmd]

not a Samurai film, but High and Low is awesome

[jpmelville]

17 hours ago, KiraBobbySan said:

It was like a compulsion that I needed to review every movie I watched

 

Same for me.  It reached a point where I had to start making my own.  I became fascinated with the idea of turning documentary into fiction.  Here is the trailer from my first picture...