The Legend that is: Akira Kurosawa

Here is the man who started it all. He gave birth to my love for Asian culture. This blog is a tribute to him.

Actually, I just like saying Kurosawa, so the blog is named after him because it sounds cool, however I guess it can also serve as a tribute. Anyway, I have seen many of his movies; 18 to be exact. Many of the older movies are extremely rare, and thus very difficult to find. I will make it a mission in life to view all 30 of his films. I will soon watch my 19th movie which will be Red Beard starring the legendary Toshiro Mifune. Kurosawa is one of the greatest film makers of all time, and I believe I have he is the only director who's films I have seen to such an extent. A close second (and possibly first) would be Woody Allen.

The reason I love his movies so much is because he observes emotion so well. He uses Toshiro Mifune throughout his movies to capture the element of humanity spinning it into comedy, tragedy, and violent adventures.

Two movies I will discuss are The Lower Depths (1957), and Dodesukaden (1970).

The Lower Depths is a play, and a comedy. It deals with a bunch of poor degenerates living in a room, yelling at each other. This movie has little plot, and truly illustrates how well Kurosawa captivates the humanity of his characters. The dancing seen is one of the most memorable and funniest scenes I have ever seen in my life.

Dodesukaden is a "modern" movie, meaning it portrays the present. It too deals with poverty, much like The Lower Depths. In fact the two movies complement each other quite nicely and should be viewed in order. This movie is very visual and expresses a more artistic aspect of Kurosawa. Unfortunately it was a flop, and was possibly one of the reason why Kurosawa tried to kill himself. Despite it's lack of popularity, it is one of my favorites.