I rented "Dreams", a collection of Kurasawa's short films, and was absolutely enchanted by several of them (the one in the post-apocalypse future left me cold, but I think it was supposed to). I'm still haunted by the story of the peach (cherry?) trees and the story of the boy who looked in the woods and saw something he was forbidden to, and the heartbreaking consequences.
And then I watched Roshomon, and while it may have been revolutionary for film-making, as a film to watch and enjoy I was disappointed, and it's been done better since. Especially since I didn't find the four viewpoints to vary that much, if at all, really, which made it ineffective to me as a device.
I like Rashoman quite a bit (in fact, I just rewatched it last night, if I remember correctly), but it's not the best of Kurosawa, and Dreams isn't even close. His top tier (for me) is Seven Samurai, Ikiru, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, High and Low, and Ran. Next tier would have Rashoman, Hidden Fortress, Kagemusha, The Bad Sleep Well, and Stray Dog. Dreams is the bottom of the well of the Kurosawa movies I've seen, but there's a lot of others I haven't seen, either.
in fact, I just rewatched it last night, if I remember correctly
That's not how I remember it.
t /Homer Simpson
But... but...
The Hidden Fortress
has that scene with Toshiro Mifune in single combat wearing short-shorts and knee socks! How can that be second-tier, I ask you!
(Of the others I've seen -- not all -- I think my favorite was
Throne of Blood,
because of the ghost scene, although I may be shorting
Ran
just because I wasn't expecting it to be in color and that freaked me out.)
I like Rashoman quite a bit (in fact, I just rewatched it last night, if I remember correctly)
I suppose we should ask your wife?
RAN!!!!
(Admittedly, my Kurosawa viewing record is shamefully limited. But man oh man did I love Ran.)
I may be shorting Ran just because I wasn't expecting it to be in color and that freaked me out
Whoa, talk about the wrong movie not to be expecting color from.
I should add, Yojimbo is probably my favorite, but partly because it's so freaking funny.
How can that be second-tier, I ask you!
There's so much great about that movie. I just re-watched it a week or so ago (IFC had Kurosawa Saturdays in March). But it had more ups and downs (like Rashoman) than I remembered. I mean, for me, 2nd tier Kurosawa is like first tier anyone else.*
* excepting Renoir, Altman, Peckinpah, Malick (who has no 2nd tier), and a handful of others
