Lilah ,'Not Fade Away'
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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.)
but there's a lot of others I haven't seen, either.
Dodesukadan.
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
I have only seen Dreams and Rashomon. My experience with Kurosawa is that is doesn't translate well to a TV screen.
One of my friend's from High School refused to loan me Ran on video because he said it absolutely had to be seen on the big screen fro the first time. I still haven't seen it.
One of my friend's from High School refused to loan me Ran on video because he said it absolutely had to be seen on the big screen fro the first time.
He's not wrong, although with a good home theater system and the Criterion edition it might finally be acceptable.
(shrug) I saw it on VHS in a high school classroom on a 32" TV, and it still stands out as an amazing movie-watching experience. So may be better on the big screen, but definitely has more to it than largeness.