Throne of Blood

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Throne of Blood (1957) is yet another loose Shakespeare adaptation for the director Akira Kurosawa: this time Macbeth was the play Kurosawa used as inspiration. Set in feudal Japan, the film follows the rise and tragic fall of a samurai (Toshiro Mifune). Kurosawa delivers yet another tangible exploration of greed and loyalty. He creates a cast of interesting characters that are introduced remarkably well.

If the writing alone is impressive, then the form is even more so. Captivating camerawork (that calms down for pivotal scenes to a stunning effect), atmospheric lighting and absolutely marvellous sets make this film a breathtaking experience for anyone. Mifune is a scene stealer yet again with his expressive performance.

Throne of Blood is yet another astonishing masterpiece from Kurosawa who is quite possibly my favorite director of all time.

Score: 10 out of 10

Ugetsu

Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu (1953) is the story of two greedy peasants and their wives in the 16th century Japan. While the greed of peasants was hilarious in Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, it is tragic and haunting in Ugetsu. One of the men wants blindly to become a samurai so that he will be rich - the other wants money although he isn't as dumb as the first one.

Mizoguchi is known as the director who observed the oppressed position of women in Japan. He continues his tradition of revealing the difficulties and pain of Japanese women in Ugetsu. The two wives are the victims of their husbands' greed even though there is no reason for them to be punished. There is also a ghost of a young woman who never found love during her life. The storyline of each character is more or less tragic (and ironic), but the ending gives us a little hope. 

Mizoguchi's way to pan the camera is poignant: a great example of this is the shot in which Genjuro runs around the house near the end of the film. I can't understand how they shot the scene in the first place and its impact on me on a purely emotional level was huge.

All in all, Ugetsu is a great film and makes me want to see more films by Mizoguchi.

Score: 10 out of 10

Ran

Even though Akira Kurosawa continued making films in the 90's, Ran (1985) is commonly considered his final masterpiece. It is also one of his biggest productions ever - even though he used "only" 1400 extras, it feels like there are a lot more of them (Kurosawa directed the massive sequences in a clever way). The film is the story of an old lord who lets his three sons take his position, assuming that they will work together as he suggested. Shortly thereafter, the two corrupt sons betray their father and the youngest brother.

The film's screenplay was inspired by Japanese history (the daimyo Mori Motonari) and Shakespeare (King Lear). On top of that, it deals with Kurosawa's own views about loyalty. Kurosawa approaches loyalty as a theme in all of the film's storylines (there are a lot of them even though the plot description doesn't show it). He mixes elements of greed, lust, power and guilt with the main theme and thus, it becomes a deep exploration of the ugly sides of humanity. Especially his take on guilt is fascinating: once the old lord has lost everything, he goes insane due to his guilt and even tries to dig himself a grave. Kurosawa's take is ambitious in its complexity - and what's the best thing about it is that he succeeds perfectly.

Surprisingly, there are bursts of cruel violence and blood in Ran. It is something Kurosawa has never emphasized in his films before. Especially for a Kurosawa fan this film hits hard because it seems him go to an extremely poignant level in delivering his message. Kurosawa uses music sparsely in the film, but it even further punctuates the moments he uses it in. The most unforgettable scene is the assault of the third castle during which the old lord becomes mad: the sound effects disappear and there is only music during the disturbing sequence of violence. The silence of sound effects ends to the sound of a gunshot - and its effect is astonishing.

Kurosawa spent a LOT of time (around 10 years) storyboarding the film - by PAINTING each shot beforehand. The result is breathtaking because each shot is so carefully composed. The lines and the colors are in perfect harmony. The editing is also remarkable in how it flawlessly brings the story together and gives it the magnificent pace.

The tragedy in Ran is heartbreaking. The characters are corrupted more as the film goes on - and everything is slowly crushed and taken away. Especially the ending left me a little teary-eyed. It is a simply stunning experience to watch the film.

Score: 10 out of 10

The Hidden Fortress

The Hidden Fortress (1958) is one of Akira Kurosawa's "lighter" films. While the film has its share of serious content, it is mostly comical and adventurous. The film follows two hilariously greedy peasants who end up in silly places and situations while escorting a princess and her general.

The most important and funniest aspect of the whole story is the interaction between the two peasants. When they're down on their luck they try to get along, but once they receive a chance to get rich they bicker and fight each other until they ruin their great opportunity. It is this tragic yet funny cycle that is repeated so many times during the film - and that never loses its appeal. In fact, The Hidden Fortress actually made me laugh more than any other film I've seen in a month. Sadly the other characters arent quite as good as the two peasants because they are so blank that you can easily forget them.

The film's narrative is a bit weird: while you watch the film its structure remains mysterious because you dont have any idea where it will go next and when it will end - unless you are looking at how much time has passed. Somehow Kurosawa makes the narrative work even though it seems quite chaotic in hindsight.

Kurosawa yet again proves how he can effortlessly punctuate the whole film with brilliant camera movement and editing. For example, after the peasants have worked hard there is a shot when they are walking towards the camera (and the camera is pulled at a similar speed) while talking about the general. Once they begin to suspect his disappearance and come to their own funny conclusion, the camera stops right away (the actors stop as well) in order to enforce the impact of the "conclusion".

Oh melodrama, melodrama. The Hidden Fortress suffers from occassionally terrible melodrama. While the exaggerated performances of the peasants is justified (and essential), there are other performances which are too stiff and melodramatic. Mifune doesnt fall for that as can be expected from him, but Misa Uehara's performance as the princess is a notable example of this problem.

In the end, The Hidden Fortress is a nice and entertaining adventure film. It was supposed to be one though: it was Kurosawa's way to thank the producers for financing riskier films like Rashômon (1950). The film is often compared to the original Star Wars film because it was one of the films that influenced Lucas. There are a lot of similarities and the funny thing is that Star Wars actually does everything even better than The Hidden Fortress. Although, I might actually prefer the peasants to the droid duo of C3P0 and R2D2. I know, I'm a heretic for saying that, but I simply find the two a lot more interesting and funnier.

Score: 7 out of 10