Originally Posted by
divemaster
I realize Kurosawa has been mentioned in a few lists. Some pretty far down. I believe I saw a couple of lists of 50 that did not contain his name.
I don't think the genius and influence of Kurosawa can be overstated, no matter what hyperbolic acclamation one might use. I've seen most of his major films, and listened to the Criterion Commentaries and read a bunch of background material on each film. In almost every instance there are film-making aspects that he either invented, innovated, or improved upon. And his films are not just technical marvels, but are extremely entertaining and/or thought-provoking.
And how many major directors since Kurosawa have copied, or been inspired, paid homage to what Kurosawa innovated? And they'll be the first to admit it. I bet if you polled the "top 50" directors on these lists, at least 45 of them would put Kurosawa in their own personal top 5.
If the first (or only) thing that comes to your mind when you hear "Kurosawa" is samurai films, you should see Stray Dog. Toshirô Mifune plays a young detective whose bad day gets worse when a pickpocket steals his gun. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the "stray dog" whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. Or perhaps High and Low (aka Heaven and Hell), where a rich executive must decide whether to pay the ransom for the kidnapped son of his chauffeur. How about Red Beard, about a gruff country doctor?
And then there's Ikiru, which might be the perfect film. It is a masterpiece on all levels. If you watch it, I strongly encourage following up with the commentary. It provides much depth and awareness of the culture. The scenes where the local women are trying to get government officials to actually do something about a particular issue are funny and inspired, and could be applied almost without editing to anyone today who gets the runaround from City Hall.
Another director who deserves mention that I haven't seen in this thread is Yasujirô Ozu. Yes, many of his films are silent, but like the best directors, he really gets to the heart of human nature. I strongly recommend A Story of Floating Weeds (it's a silent) as well as his own sound remake Floating Weeds. Roger Ebert provides very insightful commentaries. Great, great films. Another one of Ozu's masterpieces is Tokyo Story.
Ozu has a very distinctive filming style that is "not for everyone." It was a little odd to me at first, but soon grew on me.
I'm not sure if I could put Masaki Kobayashi on a top 50 list b/c I've only seen 3 of his films. But they were all 5-star efforts. Hara-kiri is simply amazing. If you were to tell me that watching a guy sit on a mat and tell a story for 2 1/2 hours would be one of the most captivating things I've ever seen on film, I wouldn't have believed you. But it is. Yes, there are flashbacks that act out major parts of the story, and bursts of action, but as a character piece it is unmatched. I also recommend his Samurai Rebellion. A hen-pecked samurai and his son fight the clan power structure when the local lord wants his mistress back--the same mistress he forced the son to marry. Turns out the son and the girl really love each other so they'd rather fight and die than send her back. Kobayashi's ghost story Kaidan (aka Kwaidan) is also surrealistic and interesting. There was a recent remake which was also pretty good, but catch the original for sure.
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