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Feb 9, 2015 15:26:30 GMT -5
Post by mikegarrison on Feb 9, 2015 15:26:30 GMT -5
These single take scenes, let alone a whole movie, get to be too gimmicky after a while. After all, one of the advantages of film is the release from the continuous scenes of the theater. It can work, but it's almost like they are tossing the "language" of film just to show-off. Birdman is supposed to be full of these scenes. I blame Goodfellas. Ever see The Player?
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Feb 9, 2015 16:26:10 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgang on Feb 9, 2015 16:26:10 GMT -5
Watched, for the second time, Seven Samurai. The title is misleading. It's actually 5 samurai, 1 samurai-wannabe, and 1 ex-farmer. IIRC, there are six samurai (including the kid, who is a samurai) plus Mifune (who is a samurai-wannabe and ex-farmer). Mifune's character is the central one in the story, but IIRC he doesn't even show up until about an hour into the movie. This is my favorite movie, ever. I thought the kid was a samurai-wannabe with no skills whatsoever. Mifune is an ex-farmer who wields a long sword. Mifune gets star billing but he's not the major character. He's just one of the major characters. He's also a buffoon. The leader of the samurai -- the old guy who shaves his head and whose name escapes me -- seems like THE major character. Mifune's character was really annoying. The director Kurosawa allowed Mifune to improvise and I think, at times, it was just painful to watch. Anyway, there weren't seven samurai. I still say five samurai, a samurai-wannabe, and an ex-farmer.
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Feb 9, 2015 16:29:37 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgang on Feb 9, 2015 16:29:37 GMT -5
These single take scenes, let alone a whole movie, get to be too gimmicky after a while. After all, one of the advantages of film is the release from the continuous scenes of the theater. It can work, but it's almost like they are tossing the "language" of film just to show-off. Birdman is supposed to be full of these scenes. I blame Goodfellas. Ever see The Player? Also, Touch of Evil. Long tracking shot. Children of Men had one of the greatest and most complicated tracking shots ever -- in a car chase scene.
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Feb 9, 2015 18:38:11 GMT -5
Post by mikegarrison on Feb 9, 2015 18:38:11 GMT -5
IIRC, there are six samurai (including the kid, who is a samurai) plus Mifune (who is a samurai-wannabe and ex-farmer). Mifune's character is the central one in the story, but IIRC he doesn't even show up until about an hour into the movie. This is my favorite movie, ever. I thought the kid was a samurai-wannabe with no skills whatsoever. Mifune is an ex-farmer who wields a long sword. Mifune gets star billing but he's not the major character. He's just one of the major characters. He's also a buffoon. The leader of the samurai -- the old guy who shaves his head and whose name escapes me -- seems like THE major character. Mifune's character was really annoying. The director Kurosawa allowed Mifune to improvise and I think, at times, it was just painful to watch. Anyway, there weren't seven samurai. I still say five samurai, a samurai-wannabe, and an ex-farmer. Samurai wasn't a job, it was a caste. You were born a samurai or you were not. The kid was a samurai. Mifune's character was not, even though he tried to present a (stolen? purchased?) lineage that showed he was one. Anyway, Mifune's character is the central one in the story because he fills the gap between the townspeople and the samurai. He's willing to fight and die like the samurai, but he's also able to explain to the samurai how the farmers think. He's not the most important samurai, but he's the most important character, because the dynamic of the story turns around him.
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Feb 9, 2015 18:57:42 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgang on Feb 9, 2015 18:57:42 GMT -5
Okay, mike, you convinced me, esp. the samurai=caste and not job argument.
Mifune is still a buffoon. I wish Kurosawa went a different direction with Mifune's character. He could've maintained his importance (per your central figure argument) without making him look like such a fool. I just don't get it. The most awkward scenes to watch in the whole movie were the ones with Mifune.
Otherwise, it's an awesome movie. I was so impressed with the cinematography (particularly so because it's in B/W) and the fact that it kept me riveted for the entire 200+ minutes. Loved the old man Yohei who has the most memorable expression I've ever seen in my life: mouth open and age lines running down the sides of his cheeks/jowls.
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Feb 9, 2015 19:58:03 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgang on Feb 9, 2015 19:58:03 GMT -5
Watched, for the second time, Seven Samurai. The title is misleading. It's actually 5 samurai, 1 samurai-wannabe, and 1 ex-farmer. This is my favorite movie, ever. I don't know if you're into samurai movies or Akira Kurosawa movies or you simply love Seven Samurai because of its status as a cinematic masterpiece, but you might want to watch 13 Assassins. It's bloody and action-packed but it also has some great dramatic moments. I actually loved it. Personally, I'm neither a hardcore samurai fan nor a Kurosawa fan. I just love great movies, regardless of genre or country of origin.
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Feb 9, 2015 20:45:19 GMT -5
Post by bigfan on Feb 9, 2015 20:45:19 GMT -5
It was my husbands turn to choose................................. On the bright side.............. You are a tough audience!
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Feb 9, 2015 20:50:36 GMT -5
Post by mikegarrison on Feb 9, 2015 20:50:36 GMT -5
I am a Kurasawa fan. Rashomon, Ikuru, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Dreams, Seven Samurai, Redbeard -- these are all great films. Most of them star Mifune and also the other actors in Seven Samurai.
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Feb 9, 2015 21:18:30 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2015 21:18:30 GMT -5
Watched, for the second time, Seven Samurai. The title is misleading. It's actually 5 samurai, 1 samurai-wannabe, and 1 ex-farmer. One of the best movies ever.
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Feb 9, 2015 21:19:51 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2015 21:19:51 GMT -5
These single take scenes, let alone a whole movie, get to be too gimmicky after a while. After all, one of the advantages of film is the release from the continuous scenes of the theater. It can work, but it's almost like they are tossing the "language" of film just to show-off. Birdman is supposed to be full of these scenes. I blame Goodfellas. Ever see The Player? Yep. Altman fan. But I still don't see the point, other than to show off.
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Feb 9, 2015 21:22:16 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2015 21:22:16 GMT -5
Also, Touch of Evil. Long tracking shot. Children of Men had one of the greatest and most complicated tracking shots ever -- in a car chase scene. Yep. That's Cuaron, right? He then took it to Gravity.
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Feb 9, 2015 21:32:11 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgang on Feb 9, 2015 21:32:11 GMT -5
I am a Kurasawa fan. Rashomon, Ikuru, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Dreams, Seven Samurai, Redbeard -- these are all great films. Most of them star Mifune and also the other actors in Seven Samurai. I have to watch Rashomon again but I remember some scenes being weird. Ghosts and stuff. But again, my memory is fuzzy on the details. I think I've seen Dreams but don't remember a single thing. The others, I haven't seen. What I hate about Japanese cinema -- and the same goes for Hong Kong cinema, Korean cinema, and stupid French cinema -- is that the acting can be way way over-the-top. The actors deliver bizarre facial and vocal expressions that border on the zany. It's something I can't get used to. Like watching Jerry Lewis over and over again.
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Feb 9, 2015 22:16:02 GMT -5
Post by geddyleeridesagain on Feb 9, 2015 22:16:02 GMT -5
I am a Kurasawa fan. Rashomon, Ikuru, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Dreams, Seven Samurai, Redbeard -- these are all great films. Most of them star Mifune and also the other actors in Seven Samurai. Throne of Blood, baby.
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Feb 10, 2015 4:48:22 GMT -5
Post by mikegarrison on Feb 10, 2015 4:48:22 GMT -5
I am a Kurasawa fan. Rashomon, Ikuru, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Dreams, Seven Samurai, Redbeard -- these are all great films. Most of them star Mifune and also the other actors in Seven Samurai. Throne of Blood, baby. I didn't like Throne Of Blood, but I rarely like rehashed Shakespeare. It almost always seems like Willie's version was better. Kind of like people who don't like the movies if they have already read the book.
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Feb 10, 2015 4:56:06 GMT -5
Post by mikegarrison on Feb 10, 2015 4:56:06 GMT -5
I am a Kurasawa fan. Rashomon, Ikuru, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Dreams, Seven Samurai, Redbeard -- these are all great films. Most of them star Mifune and also the other actors in Seven Samurai. I have to watch Rashomon again but I remember some scenes being weird. Ghosts and stuff. But again, my memory is fuzzy on the details. I think I've seen Dreams but don't remember a single thing. The others, I haven't seen. What I hate about Japanese cinema -- and the same goes for Hong Kong cinema, Korean cinema, and stupid French cinema -- is that the acting can be way way over-the-top. The actors deliver bizarre facial and vocal expressions that border on the zany. It's something I can't get used to. Like watching Jerry Lewis over and over again. Rashomon is a story about an event that happens between three people. Two of the three are still alive, and they tell the story from their point of view. Then a mystic channels the ghost of the person who died, and we see the story from his point of view. So yeah, there was a ghost involved. Dreams is several (five, IIRC) highly visual short stories, mostly unrelated. It's more about the images than the stories -- kind of like real dreams, which usually don't make any logical sense.
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