(I need to rewatch the whole 'Man with No Name' trilogy before putting any of them on this list, though based on recollection, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly would probably be somewhere here already. Also need to watch again The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Wait Until Dark, A Taste of Honey, The L-Shaped Room, A Man For All Seasons and The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. Also need to re-watch Lolita, which I will do very soon, as I remember really liking it but when discussing it today realised I have kind of forgotten a lot of major details about it, so a re-watch might do it lots of favours.and 2001: A Space Odyssey. If anyone's wondering, I probably started watching Kubrick too young and didn't quite grasp at how brilliant he was yet.) 1. High and Low
2. To Kill a Mockingbird (featuring probably my favourite individual scene of all-time)
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. Yojimbo
5. Dr. Strangelove: or, How I Learnt to Stop Worrying, and Love the Bomb
Fantastic film. I had a hard time deciding between that and Yojimbo as my favourite Kurosawa. Went with High and Low in the end, though I do think it's the greatest example of a showcase for Kurosawa's ensemble snd directorial talents, and Yojimbo is more of the Toshiro Mifune show (though of course Mifune is great in both films, and Kurosawa directs both films flawlessly).
Brilliant, brilliant. I would say it's probably the best of his I've seen yet...without having seen Ran or Kagemusha yet (which I really must). Anyway he gives such a great physical and subtly manipulative performance, kind of like a more serious, weary version of Mifune's Samurai in Yojimbo. He'd probably be my #3 of the year behind Courtenay, and O'Toole.
On the other hand I also saw Red Beard and was a bit underwhelmed overall, though of course Mifune was great as always the film itself felt a bit...lacking.
I was a bit underwhelmed the first time I saw Red Beard as well but it grew on me considerably on re-watch.
Now that's a tough question. I think I'd go with "O sol mio" (Aka the capture), just love the imagery, the use of the song, as well as Yamazaki's and Nakadai's performances in the scene. Though the final talk between Mifune and Yamazaki would be an extremely close second, and is probably one of my all time favorite scenes in terms of acting.
01. 2001: A Space Odyssey 02. Psycho 03. Lawrence of Arabia 04. 8 1/2 05. Once Upon a Time in the West 06. Dr Strangelove 07. La Dolce Vita 08. Midnight Cowboy 09. Bonnie and Clyde 10. The Graduate
Wow you love High and Low even more than I do! I didn't know that was possible, but I'm happy to see it.
ReplyDeleteFantastic film. I had a hard time deciding between that and Yojimbo as my favourite Kurosawa. Went with High and Low in the end, though I do think it's the greatest example of a showcase for Kurosawa's ensemble snd directorial talents, and Yojimbo is more of the Toshiro Mifune show (though of course Mifune is great in both films, and Kurosawa directs both films flawlessly).
DeleteAnd I see you took to Harakiri as well, what did you make of Nakadai's performance?
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, brilliant. I would say it's probably the best of his I've seen yet...without having seen Ran or Kagemusha yet (which I really must). Anyway he gives such a great physical and subtly manipulative performance, kind of like a more serious, weary version of Mifune's Samurai in Yojimbo. He'd probably be my #3 of the year behind Courtenay, and O'Toole.
DeleteOn the other hand I also saw Red Beard and was a bit underwhelmed overall, though of course Mifune was great as always the film itself felt a bit...lacking.
DeleteAlso Louis, what is your favourite scene in High and Low? Mine's probably the drug alley scene where Yamazaki's tracking down the junkie woman.
DeleteCalvin:
ReplyDeleteI was a bit underwhelmed the first time I saw Red Beard as well but it grew on me considerably on re-watch.
Now that's a tough question. I think I'd go with "O sol mio" (Aka the capture), just love the imagery, the use of the song, as well as Yamazaki's and Nakadai's performances in the scene. Though the final talk between Mifune and Yamazaki would be an extremely close second, and is probably one of my all time favorite scenes in terms of acting.
My top 10:
ReplyDelete01. 2001: A Space Odyssey
02. Psycho
03. Lawrence of Arabia
04. 8 1/2
05. Once Upon a Time in the West
06. Dr Strangelove
07. La Dolce Vita
08. Midnight Cowboy
09. Bonnie and Clyde
10. The Graduate
HM - To Kill a Mockingbird, Andrei Rublev