02-22-2021, 11:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-22-2021, 11:21 PM by Drunk Monk.)
I needed something to play in the background as I finished up my Den piece on Age of Samurai and threw this on because Kurosawa came up in my interview with the showrunner. It was my final polish on the piece and I soon found myself sucked into the majesty that is Kurosawa. This film remains staggering in its scope and profound in its messages.
I confess that I didn't remember it nearly as well as I thought I did. I know I saw it a few times - once when it came out and a few times in revival - perhaps that was the 90s. I don't think I've seen it in 20 years. Not surprisingly, I remembered the central castle siege fairly clearly, right down to some specific scenes like the samurai holding his cut off arm in despair, the Lord in the tower being showered by flaming arrows, the ladies in waiting killing each other. It stands as one of the most powerful castle sieges ever filmed.
And there's no CGI. The massive troops, the cavalry charges, the hordes of banner bearing infantry, the castle fires, the flights of arrows, all real. The chaos of the battlefield so artfully captured by the master - every frame is composed with that attention to detail - the lines, the figure/ground relationships, the stony castle walls and barren landscapes against the opulent and garish kimonos. The blood. That uber red paint-like blood splattered and gushing all over.
Kurosawa's sharp wit in storytelling cuts on the draw. It's juxtaposed with eternal questions - the rage against the tragedy of the human experience, the loss of age and death, betrayal so vicious driven by psychopathic yet justified vengeance. Who is the Lord and who is the fool? And what do the Gods feel? Who shares the blame for inevitable downfall? It's so karmic and moving.
It was good to touch base with Kurosawa again, if only to remind myself how epic Samurai films can be. Another Kurosawa masterpiece. Once again, I am awestruck.
Battlefields of sword fights. DOOM recommended.
I confess that I didn't remember it nearly as well as I thought I did. I know I saw it a few times - once when it came out and a few times in revival - perhaps that was the 90s. I don't think I've seen it in 20 years. Not surprisingly, I remembered the central castle siege fairly clearly, right down to some specific scenes like the samurai holding his cut off arm in despair, the Lord in the tower being showered by flaming arrows, the ladies in waiting killing each other. It stands as one of the most powerful castle sieges ever filmed.
And there's no CGI. The massive troops, the cavalry charges, the hordes of banner bearing infantry, the castle fires, the flights of arrows, all real. The chaos of the battlefield so artfully captured by the master - every frame is composed with that attention to detail - the lines, the figure/ground relationships, the stony castle walls and barren landscapes against the opulent and garish kimonos. The blood. That uber red paint-like blood splattered and gushing all over.
Kurosawa's sharp wit in storytelling cuts on the draw. It's juxtaposed with eternal questions - the rage against the tragedy of the human experience, the loss of age and death, betrayal so vicious driven by psychopathic yet justified vengeance. Who is the Lord and who is the fool? And what do the Gods feel? Who shares the blame for inevitable downfall? It's so karmic and moving.
It was good to touch base with Kurosawa again, if only to remind myself how epic Samurai films can be. Another Kurosawa masterpiece. Once again, I am awestruck.
Battlefields of sword fights. DOOM recommended.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse