Top Kurosawa films - Kumonosu-jô (1961) Discussion

[–] Trouter2000 17 years ago

All his films are great, I would say that Rashomon, The Seven Samurai, Ikiru and Ran are his greatest(though I have yet to see Ikiru, most of what I know is from extensive reading), but he never has made a bad picture, every film is a work of art.

If I had to rank the ones I have seen, I would go as follows:

-The Seven Samurai
-Ran
-Sanjuro
-Yojimbo
-The Hidden Fortress
-Yume
-Rashomon
-Throne of Blood
-The Bad Sleep Well

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[–] tommycashin-1 17 years ago

I agree except I would add throne of blood to that

Attica Attica!!!

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[–] kashmir511 17 years ago

I have only seen five Kurosawa films as of now.

My rankings are:
1)Rashomon 10/10
2)Seven Samurai 10/10
3)Nora inu 8/10
4)Throne of Blood & Kagemusha 7/10

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[–] snidely_whiplash67 17 years ago

There are still so many I haven't seen yet, but my favorites thus far, in no particular order:

7S
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Rashomon
Ikiru
The Hidden Fortress
The Lower Depths

At the risk of being villified (eek! no!), I actually did not care for either "Throne of Blood" or "Ran." While I appreciate them as masterful works of cinema, they were too dark and brooding for my tastes. Of course, I feel the same way about many Shakespeare works in general, so there you go, no accounting for taste....

"Courage, Thirteen!" - Heihachi Hayashida, Seven Samurai

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[–] jrf2 17 years ago

I'm slowly getting my way through Kurosawa's filmography.

Ikiru- my favorite thus far; some of the most powerful imagery I've ever seen.
Rashomon- Extremely suspenseful and thematically complex.
Seven Samurai- The standard for which all epics should be judged.
Throne of Blood- Being a Shakespeare buff, I'm a little biased, but this is fantastic interpretation of Macbeth.
The Hidden Fortress- This is the most entertaining of the ones I've viewed thus far. It's a pure joy to watch even its lacks the depth and resonance of some of his previous pictures..
Yojimbo- Excellent film, but was somewhat of a disappointment. I found it to be somewhat slow, though the final battle in the streets is superb for presenting the violence in a stark and quick fashion.
Sanjuro- Shorter and faster than Yojimbo, though Mifune's character isn't as interesting this time around, nor is the story. The blood spurt is classic.

Next on my list: Ran, High and Low, Stray Dogs.

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[–] gshazer 17 years ago

IMO

1. 7 samurai
2. Yojimbo
3. Rashomon
4. Kumonosu jo
5. Ran

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[–] ccewilliams 17 years ago

1.Seven Samurai
2.Yojimbo
3.Ikiru
4.Throne of Blood
5.Ran
6.Rashomon
7.Sanjuro
8.High and Low
9.Hidden Fortress
10.Kagemusha

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[–] UCHoodman 17 years ago

So far,
1. Seven Samurai
2. Ran
3. Rashomon
4. Yojimbo
5. Hidden Fortress
6. High and Low

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[–] davelump 17 years ago

From the ones I've seen:

1. Stray Dog
2. Rashomon
3. Ran
4. Ikiru
5. Hidden Fortress
6. Throne of Blood
7. Seven Samurai
8. Bad Sleep Well
9. Dreams
10. Yojimbo
11. Quiet Duel
12. Kagemusha

I just saw Stray Dog, and I was incredibly impressed. The characterization of Yusa is what fascinated me--despite the fact he's only on screen for about 5 minutes, Kurosawa manages to create a fully-fledged character out of him, complete with motivations and a personality. Very cool.

Kagemusha was a little too meandering for my tastes. There was a lot of cool imagery/shots, etc., and I liked the idea/motif of having the "Shadow Warrior" simply be in the background, surveying the battles and what not, but there wasn't that much heart though. I was left cold. That's just me though--lots of people seem to like it, so, to each his own. I think I might watch it again though...I might have missed something.

And pardon the blasphemy that is ranking Seven Samurai #7...it's not that I didn't like it; I thought it was really good. I just liked the others more, for various reasons.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] dalya23 17 years ago

1.Rashomon
2.Yojimbo
3.Seven Samurai
4.The Hidden Fortress
5.Sanjuro
6.Dersu Uzala
7.Throne of Blood
8.Red Beard

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[–] r-downey1 17 years ago

I have seen about a dozen Kurosawa films so far and am without a single doubt going to buy more as hes currently my all time favourite director. It all started in christmas 2005 when I got Seven Samurai as a christmas present after seeing the very high rankings it got on this site and it most certainly did not dissapoint.

Anyway since then I now own and have seen the following:

Seven Samurai
Throne Of Blood
Ran
High And Low
The Hidden Fortress
Kagemusha
Ikiru
Rashamon
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
I Live In Fear
The Bad Sleep Well

And out of the following my top five would have to be ( in order ):

1. Seven Samurai (1954)
2. Ran (1985)
3. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
4. Throne Of Blood (1957)
5. Ikiru (1952)

There has not so far been a Kurosawa film that I've seen and not at the very least enjoyed watching making it very hard for me to rank them all in order, but I can tell you for sure Rashamon (1950) would have to come next on my list.

The next Kurosawa movies I'm going to see will most likely be Drunken Angel and that Red Beard one as they both sound interesting from what I've read about them both.

However hes done so much work it will probably take me quite a while yet to view them all. Bye now!

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[–] radiotequehead 17 years ago

yeah, very hard!!! i love the list though! kagemusha, rashomon, ran, dreams, throne of blood, hidden fortress are some of my favs. i hate that i haven't seen ikiru! looks like it'll be my favorite. maybe that's why. i'm scared of love. :-D

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[–] spoonyjoe8 17 years ago

1. Seven Samurai
2. Ran
3. Rashomon

4. Throne of Blood*
4. Yojimbo*

5. Ikiru
6. Stray Dog
7. The Hidden Fortress

*As yet I'm undecided which is better.

Last two films:
Fargo - 9/10
Spirited Away - 8.5/10

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[–] grande81 17 years ago

this is hard

1. Ikiru
2. Seven Samurai
3. Ran
4. Rashomon
5. Red Beard
6. Yojimbo
7. Throne Of Blood
8. Sanjuro
9. Kagemusha
10. The Bad sleepwell

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[–] Kinematico 16 years ago

1. Ikiru
2. Rashomon
3. Red Beard
4. The Hidden Fortress
5. Yojimbo
6. Dreams
7. Seven Samurai
8. Throne of Blood
9. Derzu Uzala
10. Ran

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] MidNight00015823 16 years ago

High and Low needs more love, it's my favorite.

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[–] NoRegretsForOurYouth 16 years ago

I'm afraid I haven't seen High and Low, but criterion is re-releasing it so i'll be sure to pick up a copy.

My top ten:
1.Ikiru
2.Ran
3.Yojimbo
4.Seven Samurai
5.Rashomon
6.The Bad Sleep Well
7.Kagemusha
8.Drunken Angel
9.Sanjuro
10.The Hidden Fortress

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[–] gossimerisred 16 years ago

huuummm... I am a sucker for 'Yojimbo' and 'Sanjuro'... What can I say? Badarse, ultra cool samurai please? Thank you!

so here we go:
1) Yojimbo
2) Sanjuro
3) Ikiru
4) Seven Samurai
5) The Hidden Fortress
6) Throne of Blood
7) The Bad Sleep Well
8) Kagemusha
9) The Lower Depths
10) I Live In Fear (? pretty sure that's the title, sounds right.. too lazy to make sure)

Am I the only person who actually liked the anime adaption of Seven Samurai (Samurai 7)?
I loved it! It had a nice anime twist are was enjoyable to watch, as a Seven Samurai fan.... I know some fans hated it though :/

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[–] cinema_forever19 16 years ago

Unfortunately I've only seen 4...

1. Seven Samurai
2. Rashomon
3. Sanjuro
4. Kagemusha

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[–] cksandberg 16 years ago

I thought Samurai 7 was a very respectful and imaginative adaptation - really liked it!

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[–] Hippomonkey3 16 years ago

Of the ones I've seen...

1. Seven Samurai
2. Ran
3. Rashomon
4. Kagemusha

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