Kobayashi eats Kurosawa.
It's been 15 years or so since i began watching Samurai films. I started out watching Kurosawa's movies; despite all the hype, much of his work never grabbed me and commanded my respect, and i briefly lost interest in the Samurai genre when i learned that many critics consider his creations the greatest the genre has ever spawned. A few years ago i bought my Dad a bootleg Seppuku DVD-R for Christmas [ Before Criterion released it domestically as Harakiri ]; it's a film he always praised, but one i lacked enough faith in to seek out earlier. Anyway, i finally saw Seppuku, and it blew me [ And everything I've seen from Kurosawa ] away. It redefined the Samurai film for me. I soon learned about Samurai Rebellion, and actually avoided it for a while, assuming it couldn't possibly match Seppuku. Well, S.R. is another masterpiece i should've sought out earlier! It's marginally inferior to Seppuku, in my opinion, only because the initial pacing loses me a bit... but as this film's supporters already know, the tragic, blood-soaked finale is more than worth the slow build-up.
Kobayashi eats Kurosawa, because the former dares to be confrontational. I don't understand why the man's works remain obscure gems to this day, but maybe it's better that way. =D
"Cain and Abel will go to Heaven... if they can make it through Hell!"
-Los Hijos Del Topo