MovieChat Forums > Dodesukaden (1974) Discussion > Rate Akira Kurosawa's Films

Rate Akira Kurosawa's Films


Resurrected from the dead...

Please rate the films you've seen (out of 10, or 4-stars system, or 'from best to worst'), post/add your comments, recommendations, etc. ANY feedback very welcome and much appreciated. Thanks for your participation.

My humble 'impressions' (rates) are added, as usual.

Filmography (features only):

Madadayo (Not Yet, 1993)
Hachi-gatsu no kyôshikyoku (Rhapsody in August, 1991)
Dreams (1990) 9/10
Ran (1985) 10/10
Kagemusha (1980) 9/10
Dersu Uzala (1975) 10/10
Dô desu ka den (1970) 10/10
Akahige (Red Beard, 1965)
Tengoku to jigoku (High and Low, 1963) 9/10
Tsubaki Sanjûrô (Sanjuro, 1962) 8/10
Yojimbo (The Bodyguard, 1961) 9/10
Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (The Bad Sleep Well, 1960) 8/10
Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (The Hidden Fortress, 1958) 9/10
Donzoko (The Lower Depths, 1957) 9.5/10
Kumonosu jô (Throne of Blood, 1957) 9/10
Ikimono no kiroku (I Live in Fear, 1955)
Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai, 1954) 10/10
Ikiru (To Live, 1952) 9.5/10
Hakuchi (The Idiot, 1951)
Rashômon (1950) 10/10
Shubun (Scandal, 1950) 8/10
Nora inu (Stray Dog, 1949) 10/10
Shizukanaru ketto (A Silent Duel, 1949) 8/10
Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel, 1948) 9/10
Subarashiki nichiyobi (One Wonderful Sunday, 1947)
Waga seishun ni kuinashi (No Regrets for My Youth, 1946)
Asu o tsukuru hitobito (Those Who Make Tomorrow, co-d, 1946)
Zoku Sugata Sanshiro (Judo Saga II, 1945)
Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi (The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, 1945)
Ichiban utsukushiku (The Most Beautiful, 1944)
Sugata Sanshiro (Judo Saga, 1943) 7/10


P.S. - This is actually a repost from FG board (deleted looong time ago) and I apologize to all who already participated there. It would be really nice, if you could repeat the exercise here, in humble hope that this thread will 'live' (even) a little longer. Thank you for your understanding.


vivaLuis

http://imdb.com/title/tt0053967/board/thread/97124879

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Nora Inu (Stray Dog, 1949) 8,5/10
Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (The Hidden Fortress, 1958) 9/10
Dersu Uzala (1975) 10/10 (Seen on the big screen)
Kagemusha (1980) 9/10 a marvellous movie with amazing colours...
Ran (1985) 10/10 great acting by Tatsuya Nakadai...Probably the best film I've seen...

Edit: seen 3 more

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Thanks for this rate and all the other ones elsewhere. Really glad you found your way to these threads of mine.

Yep, Kagemusha IS beautiful. But just wait 'til you see Ran (and Dodesukaden and Dreams), preferably on the big screen. Kurosawa wanted to be a painter when young and it shows in his (especially) colour films.



vivaLuis

http://imdb.com/title/tt0053967/board/thread/97124879

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[deleted]

Hi 'gk',
thank you very much for your feedback (once again). Really appreciate that you took the time and repeat this exercise here (yep, I still remember most of those very nice descriptions/comments from long ago).
It's also great that we agree on most of them.

Your rates for Akahige and Ikiru are surprisingly low though (now I'm even scared to watch the former, LOL).

Cheers!

vivaLuis

http://imdb.com/title/tt0053967/board/thread/97124879

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Stray Dog (1949) 9
Rashomon (1950) 9
Ikiru (1952) 10
High and Low (1963) 10
Kagemusha (1980) 7

"My rule of thumb is, what Siskel and Ebert like, I don't, and vice versa." David Lynch

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Basically every scene in a Kurosawa film is a work of art and I couldn't really make any comments about them that hasn't been said before. But I like filling out these lists.

No Regrets for My Youth (1946) - 7/10
One Wonderful Sunday (1947) - 7/10
Drunken Angel (1948) - 8/10
Stray Dog (1949) - 8/10 (Mifune is one of my favorite actors)
Rashômon (1950) - 10/10 (So many films and filmmakers owe a debt to this one)
The Idiot (1951) -8/10
Ikiru (1952) - 8/10 (Shimura wonderful performance, another of my favorite actors)
Seven Samurai (1954) - 10/10 (In my opinion, one of the five best movies ever)
I Live in Fear (1955) - 8/10
Throne of Blood (1957) - 9/10 (Didn't thrill me the first time I saw it but the 2nd I was amazed)
The Lower Depths (1957) - 9/10 (Hard to choose between this and Jean Renoir's)
The Hidden Fortress (1958) - 9/10 (Kicks ass. Art and fun in the same film which is not common)
The Bad Sleep Well (1960) - 8/10 (Didn't care for this one at first either and then caught it later)
Yojimbo (1961) - 9/10 (A man from the East revitalizes the Westerns right when they needed it)
Sanjuro (1962) - 8/10
High and Low (1963) - 8/10
Red Beard (1965) - 10/10 (My favorite Kurosawa film. Whenever I've lost faith in humanity, I put this movie on)
Dodesukaden (1970) - 7/10 (Moments of brilliance but uneven. When I want to be depressed, I put this movie on)
Kagemusha (1980) - 8/10 (Nakadai is another favorite)
Ran (1985) - 10/10 (Amazing. and oh yeah, Kurosawa was 75 when he made it)
Dreams (1990) - 7/10 (I'll admit I haven't seen this in a long time)

.

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Thank you very much for another beautiful feedback. Much appreciated, as always.

Glad we (completely) agree on many of his films. And kinda sad that we don't on some of his (to me) best achievements.

These 2 certainly fall into this category:

"Dodesukaden (1970) - 7/10 (Moments of brilliance but uneven. When I want to be depressed, I put this movie on)
Dreams (1990) - 7/10 (I'll admit I haven't seen this in a long time)"

Both are breathtakingly beautiful to me (Kurosawa does wonders with colours).

Just as you said:
"Basically every scene in a Kurosawa film is a work of art."



I guess I was really lucky to see them on the big screen (maybe that's what makes all the difference).



vivaLuis

http://imdb.com/title/tt0053967/board/thread/97124879

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The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945) 6/10. Enjoyable but too short.
Drunken Angel (1948) 8.5/10. First collabaration between my favorite director and my favorite actor and very underrated.
A Silent Duel (1949) 7.5/10.
Stray Dog (1949) 9/10.
Rashomon (1950) 10/10. The only Kurosawa film i ve seen on the big screen and one of my favorites.
Ikiru (1952) 10/10. Probably the most moving film i ve seen.
The Seven Samurai (1954) 10/10. My favorite movie and the one that put me into classic films.
Throne of Blood (1957) 10/10. 4 masterpieces in 1 decade. Something only Kurosawa could do.
Hidden Fortress (1958) 9/10. Every Star Wars fan should watch this to see where Lucas took his inspiration from.
The Bad Sleep Well (1960) 9/10. Underappreciated noir classic about corruption in modern day Japan.
Yojimbo (1961) 9/10. Another samurai classic.
Sanjuro (1962) 8.5/10.
High and Low (1963) 10/10. Underrated, maybe the best crime film i ve seen.
Red Beard (1965) 9.5/10. I usually show this films to people who think that Kurosawa is only good for samurai flicks.
Dodesukaden (1970) 6.5/10. Had some great scenes but didnt impress me as a whole.
Dersu Uzala (1975) 7/10. I got very bored at some scenes but i definetely need to watch this again, since it's been a long time.
Kagemusha (1980) 8/10. The weakest Kurosawa's samurai film, but still very good!
Ran (1985) 9.5/10. Some of the most powerful images ever on a film and an excellent use of color.
Dreams (1990) 8.5/10. Beautiful and breathtaking film by the master.
Madadayo (1993) 8/10. A great way for Kurosawa to end his career.

I really want to see some of his earliest works, as well as I Live in Fear and Lower Depths. Its a pity that his non-samurai films are not so well-known.

I take care of the place while the Master is away.

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Top 15

All-Time Kurosawa Masterpieces
1) Seven Samurai (1954) 5/4
2) Rashomon (1950) 5/4
3) Ran (1985) 5/4
4) Throne of Blood (1957) 5/4
5) Yojimbo (1961) 5/4
6) Ikiru (1952) 5/4
Other Kurosawa Masterpieces
7) Kagemusha (1980) 4/4
8) Dersu Uzala (1975) 4/4
Near Masterpieces
9) The Hidden Fortress (1959) 3.5/4
10) Sanjuro (1962) 3.5/4
11) Red Beard (1965) 3.5/4
12) High and Low (1963) 3.5/4
13) Stray Dog (1949) 3.5/4
14) The Bad Sleep Well (1960) 3.5/4
15) The Lower Depths (1957) 3.5/4

Bottom 15
Not Perfect but Very Watchable and Interesting
16) Drunken Angel (1948) 3/4
17) Madadayo (1993) 3/4
18) Dreams (1990) 3/4
19) No Regrets for Our Youth (1946) 3/4
20) Sanshiro Sugata, Part I (1943) 3/4
Lesser Kurosawa Curiosities
21) I Live In Fear (1955) 2.5/4
22) Scandal (1950) 2.5/4
23) The Quiet Duel (1949) 2.5/4
24) Men Who Tread On Tigers' Tails (1945) 2/4
Unfortunate Misfires
25) Dodes-ka'den (1970) 2/4
26) The Idiot (1951) 2/4
27) Rhapsody in August (1991) 2/4
Nearly Unwatchable
28) One Wonderful Sunday (1946) 1/4
29) The Most Beautiful (1944) 1/4
30) Sanshiro Sugata, Part II (1945) 1/4











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Madadayo (Not Yet, 1993) 8/10
Hachi-gatsu no kyôshikyoku (Rhapsody in August, 1991) N/S
Dreams (1990) 9/10
Ran (1985) 10/10
Kagemusha (1980) 9/10
Dersu Uzala (1975) 9/10
Dô desu ka den (1970) 10/10
Akahige (Red Beard, 1965) 8/10
Tengoku to jigoku (High and Low, 1963) 9/10
Tsubaki Sanjûrô (Sanjuro, 1962) 8/10
Yojimbo (The Bodyguard, 1961) 8/10
Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (The Bad Sleep Well, 1960) 8/10
Kakushi-toride no san-akunin (The Hidden Fortress, 1958) 9/10
Donzoko (The Lower Depths, 1957) N/S
Kumonosu jô (Throne of Blood, 1957) 8/10
Ikimono no kiroku (I Live in Fear, 1955) 9/10
Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai, 1954) 9/10
Ikiru (To Live, 1952) 10/10
Hakuchi (The Idiot, 1951) 7/10
Rashômon (1950) 10/10
Shubun (Scandal, 1950) N/S
Nora inu (Stray Dog, 1949) 9/10
Shizukanaru ketto (A Silent Duel, 1949) 8/10
Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel, 1948) 8/10
Subarashiki nichiyobi (One Wonderful Sunday, 1947) 7/10
Waga seishun ni kuinashi (No Regrets for My Youth, 1946) N/S
Asu o tsukuru hitobito (Those Who Make Tomorrow, co-d, 1946) N/S
Zoku Sugata Sanshiro (Judo Saga II, 1945) N/S
Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi (The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, 1945) N/S
Ichiban utsukushiku (The Most Beautiful, 1944) N/S
Sugata Sanshiro (Judo Saga, 1943) N/S

favorite
least favorite



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1-Rashomon 10/10
2-Ikiru 10/10
3-Ran 9/10
4-Throne of Blood 9/10
5-High and Low 9/10
6-Seven Samurai 8/10
7-Yojimbo 8/10
8-Red Beard 7/10
9-The Bad Sleep Well 7/10
10-Dersu Uzala 6/10
11-Stray Dog 6/10
12-I live in Fear 4/10
13-Madadayo 1/10

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