Been watching some of these docs on Mishima. He was only 5'1" and hence the bodybuilding and machismo. I'm reading his books now and he's an excellent writer, just very troubled and weird in his suicidal beliefs.
Showing posts with label Japanese cinema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese cinema. Show all posts
3/20/10
6/14/09
The Mysterians
An early Japanese sci fi schlockfest that actually is better than many of the lesser Godzilla films.
4/11/09
Ikiru
Enough with the good schlock, back to serious cinema. Ikiru is a masterful film by Akira Kurosawa.
Many film critics argue that Kurosawa's greatest films were his historical epics. While I've only watched about a third of the man's output, and while Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Kagemusha are certainly terrific films, Ikiru, The Bad Sleep Well, and High And Low, are even better.
The reason is that Kurosawa understood modern man better. Sometimes, even in his greatest historical films, characters would lapse into stereotypes, such as the hero, the villain, the anti-hero, and not converse nor relate to each other easily and naturally. That has never been a problem in the films I've seen of his set in 20th Century Japan.
Here is a trailer for Ikiru:
Many film critics argue that Kurosawa's greatest films were his historical epics. While I've only watched about a third of the man's output, and while Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Kagemusha are certainly terrific films, Ikiru, The Bad Sleep Well, and High And Low, are even better.
The reason is that Kurosawa understood modern man better. Sometimes, even in his greatest historical films, characters would lapse into stereotypes, such as the hero, the villain, the anti-hero, and not converse nor relate to each other easily and naturally. That has never been a problem in the films I've seen of his set in 20th Century Japan.
Here is a trailer for Ikiru:
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