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Dersu Uzala Actors: Maksim Munzuk, Yuri Solomin Director: Akira Kurosawa Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Letterbox Format: Color, Widescreen Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Running Time: 140 minutes Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-05-23 Buy from Amazon |
 "Old men."A movie about an old man made by an old man. And yes, it's enthralling, sometimes downright thrilling, despite the elegiac pace and its absolute refusal to be rushed. *Dersu Uzala*, which takes place at the turn of the previous century, is about the friendship between a somewhat inept Russian army captain and a bowlegged, grizzled little Mongolian trapper named Dersu. They meet one spooky night while the Captain and his platoon are camped out somewhere in east Siberia on a surveying expedition. Though the guys in the platoon are at first inclined to make fun of the eccentric Asian frontiersman, the Captain is fascinated by him, and is smart enough to ask Dersu to be their guide through the forbidding wilderness. What follows is pure photographic magic that's probably pointless to describe because, as they say, pictures say a thousand words. What can be said is that Kurosawa, despite his 70mm cameras, eschews any attempt to CRAM the total landscape in his shots, opting instead to present Siberia at eye-level, so to speak -- which takes the "omnipotent eye" away from the audience, putting us intimately with the adventurers on screen . . . i.e., we see what they see. This is the sort of trend-bucking that one expects from a genius like this director. Then there's the character of Dersu Uzala himself, wonderfully played by a fellow named Maksim Munzuk. Kurosawa and this actor created a WHOLE character here, a true hero -- warts, and all. You know you've witnessed artistic truth when, late in the movie, you realize how ridiculous Derzu appears in a blue sweater, sitting by the fire in the Captain's house. A warmly humane, touching, and ultimately heartbreaking movie. Good for kids, too, in my opinion, if they can sit through the subtitles -- it is, after all, rated G. [A note on the DVD: Several yahoo "reviewers" here have bemoaned the quality of Kino's DVD presentation. Frankly, I don't know what these digital cineasts expect -- *Matrix*-quality crispness and Dolby 5.1 audio? Give me a break. *Dersu Uzala* is, let's face it, an obscure art-house oddity, a joint venture between a then-down-on-his-luck Japanese filmmaker and Soviet MOSFILM studios, for Pete's sake. The point being, just be glad the movie is available and, like, shut up. As a matter of fact, there are several brief shots -- curiously enough, practically all 3-4 second compositional shots -- that are indeed scratchy, but the reality is that the rest of the movie looks excellent. And as for the bellyaching about the price . . . what, you're not willing to pay... for a masterpiece? So don't buy it. Or get a job, one.] "Dersou Ouzala: Pure Poetry!"Dersu Uzala is probably one of the most beautiful and touching movies ever made. A 1971 production directed by the genius Akira Kurosawa, based on Vladimir Arsenyev's novel, this movie received the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film. A true visual experience -- like every Kurosawa picture --, this movie portraits the breath-taking paradisiacal wilderness of Siberia. The story focus on the relationship between a russian captain (played by Yuri Solomin) and a Goldi hunter (Maxim Munzuk), and its development, nature, and consequences. It is a very moving picture, about true feelings, emotions, and above all friendship. As far as the DVD is concerned, the quality is disappointing, especially when one takes in consideration the price. However, I believe this is still a worthy acquisition for any serious movie collector. Akira Kurosawa is definitely one of the best movie directors ever, and Dersu Uzala is a movie to be not only watched, but experienced. "Superb even to a six year old"After twenty-five years,Dersu Uzala remains at the top of my list of the best films ever. The previous reviews describe this magnificent film quite well, so I won't add to it, but offer instead a story. About twenty years ago, my wife and I took her four small children, only one of whom could read at the time, to an art theater showing of Dersu. We knew this was a little risky; the response one might rightly expect from children that age to a long, slow moving, subtitled film would be squirmy boredom and complaining, but that is not what happened at all. Kurosawa's storytelling genius captured even these very young minds; they remained attentive throughout the entire film and despite the the fact that three of them had no way of knowing what the characters were saying, enjoyed it to the end. Kurosawa's cinematic mastery carried them along on those long-ago expeditions, and into the intimacy of a deep friendship. "Dersu Uzala"To me, one of Kurasowa's best. Wonderfully simple yet elegant story and character study set in a spectacular local with some of the best outdoor color cinematography ever. This is a story of adventure and friendship between two distinct cultures which based on recent events is even more meaningful today. The main character, Dersu Uzala, is wonderfully portrayed. This is simply a great and uplifting film. A must see for anyone who appreciates good story-telling, great filmmaking and of course, one of the best filmmakers of all time - Akira. "Magnificent movie, excellent transfer to DVD"I love this movie, always have, but want to comment on the quality of the DVD. I had read an earlier viewer comment about poor quality and was nervous about the DVD. I could not have been happier. The letterbox format was perfect and the subtitles were in an easy on the eye yellow format in the black band. The picture quality was easily better than when I first saw this film in the 70's. Much praise to Kino for preserving a masterpiece. |
