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Kurosawa Director: Adam Low Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Letterbox Format: Color, Widescreen Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 215 minutes Studio: Wellspring Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-04-23 Buy from Amazon |
 "A selective analysis of Kurasawa, amazing none-the-less."This recent PBS documentary gives a great insight into the director's life; in particular his childhood, and how many of these early experiences were the stimulus that drove his prodigious career. As well as a chronological examination of his films, "KURASAWA" contains numerous interviews with the director drawn from various sources and eras, and voice-overs quoting Kurasawa's 1983 memoir "Something like an Autobiography" are sprinkled throughout. As the film reaches "RASHOMON" (the first Kurasawa film embraced by the international community), the documentary branches out to include interviews with Clint Eastwood and James Coburn, who discuss the impact of the director's work on Hollywood. Surprisingly, the film does gloss over quite a few of his works: "Nora Inu/Stray Dog", "Kakushi Toride N San Akunin/The Hidden Fortress", "Tsubaki Sanjuro" and "Tengoku To Jigoku/High and Low" are just a few of the films that fail to even rate a mention, although they're widely acclaimed and now available in the west on DVD. This is a minor quibble, however; the documentary makes no claim to comprehensively cover each Kurasawa film, and even without discussion of these other films the program goes for over 3 hours and still keeps a viewer engrossed. The extra features included on the DVD proved to be unexpectedly interesting. With over 90 minutes of bonus interviews, one might expect dry, boring footage of talking heads, but this is not the case. The director's colleagues discuss the human side of Kurasawa, the effort he put into each project, and offer details on the writing, editing and visualisation process of his works. This disc is a must for any Kurasawa fan. With knowledge of the director's childhood, his pioneering techniques and his influence on later generations, you can't help but immediately want to revisit his works. Finally, the easter-eggs are very amusing, and you'll be surprised at just how many of them are sprinkled throughout the menus. "A nostaligic, brief glimpse of a genius""Kurosawa" is a well-produced, rather easy going documentary of a master film maker. It reads like a fan letter to Kurosawa, each moment heaping praise on the director, while leading the viewer through a biographical timeline of his life. An enjoyable piece to watch. That being said, I was disappointed in the depth of the documentary. There is little discussion of Kurosawa's impact on film, his innovations and, most importantly, what he was trying to achieve with his films and his success in achieving that goal. Kurosawa was a film maker with a definitive focus, seeking no less than to change the world for the better using films as his medium. This message is never really mentioned, which surprised me as it is so crucial to understanding his films. Few, if any, of his films are examined critically and little insight is gained as to why Kurosawa is such an important artist of the 20th century. Even with its lack of depth, "Kurosawa" makes for a fine, nostalgic documentary. Clips of Kurosawa at work on his films are enjoyable, as is the reunion of the "Roshomon" workers and the interviews with a few former Kurosawa-film beauties. The presentation of artifacts, such as the Noh mask used for "Throne of Blood" and the Ryokan in Kyoto where Kurosawa wrote his screen plays, adds a human element to the piece. The DVD adds to the missing depth with a good length of interviews of varying interests, each focusing on personal reminiscences of Kurosawa. The Suntory whisky easter eggs are quite charming, and a nice touch. This is why we have DVDs. Should have been longer, should have been deeper, but still good. "A great documentary piece"Casual fans who have never seen a Kurosawa picture should have a look at this well-shot, well-organized DVD. This documentary covers the whole of Kurosawa's life, from his childhood experiences of a Tokyo earthquake to his final days after his last film, Madadayo. Die-hard Kurosawa fans will also be pleased because the documentary looks at some of the lesser-known pictures such as the early No Regrets for our Youth and the classic Ikiru, and traces Kurosawa's early flashes of genius and his development as a storyteller. (They would be less pleased that the film avoids some of the more controversial points of his career, such as the Yojimbo-Fistful of Dollars plagiarism suit.) It's somewhat disappointing that Westerners who chose to discuss Kurosawa were actors (James Coburn and Clint Eastwood) who appeared in Kurosawa-inspired films, as opposed to directors such as George Lucas and Francis Coppola. However, this deficiency is made up for by the inclusion of Kurosawa scholar Donald Richie. There are Easter eggs in this DVD, consisting of several commercials that Kurosawa made for Suntory whisky during the 1970s. Even in these ads, a film fan can see the Kurosawa touch at work.  "Great documentary on a great director"PBS did an outstanding job in putting this documentary together. It covers his entire life and career and includes scenes from some of his lesser known and much more difficult to find films. The documentary includes many interview pieces with Kurosawa himself which gives you some added insight into what the man was really like. Also, there are comments from noted Japanese film historian Donald Richie. As a Kurosawa fan watching this on PBS when it aired, the hour and forty five minutes seemed like about half an hour. It is an excellent documentary about perhaps the greatest director of the twentieth century. "TERRIFIC DOCUMENTARY HONORS KUROSAWA'S GENIUS""KUROSAWA" is a thoughtful and artistic overview of the epic master Akira Kurosawa who set new boundaries for world cinema and created a string of masterpieces unrivaled in motion picture history. Included are provocative, intelligent and perceptive interviews with Kurosawa's family, colleagues and critics from Japan and America. The observations create a surprisingly comprehensive assessment of his achievements. Carefully selected clips from his greatest films, including "Rashomon," "Seven Samurai," "Throne of Blood," "Yojimbo," "Kagemusha," "Ran", "Dreams" and "Madadayo" greatly enhance this inclusive videography. This is the first major documentary on the legendary filmmaker since his death in 1998. There are over 100 minutes of bonus footage, including 90 minutes of interviews, Easter Eggs, a Kurosawa filmography, and weblinks. Worth owning for the devoted videophile. |
