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Red Beard - Criterion Collection Director: Akira Kurosawa Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Black & White, Widescreen Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 185 minutes Studio: Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-07-16 Buy from Amazon |
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From Amazon.com Featuring the final collaboration between esteemed director Akira Kurosawa (Kagemusha, The Seven Samurai) and actor Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo, Hell in the Pacific), this 1965 film explores the complex and tumultuous relationship between a doctor and his protégé, and the meaning of compassion and responsibility. Mifune plays the title character, a revered but stern and unbendable physician ministering to the poor in a clinic, driven by a sense of calling to the profession of medicine and to mankind. He is assigned a young brash intern whose rebellious and arrogant attitude threaten to disrupt the hospital and destroy his burgeoning career. Under the intense tutelage of the relentlessly stern doctor, however, the young doctor in training goes from a spoiled wunderkind insulted at having to work at a clinic he thinks is beneath him, to one who appreciates the compassionate nature of a doctor's calling. A long, intimate, and engrossing film, it displays some of Mifune's finest work as a man whose profound sense of higher purpose touches all around him. An earnest exploration of duty and honor, Red Beard is an unlikely but worthy addition to the enduring legacy of Akira Kurosawa. --Robert Lane From Description A testament to the goodness of humankind, Akira Kurosawa's Red Beard (Akahige) chronicles the tumultuous relationship between an arrogant young doctor and a compassionate clinic director. Toshiro Mifune, in his last role for Kurosawa, gives a powerhouse performance as the dignified yet empathic director who guides his pupil to maturity, teaching the embittered intern to appreciate the lives of his destitute patients. Perfectly capturing the look and feel of 19th-century Japan, Kurosawa weaves a fascinating tapestry of time, place, and emotion. |
 "One of the best films ever made!"Dear viewer, Within the past few years I have become a fan of Japanese films, all beginning with THRONE OF BLOOD. Delving into this new genre, I discovered many films that are wonderful, but in my personal opinion RED BEARD is by far the best. This film shows the wonderful acting style of Toshiro Mifune, who not only puts heart, but also integrity into the role of Red Beard. To any fan of good cinema you cannot go wrong with RED BEARD! "the last collaboration between Kurosawa and Mifune"This 1965 film is the story of a young doctor under the tutelage a compassionate but strict country doctor. It was Kurosawa's last black & white film and also, sadly, the last film he did with Toshiro Mifune, who plays the title character, the man who runs a clinic for the poor. Yasumoto, the arrogant and self-absorbed young doctor, resents being sent to this backward place, but as the action unfolds he learns more about the people wo need help and more about what it means to be a doctor. Exactly halfway through the film Yatsumo dons the robes of a clinic doctor, having decided that Red Beard is a worthy mentor. We also learn the stories of several patients in depth, and these are heartbreaking. Mifune is charismatic and subdued (though Kurosawa unleashes him in a fight scene at a brothel, which is a pleasure to behold), playing a quiet man with as much intensity as he plays his usual samurai roles.. As expected, the direction and cinematography are beautiful, and your enjoyment of this will be enhanced by Stephen Prince's insightful commentary. The film's trailer is also included. Dialogue is Japanese with English subtitles. Highly recommended. "Excellent"Great film! When you think of Kurosawa and Mifune, you think "action", but (with the exception of one fight scene) this is not what this film is about. Deep storyline, great acting, and super cinematography - this one will grab ya! "Old school ER!"Beautifuly composed film - Kurosawa's 1968 film is right up there with 'Rashomon' on my list of favorites. It is a very interesting and at times curious film - threaded together in a way that the western viewer is not used to - but can adapt to. Toshiro Mifune is a very subtle and interesting character actor -and maybe gives his best performance here as Red Beard. This movie at times has an almost Ozu feel about it - a tender embracing of characters in a downward spiral of events - that evokes the Ozu style (not necesarrily in a direct way). This is unmistakeably Kurosawa, however, and is the equal, if not greater than his own samurai classics.  "An Excellent Kurosawa film"This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film. Red Beard released in Japan with the title "Akahige" is Kurosawa's final black and white film. It is also the final collaboration with famed Japanese actor, Toshiro Mifune. Mifune stars as late 19th century medical clinic director, Dr. Kyojio "Akahige" Niide. The film portrays post graduate training done by a medical school graduate, Noboru Yasumoto who is having an internship at the clinic. This clinic is in a very rural area and therefore looks like one of an even earlier time. He helps out in several ways and eventually rescues an abused woman from a local brothel. The film has some fine scenes and excellent photography. There are some scenes which squeamish audiences will probably not like. The most likely scene to upset people is a non-graphic scene where a nude woman is having surgery while conscious but drugged, and from the dialogue, I assume it is an appendectomy. The film remains poplar and is a good portrayal of 19th century medecine in the East. The are also 2 special features on the DVD. There is a theatrical trailer and audio commentary by Stephen Prince, a noted scholar on Kurosawa films. This is a good film for doctors, historians, and of course, Kurosawa fans. |
