#Ryûzô Kikushima

[addictivecontradiction]

蜘蛛巣城, 1957

[80smovies]

[90smovies]

[theoscarsproject]

Tora Tora Tora! (1970). In 1941, following months of economic embargo, Japan prepares to open its war against the United States with a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor.

Another Academy Awards, another WWII film. This is really one of the better ones to come out of this era of cinema history, in no small part because it explores two sides of the story, employing Japanese co-writers to show the Japanese victory, and Americans to portray the American defeat. It makes for a compelling exercise that really feels, in a lot of ways, like a cinematic precursor to Flags of Our Fathers/Letters to Iwo Jima. It’s a fairly good film, albeit one that’s a bit long and a bit dated these days in many respects. Still, it’s well worth the watch. 7.5/10.

[movie-titlecards]

Yojimbo (1961)

My rating: 6/10

Starts out very strong, but then the plot starts meandering all over the place, and the whole thing just keeps dragging on and on. Of course my version (a Brazilian DVD that somehow made its way too a German flea market) came with extremely janky subtitles, so your mileage may vary.

[mifunebooty]

The Hidden Fortress (1958) directed by Akira Kurosawa

Produced also by Akira Kurosawa and Sanezumi Fujimoto

Written also by Akira Kurosawa, Ryûzô Kikushima, Hideo Oguni and Shinobu Hashimoto

[theoscarsproject]

Yojimbo (1961). A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.

You can’t really get much better than Akira Kurosawa, at least when it comes to historical Japanese crime dramas. Yojimbo is pretty well-established as a classic, and for good reason. It’s compelling, dark, and invests in the dark and twisting forms of it’s characters. It’s a strong film, well-made. 8/10.