I have always been a big fan of the teenage mutant ninja turtles but until just recently, I have learned that it takes more than a severe craving for pizza to be a real samurai. Although the TMNT were my favorite sword wielding heroes when I was a wee lad, I have come to realize that a samurai is not a turtle...no not a turtle at all, but a master swordsman often trained with the philosophy that life is to be lived out with pride, and discipline. This unit has been interesting and exciting for me being my first viewing of an Akira Kurosawa film, I must say that I enjoyed his style. I liked how Kurosawa utilizes artistic and visually appealing shots to make the audience feel connected to his work. Some shots that really stood out to me were the final standoff between Murakami and Yusa in Stray Dog when blood is dripping onto a flower petal at our hero's feet. Another thing I enjoyed about Kurosawa's work was his use of natural forces like the wind and an extreme heat wave to add to the intensity of the scene.
To me a Samurai film is supposed to be a bit over the top, I would say that AK accomplished this with his many looong takes, and extravagant battle scenes. The red paint used for blood really added to the brutality of the battle at the third tower in Kurosawa's epic film, "Ran". I liked the use of color in "Ran", this was really something that was lacking in "Stray Dog", and "Yojimbo" seeing that these were shot in black and white. I liked the separation of the armies using the three primary colors: RED, YELLOW, and BLUE. My favorite movie of the three was definitely "Yojimbo"...this film really captured my attention because it emphasizes the idea that the hero doesn't always have to be type-casted to one and only one role. The hero, Sanjuro, is my favorite character out of all of Kurosawa's characters because I can relate to him the most. This unit has inspired me to spend some time in some different parts of the movie store, I plan on checking out Kurosawa's epic film known around the world as "Seven Samurai".
4 comments:
I think in africa they call it "The 3 Munchkins", but that's not important right now. I liked Kurosawa's use of vibrant color in "Ran" too, especially the cherry-red blood. Its contrast with the somewhat bland towers and dirt made the brutality of the massacre stand out.
Nice intro paragraph. I also liked Yojimbo more than the others. I don't agree that Kurosawa had "extravagant battle scenes" in Ran, however. I think he went for more of a focus on the destruction of war, rather than glorifing the fighting. This didn't make it over the top. I do think that the color added a lot to Ran, and think that the other two Kurosawa movies could have been better with color.
I also really liked that shot you pointed out from Stray Dog. Even though it was in black and white, when I remember it it seems to be in color.
I guess I don't really see why you would think to compare TMNT to Kurosawa, but in saying that I like that you did.
Post a Comment