Sight and Sound (2002) Greatest Films Club - Page 13

OcieB · 05-09-2003, 12:42 PM

ShawnFr, try and not focus on the title of the film as explaining what will be at the end. The film is titled Seven Samurai because it is about seven samurai...

Spoiler:

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ShawnFr · 05-09-2003, 06:49 PM

Quote:

But where would the tension come from, if your idea were followed?
Even the final shot of the graves (one of the most famous and moving in cinematic history would not only make no sense, but would not even be present.

This is the only way that the young samurai can grow and that the Mifune character can get closure.

Think about how the movie would need to be restructured in order to accommodate your idea.

Okay, I think a few people are misunderstanding me. Personal disappointment is different than wishing anything else would have taken place. I love the movie just the way it is.
I think maybe you two are looking at the movie from a different perspective than I. I am assuming you've seen it more than once, right? This was my first viewing and, basing it on the title, I was hoping for a powerful 7 Samurai clan that would defeat anyone to come in their way. That was my idea going in. So did my preconceived notions throw off what I felt after I saw the movie? Heck yeah, they did. But it was just as good the way it was as compared to what I was hoping for. Now that I've rambled on and on, off I go to watch 8 1/2.
I'm betting I'll get skewered on that one, too

But in all seriousness, both remarks so far have been well made and I agree with both of you.

John^Lal · 05-09-2003, 07:04 PM

yes, when given the thought of having so much power on our side, we may hope that we will get through unscathed. (like playing out a season of football on my xbox). but really, when you think of story that would be so captivating for your audience, that plot line sounds like a complete bore, no real threat has been given, and no sense of danger would be present. it is true that there are some stories of such miracles happening(making it through unscathed from the an ultimate sacrafice), butfact is stranger than fiction. Thats why i think the only way a good story can be told without loss is one being told about a true story, otherwise we can't buy it.

OcieB · 05-09-2003, 07:15 PM

just a though and dont take offense. maybe you shouldn't base what you are expecting from a movie on the title.

Adam_S · 05-11-2003, 08:56 PM

I saw La Regle du Jue (Rules of the Game) -

Simply marvelous

Lew Crippen · 05-12-2003, 09:47 AM

Quote:

I think maybe you two are looking at the movie from a different perspective than I. I am assuming you've seen it more than once, right? This was my first viewing and, basing it on the title, I was hoping for a powerful 7 Samurai clan that would defeat anyone to come in their way.

Right you are Shawn, I’ve seen this film many times, the last time on the big screen (we are at the end of a Kurosawa/Mifune retrospective in Dallas) just a couple of weeks ago.

If you have not seen the American remake of this, The Magnificent Seven, you might want to give it a try. Just don’t be deceived by the title.

Lew Crippen · 05-12-2003, 10:02 AM

Ikiru, which is the final film in the Kurosawa/Mifune retrospective currently showing in Dallas. What a treat to see this in a theatre.

Many (and I am one) consider this film Kurosawa’s finest. This film was made right after Rashomonp and is a deeply moving portrait into a single man’s realization of the futility of his life and

Spoiler:

The journey that he takes in attempting to enjoy life and his attempt to recapture his youth through another, seem to me to be truer and more realistic each time I see this film.

But the scene where the actions taken by him are examined and dismissed and praised by his colleagues has always seemed to me to be completely on the mark.

Spoiler:

Seth Paxton · 05-12-2003, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Now that I've rambled on and on, off I go to watch 8 1/2.
I'm betting I'll get skewered on that one, too

Well if you expect to see 9 samurais in action where one gets cut in half, then you definately will be let down here too.

Brook K · 05-12-2003, 01:27 PM

Life is so short
Fall in love, dear maiden
While your lips are still red
And before you are cold,
For there will be no tomorrow

I definitely think Ikiru is Kurosawa's finest film and it is one of my very favorites. There isn't another film I want more on DVD.

Check out Roger Ebert's review on his Great Movies list. One of his finest.

Lew Crippen · 05-12-2003, 01:55 PM

Thanks Brook, I just checked it out—this from the last line of Ebert’s review: And the older I get, the less Watanabe seems like a pathetic old man, and the more he seems like every one of us.

Now here is something that I agree with very much. I first saw this film when I was far too young to empathize with Watanabe-san. But I was never too young to understand the workings of City Hall and the political dealings of the Deputy Mayor.

Jim Rankin · 05-12-2003, 05:11 PM

Watched 3 more over the last week or so.

(1) Sunset Boulevard

Awesome movie, best film about Hollywood's dark side I have ever seen. Crackling dialogue, moody interior shots, and outright creepy performances.

(2) Metropolis (Kino - restored)

1/2
I have to be honest, it was tough for me to get through this in one sitting. I think I was over-tired, and wasn't in the mood for it. I can see where the film is considered to be such a classic, and the countless times it was borrowed from, but it didn't really do anything for me personally.

(3) Aguirre: The Wrath of God

1/2
One of the most surreal films I have ever seen - Coppola definitely ripped this off for Apocalypse Now. Kinksi perfectly captures a man's descent into madness, it definitely puts you on the edge of your seat as he is totally unpredictable.

Brings my total up to 107 - More Fassbinder, Herzog, Lang, and maybe some Lubitsch coming up next!