KUROSAWA
SEVEN SAMURAI – KUROSAWA
Seven Samurai[2] (七人の侍 Shichinin no Samurai?) is a 1954 Japanese Jidaigeki adventure film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586[3] during the Warring States Period of Japan. It follows the story of a village of farmers that hire seven ronin (masterless samurai) to combat bandits who will return after the harvest to steal their crops.
Since its release, Seven Samurai has consistently ranked highly across critics’ greatest film polls such as the BFI’s Sight and Sound, Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB polls.[4][5] It has remained highly influential, often seen as one of the most “remade, reworked, referenced” films in cinema.[6]
YOJIMBO – KUROSAWA
Yojimbo (用心棒 Yōjinbō?) is a 1961 jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It tells the story of a rōnin, portrayed by Toshiro Mifune, who arrives in a small town where competing crime lords vie for supremacy. The two bosses each try to hire the newcomer as a bodyguard.
RASHOMON
A priest, a woodcutter, and a peasant take refuge from a downpour beneath a ruined gate in 12th-century Japan. The priest and the woodcutter, each looking stricken, discuss the trial of a notorious bandit for rape and murder. As the retelling of the trial unfolds, the participants in the crime — the bandit (Toshiro Mifune), the rape victim (Machiko Kyo), and the murdered man (Masayuki Mori) — tell their plausible though completely contradictory versions of the story.
Trailer for Rashomon on TrailerAddict.
RAN R
A story of greed, a lust for power, and ultimate revenge. The Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji has decided to step aside to make room for the younger blood of his three sons, Taro, Jiro, and Saburo, the Lord’s only wish now being to live out his years as an honored guest in the castle of each of his sons in turn. While the older two sons flatter their father, the youngest son attempts to warn him of the folly of expecting the three sons to remain united; enraged at the younger son’s attempt to point out the danger, the father banishes him. True to the younger son’s warning, however, the oldest Son soon conspires with the second son to strip The Great Lord of everything, even his title.
– Written by Bill albers.bill@gmail.com