The Films of Akira Kurosawa

by Richie, Donald

• ISBN13: 9780520220379
• ISBN10: 0520220374
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-01
• Publisher: Ingram Pub Services

Summary

In an epilogue provided for his incomparable study of Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), Donald Richie reflects on Kurosawa's life work of thirty feature films and describes his last, unfinished project, a film set in the Edo period to be calledThe Ocean Was Watching. Kurosawa remains unchallenged as one of the century's greatest film directors. Through his long and distinguished career he managed, like very few others in the teeth of a huge and relentless industry, to elevate each of his films to a distinctive level of art. HisRashomon--one of the best-remembered and most talked-of films in any language--was a revelation when it appeared in 1950 and did much to bring Japanese cinema to the world's attention. Kurosawa's films display an extraordinary breadth and an astonishing strength, from the philosophic and sexual complexity ofRashomonto the moral dedication ofIkiru, from the naked violence ofSeven Samuraito the savage comedy ofYojimbo, from the terror-filled feudalism ofThrone of Bloodto the piercing wit ofSanjuro.

Author Biography

Donald Richie is currently Arts Critic for The Japan Times.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 9
Akira Kurosawa	p. 10
Sanshiro Sugata	p. 14
Sanshiro Sugata - Part II	p. 24
The Most Beautiful	p. 26
They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail	p. 30
No Regrets for Our Youth	p. 36
One Wonderful Sunday	p. 43
Drunken Angel	p. 47
The Quiet Duel	p. 54
Stray Dog	p. 58
Scandal	p. 65
Rashomon	p. 70
The Idiot	p. 81
Ikiru	p. 86
Seven Samurai	p. 97
Record of a Living Being	p. 109
The Throne of Blood	p. 115
The Lower Depths	p. 125
The Hidden Fortress	p. 134
The Bad Sleep Well	p. 140
Yojimbo	p. 147
Sanjuro	p. 156
High and Low	p. 163
Red Beard	p. 171
Dodesukaden	p. 184
Dersu Uzala	p. 195
Kagemusha	p. 204
Ran	p. 214
Dreams	p. 220
Rhapsody in August	p. 224
Madadayo	p. 227
Method, Technique and Style	p. 229
Epilogue	p. 244
Filmography	p. 246
A Selective Bibliography	p. 262
Index	p. 265
List of Plates	p. 271
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