/V\ =(@;@)= ~(,,)
. o O
Akira Kurosawa season part 2: Behind the Mask of the Samurai
The season of classic Japanese cinema in new 35mm prints continues. For further details, pick up a leaflet at the Cornerhouse box office.
1958; Cert. PG; 2hr18min; Subtitled
Kurosawa's first film in widescreen, the aptly epic yet lighthearted action -- romantic comedy The Hidden Fortress is full of swashbuckling set-pieces, spectacle and heart-stopping moments of bravery. A faithful general (Mifune) escorts and guards a feisty teen princess on the run, begrudgingly aided by a pair of squabbling peasants. One of Kurosawa's greatest hits, it provided inspiration for Star Wars.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
1955; Cert. 12; 1hr43min; Subtitled
Whilst America turned to mutant bug movies to deal with its atomic paranoia, Kurosawa's Cold War response reflects the national mood in a more thoughtful manner. During a Tokyo heatwave, a despotic seventy-year-old industrialist (Mifune) resolves to take action to save his family -- whether they like it or not.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
1952; Cert. 12; 2hr22min; Subtitled
Ikiru is Kurosawa's gentlest and most contemplative film, a polar opposite to his samurai dramas. Shimura plays an elderly civil servant who discovers that he's dying and determines to spend his last months finding something that will give meaning to his life. Potential sentimentality is diffused by a satirical look at society and the salaryman's subservient role.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
1965; Cert. 15; 2hr59min; Subtitled
The final film in the long partnership between Kurosawa and the iconic Mifune finds the actor playing the red-bearded head of a late Nineteenth century hospital. The young intern that he's training can't understand this brilliant but highly unconventional doctor and is bothered by his lack of respect for medical orthodoxy. Gradually he learns otherwise.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
1954; Cert. 12; 3hr26min; Subtitled
The most famous samurai film ever made, and deservedly so. Kurosawa's epic recounts the story of villagers who decide to hire masterless samurai to protect themselves from the bandits who have been plaguing them. Six are proper samurais, the seventh a loudmouthed farmer's son wannabe. The influence of Kurosawa's beloved Westerns is apparent in every frame; in turn Samurai went on to inspire The Magnificent Seven.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
1962; Cert. PG; 1hr35min; Subtitled
In this unofficial sequel, Yojimbo's scruffy loner samurai (Mifune) appears in an earlier era where he finds himself the unexpected saviour of a group of tidy young samurai and a pair of court ladies. The interaction between the sartorially challenged Mifune and his polished charges brings comedy to leaven the tense action sequences.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
Ticket prices:
All details taken from the September 2002 Cornerhouse Calendar and may be subject to change. See the Cornerhouse web site for full details.