Kurosawa

4 comments on Hacker News

1. NeutralgumbyNov 22, 2023

   It’s an interesting and thoughtful essay. I don’t agree with the author’s assertion that the uneven quality of Scott’s work demonstrates some kind of flaw (though TBF, this assertion serves as a great launching pad for an exploration of his background and career).

   I see that “flaw” as evidence of a willingness to take risk, something shared by other greats of the “big canvas” films (Kurosawa and Kubrick): an unrepentantly uneven oeuvre. You also see it in another master, Hitchcock: his framing was typically smaller, his work mixed, but when good, very good. Compare that to, say, Spielberg: excellent workmanship but never quite the risk taker. As a result you get results that are quite good but never sublime. In that sense more Greene than Scott is, despite the author’s assertion.

   I think this is true of all the greats: we only have seven of Sophocles’ 100+ plays, but I console myself that they are surely seven of the best. And IMHO Shakespeare had his clunkers.

2. NeutralmeeslesAug 29, 2023

   That sounds like a good thing. Artists rarely care about what critics say, and when they do it's seen as an obsession to get rid of. I would hope Kurosawa didn't waste time listening to critics and instead took feedback from those that made films.

3. NeutralpavlovJun 16, 2018

   The point is that the boring run-of-the-mill stuff doesn’t get exported.

   Western film audiences got to form a highly positive opinion of Japanese movies from the works of Ozu, Kurosawa, Oshima.

   Similarly American gamers in the Amiga era got a handful of the most original French games and formed their opinion of “Frenchness in gaming” based on those.

4. NeutralapressFeb 15, 2011

   Wow! This is an awesome movie collection with the best of folks like Bergman, Kurosawa and Fellini.