Kurosawa Films

By Gwyer Maitland

Akira Kurosawa films are some of my favorite movies and definitely as a category unto himself, Kurosawa is one of my favorite film makers of all time.

My own interpretation of his style is an Asian cross between John Houston and Alfred Hitchcock. His use of black and white photography, light and shadow is always stunning.

Clean - simple and stunning.

He is a master of surprise and visual innuendo.

Many of my contemporaries over the years have shunned Japanese film that requires reading subtitles. If you share this perspective, you have no idea what you're missing in terms of quality.

Kurosawa Never Received An Oscar

Kurosawa was never quite satisfied with the quality of his work, in spite of creating a large body of highly recognized film including the classic, "The Seven Samurai."

The craftsmanship and artistic depth of the film denotes mastery. It reflects technical and artistic genius in Kurosawa's ability to capture intensity, facial expression and humor in simple movements and actions on film. Snippets of history or long stories communicated with a single moment of eye contact or a pregnant pause.

He has an uncanny and amazing power of observation.

He did receive an Oscar Nomination and over 60 International film awards, but never won an Oscar for his work. In my eyes, the academy has been asleep at least 40 years, particularly considering some of the movies that have won by comparison.

Kurosawa Films - Elegant Simplicity

The essence of the Kurosawa films is the elegant simplicity and the depth of his communication regarding human nature. This is executed through skillful character development incorporating physical mannerisms, voice, language and emotion to display the nature of the human animal without actually saying much about it.

Not unlike haiku or the knowing-ness a child derives from sitting quietly in the presence of a wise old man.

There is purity of spirit in Kurosawa films, a compassion for humanity coupled with an often eerie sense of humor and a deep sense of sorrow.

On a regular basis, we make a habit of watching "The Seven Samurai" at least once a year. Partially because it takes us back to a simpler time where clarity and character formed the backbone of a man and a leader, but mostly because it's such a great movie.

Kurosawa created many masterpieces in film. He grows on you as you learn to understand his method of using the medium. In my case, often after the 3rd or 4th viewing.

If you are a lover of classic film and have not watched Kurosawa Films, you are in for a very nice experience. Find out more about how to buy old movies - or rent them - because the classics just get better and better with time.

Read the Kurosawa biography in WikiPedia or in Answers.com to get a sense of the man and his artistic drive and accomplishments.

Gwyer Maitland is a movie nut and has been watching classic movies since the 50's. You can visit his blog to see why you should buy old movies.

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