Madadayo

Pros: thief-proofing sequence, color cinematography
Cons: too long, too drunken, too sentimental, rather static (and very talky!) scenes, boring songs

I thought that I had seen the last film by the great(est) film-maker Akira Kurosawa (1910-98), but when I saw footage of Kurosawa directing a child playing the quarry in hide-and-seek, hiding in a haystack (on a studio set) in a ...

Pros: solid filmmaking by one of the most influential directors in history
Cons: the progression and themes may feel odd for Western viewers

No one would argue against Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's influence on the industry. He modernized scene wipes, perfected the use of close-ups and long shots, basically invented a genre (Spaghetti Westerns), and left his die hard fans a filmography...

Pros: Gentle, funny, and lovely last film from the great master
Cons: may be too slow for most

I first saw Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece "Rashomon" (1950) back in the mid-80's when my English teacher Lee Gorsuch loaned me his personal VHS copy. So it's only fitting for me that Kurosawa's beautiful and funny last film,...