One thing I found interesting about Kurosawa's films was the chronology they portray of his changing opinions. Each film we watched had a different sort of hero, reflecting Kurosawa's changing view of what a hero is. The first, "Stray Dog," had a hero in the generic sense that most people think of. He (Murakami) not only chose the righteous path in becoming a police detective after the war, but he acted for the safety of those around him at all costs, and saw the good in everybody. His ultimate goal was to get his stolen pistol out of the hands of a dangerous criminal, but his efforts were impeded by his belief in the inherent humanity in all people. Sanjuro, the hero in the second film, "Yojimbo," is a bit different. He feels the need to help the helpless and innocent, but he doesn't hesitate to accept payments. In "Yojimbo," he is a ronin who wanders into a town run by two gangsters and cleans it up. He goes to each boss resquesting a job as a very highly paid bodyguard. However, he turns on his masters and ends up taking their money while he cleans them both out. As a samurai, Sanjuro's lack of loyalty to his masters is unusual, and shows that Kurosawa believed that a hero's actions didn't need to be as selflessas and sacrificial a samurai's, as long as they wanted to do good and help others. In the third film, "Ran," Kurosawa seems to have nearly abandoned the idea of a hero. The youngest brother of a ruling family, Saburo, is the closest we come to a hero in the movie. He was one of the few people willing to speak up to his father when he was making a bad decision (to pass his authority to his oldest son, Taro), and was banished for it. He tries but fails to help out more at the end of the movie, and ends up dying. The tragic ending with everyone's death seems to show a sense of hopelessness Kurosawa has in people and heros.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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3 comments:
I am forced to wonder what the amateur psychiatrist would think about Kurosawa. He seems to have had more life theories and philosophical fluxes than he had movies. I suppose I can appreciate that aspect of him, an entire life's path is laid down through a series of epic films (as if he directed them for himself).
-Colin
first off, nice picture..I also really liked watching how Kurosawa's heroes changed throughout his films, a lot can happen in five years and this was about the time Kurosawa was releasing a movie in this timeframe. It's easy to see the changes in Kurosawa's outlook on humanity through these three films by looking at how the hero is portrayed
I also think that the picture makes this essay. But, in all seriousness I see the changes in theme as Kurosawa's career progressed
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