Akahige / Red Beard is 3 hours, 5 minutes long, but I strongly recommend it. It shows a definite maturity of style over Samurai (54), Throne of Blood (57), Yojimbo (61), to which it manages to subtly refer. In between was the slow-but-intense Crime/Class drama High and Low (63). Red Beard takes AK's observed modern style back to the feudal setting. One should set aside 4 hours for it, though, as you may need the break and, if you're like me, you'll want to see certain scenes again. Long composed/blocked shots and a "small" story make it seem slow, but I've found it fascinating all three times--rich in detail, with AK's familiar ensemble doing their best acting yet.
Reviews
5 Reviews
Final Approach
(1991)
A long bad twilight zone episode
1 July 2000
This film is lifeless, dull, and driven completely by cliche, with a "twist ending" you can guess during the opening credits. The average high school one-act is more interesting. I can't understand how it got so many 10-star ratings. James B., is that you?
Cohen and Tate
(1988)
There's a trick to watching this great flick...
1 July 2000
To properly enjoy the mounting tension of Cohen and Tate, you have to get someone else to fast-forward the film to a particular spot, so that you begin watching en medias res and slowly pick up the story as it begins to accelerate. The first image should be a young boy walking through a truck-stop parking lot alone. I caught the movie on late night TV starting from this point and found it riveting. When I rented it later and watched it from the beginning, it wasn't nearly as tense or suprising. It's a character-driven road movie (is there really any other kind of flick?) about surviving and brings a freshness to its formula. In particular, it started me looking at the career of the underrated Adam Baldwin. A unique experience.
Fastest film ever
15 May 2000
What made (and makes) Star Wars such a unique and powerful film? There has been a lot made of the 'Mythology,' but many other films have a background myth, yet remain unexceptional. Star Wars is perhaps the first and certainly the most successful film to exploit its "Filmness." It tells a story that could not be told as powerfully or convincingly in any other medium. From the brilliantly mixed sound, to the monumental style of shot composition, to Williams' Royal score, Lucas pushes each element of film as far as he can. The editing alone is an unprecedented tour-de-force as this story flies by so fast, you're afraid to blink. Yet the story is simple enough that even at this pace, a six-year-old child can keep up with every element of the story. Star Wars so overwhelms the senses (it's impressive now on TV, so multiply that effect for the mid-70s theatre-goer), one is hardly able to notice the craft that holds it together. Maybe that's why all we've talked about for 22 years is the story. During the theatrical re-release a couple years ago, I noticed what a uniquely constructed film it is, and how each element contributes to the experience. Anyone interested in discussing the series intelligently needs to look closely at the glue of this film, otherwise we're just comparing plot and character, which are in actuality, probably two of the weaker points of these films.
City in the Sea
(1965)
Good movie to fall asleep in front of
5 May 2000
Despite some beautiful technicolor photography and decent performances, the script and pacing make it almost impossible to keep your attention on the action of this film. Even Vincent Price and Tab Hunter in their heydays can't save things when all they're given to do is prattle at each other. This flick is set-bound and talky, but if you like movies with this "look," watch it with the sound turned down or fall asleep on the couch while it plays--the weird imagery and score will work their way into your dreams.
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