Its really powerful.

Having grown up on Japanese monster movies, this is a big step up

It's like Beethoven going deaf. This really is Kurosawa's Ninth Symphony.

One of? This was my first Kurosawa film, and it's undoubtedly a Masterpiece, and far better than many of my previous favorite movies. If you could recommend a film from him which you believe is better, please do!

@@MajorJakas Have a watch of any of his other films. They're all brilliant. Try The Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Ikiru, Kagemusha or Dreams.

@@mphylo2296 I just might have to, thank you.

@@MajorJakas I understand, but I watch all of his films. In my opinion, Ikiru is my favourite. But Ran is up there in my top 5.

@シュウヒラタです- This Is Shu Hirata Love that one too.

Include Karate Kid

I bet you loved the 2010 version.

I saw the devil

"Blindness leads us to the loneliness of life" --- that's the message that I get from the ending.

A Rose that Blooms in Early May Sure, there’s that, but also Tsurumaru represents mankind in totality. Alone, on the edge of a precipice, unaware that good (his murdered sister) has left the world, standing in the ruins of what was once civilisation (his castle), blind, afraid and without any god, who has left him. It’s horrifying in fact.

Her name is Mieko Harada.

@@jnsurg947 She was amazing. She kinda stole the movie in the few scenes she had.

Absolutely. The character of Lady Kaede is one of the most memorable villains in cinema, and that's elevated a lot by Harada's performance.

@@1001Montresor Lady Kaede is my favourite movie character of all time. If you consider what Lord Ichimonji did to her family, and also her sister-in-law, she is a total HERO. Also she is a complex character.

Her character was a great addition to the story, and one that was missing from Leer (a story I didn’t like much). A formidable actress for a formidable role.

+pendorran Kurosawa movies tend to be slow paced but the slow build up usually pays off with incredible climax!

And how! Holy shit the storming of the Third Castle is one of the most incredible sequences I've ever seen. The images are so vivid and the music so haunting; it's like something out of a nightmare. Great movie.

I was glued and engaged the whole time. One of the greatest films ever, could be a contender as the greatest.

It's dope from the very beginning homie

GODZILLA (1984) is the best Japanese movie 🇯🇵

& Lala land

@@johnboy2349 airbud

What about Scorsese?

John Cassavetes >>>>> Scorsese

Spielberg never made a good film after "The Duel"...lol

I agree, I would even call her the 2nd most important character in the film. Everyone praises the beautiful cinematography and imagery, and it truly is without peer, but its the characters that draw me into the story. Besides Lord Hidetora and Lady Kaede, I also love Kyoami the Fool's part, his quips often driving home the dark irony, and many of them are hilarious when he is alone with Hidetori in the burnt out third castle. And while there were only a few brief scenes, the character of blinded Tsurumaru was quite tragic.

nirvanaispus It has maybe the best shot Kurosawa ever composed -- that haunting image of a blind man at the edge of a cliff, which is the last shot of the film. That's an image I'll never forget, but I find this film a second to Seven Samurai -- still the most engaging and enjoyable film ever made for me. I can watch both of them every day and never get tired of them. I would put Ran second and Ikiru third in a list of the best Kurosawa.

Alan Falleur Greetings! Yeah that final shot of the blind man dropping the "portrait" of a Japanese god, Buddha I think it is, Kurosawa showed the world that in the end man is to be alone and left in his own misery, is one of the saddest, but real truths there is in living. One other thing about Ran, I've seen it with 4 different English translations! I think the best translation in on Blu-ray. That one has, to me, the one with the most meat. I have seen The Seven Samurai several time also. But be warned, there is a version here on youtube. Avoid it at all costs! The characters dialogue/ subtitles are not in sync with what the characters are actually saying. So I switched it off. And its missing about 1/2 an hour at any rate. Now shame on me, but the first time I saw it, I was bored. But every other time, it was so entertaining, enlightening, and simply fabulous to watch. Now many 3 hour epics can do that? Its pretty close to 0 for me, but there are a few such as Children of Paradise. W hat are a few of your other fav films? Some of mine are Hair, Wages of Fear, Yojimbo, Koyaaniaqatsi, Alexander Nevsky, The Fall, Touch of Evil, Ugetsu, Planet of the Apes, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Danton, Breaking Away, The Wild Bunch, The Best Years of Our Lives, Bringing Up Baby, Pride of the Yankees, Vertigo, Aguirre The Wrath of God, Amadeus, Red Cliff PTS I and II, Schindlers List, Seven Samurai, . Samurai Trilogy, Dazed and Confused, The Usual Suspects----- many many others

nirvanaispus Of course watching movies on youtube is a crap shoot since the uploader may not know what they're doing, or they're trying to throw off the bots that scan youtube for copyright, so they change the pitch of the audio or whatever. I found that the Criterion Collection is the go-to source for reliable copies of old movies. They support foreign films very well and Kurosawa's work has benefited from their patronage. I think I must have first seen Seven Samurai on TCM late one night, and I was just immediately captivated by it. I felt like I was with those samurai "fighting the good fight" against the bandits and helping the peasants. I soon got my hands on the Criterion Collection version and must have watched it like three times in one weekend. I just couldn't stop watching it. I felt like he had made that movie for me and was speaking directly to me, and I still feel that way. A list of some of my favorite movies would be: The Big Sleep (1946), Seven Samurai, Ikiru, Ran, Throne of Blood, Le Samourai, Dr. Strangelove, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Godfather Trilogy (I like #2 the most, #3 the least probably like most people), Jaws, Star Wars Episodes IV and V (I don't consider myself a hardcore Star Wars fan, but I think those two films have aesthetic appeal that far surpasses or transcends Hidden Fortress -- a film I find barely watchable), Raiders of the Lost Ark (the only Indiana Jones film worth defending, in my opinion), Tootsie (my choice for the funniest film every made), Alien, Bladerunner, Robocop, some of the films by Takeshi Kitano such as Hana-bi and Dolls, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away (I've seen all the other Hayao Miyazaki films too but don't find them nearly as appealing), Jackie Brown, Last Life in the Universe, and all the Coen Brothers' movies. I've seen about half the movies on your list and I like most of them. I think Amadeus should be on my list. I've recently been watching a lot of Soviet films like Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears, The Diamond Arm, and Solaris. I think I'm starting to break through Andrei Tartovsky's films, but they're very challenging.

Alan Falleur Yeah. I must admit that the Criterion collection are absolutely wonderful prints. If only I had the cash to purchase them, I most certainly would. But my budget is severely limited. So that is out. I saw the Seven Samurai in a theater for the first time. I was bored. That is so bad of me. But every other time, probably about 20, its a masterpiece. And its been remade so many times from, the Magnificent 7, Battle Beyond the stars (crap), to Ironclad (terrible), to the 13 Assassins, and I am sure that I am missing a few. But the story is universal. But as far as criterion, you can find most on Hulu. And there are a few on youtube. But KZfaq has Wages of Fear, Ugetsu (a few Mizogushi he's my second fav director), Mirror, Stalker, Dersu Uzulu, Ballad of Narayama (oh you gotta see this one if you haven't seen it) etc etc etc. So that's not too bad. MMmmm!!! I Loved the Hidden Fortress. To me, its the most fun I've ever had at the movies. Now we do differ from Tootsie because I didn't laugh once. I tried so hard to get into it, but I just couldn't. I thought the transformation of the Hoffman character was way too quick from him being to a man to a woman. I wanted to see that exploration of the in between, of the transformation as there was precious little. I felt severely cheated. But the again, I must admit that my sense of humor is completely gone off the grid from the rest of the world also. Takeshi Kitano... mmmmm Battle Royale. Doesn't it p**s you off that Hunger games is taking all the glory? After all, all it is is a glittered up version - book included. Yes. I agree Hayao Miyazaki is great! I hate the way the Oscars are doing their lifetime achievements nowadays. Howl's Moving Castle, to me, is his masterpiece. Have you heard? There's going to finally be a Bladerunner sequel. Harrison Ford is on board and I think Ridley Scott is also. Have you been to this site?explore.bfi.org.uk/sightandsoundpolls/2012/directors/ It is a site that to me is the only poll that matters. The reason is, is its a worldwide poll. And its only taken once every decade. And its a director and critics list of the best films... have a look. It was taken in 2012. To my amazement, I had seen the top 19 (there is a tie), of the top 20 films in the directors poll. Tarkovsky has 3 in the top 30. Granted, there are some films I would not even think about putting on my top 10,000 but that's life. well gtg please always tc and have fun -Michael

nirvanaispus I'm glad to see that the Criterion Collection has come down in price recently. I know I've seen their stuff on Amazon.com for $20 - $30. You're right -- ordering direct from their website will cause you to pay an arm and a leg. I have heard about Bladerunner II, and I'm willing to give Sir Ridley Scott a fair viewing, but I must admit I haven't found his recent films very appealing. I couldn't stand Prometheus because I couldn't stand any of the characters in that film. I will try it again later because I know the film has developed a kind of cult following now, but for now I don't see what they're seeing in it. One the directors' list you mentioned, it's an interesting list, and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I haven't seen a lot of those movies, especially the European movies. I should do myself a favor check out more Fellini films and Jean-Luc Godard because I'll probably like them. What French and Italian films I do manage to see, I usually like. I think the main thing I look for in a movie is the human interest factor. I'm interested in movies that are interested in people. Kurosawa, I think we will agree, is probably THE filmmaker to go to for this, and there are a lot of others.

I disagree from what im hearing hes gushing over it what did you want him to say he said fabulous not great i dont think you were listening closely enough

Have you tired Shogun 2? It's very good!

+Brendan Lawrence My top 10 Kurosawa films.. 1. Ikiru 2. Rashomon 3. Seven Samurai 4. Ran 5. Yojimbo 6. High & Low 7. Throne of Blood 8. The Hidden Fortress 9. Sanjuro 10. Dersu Uzala

+Jeremy Film Buff just watched it for the first time bec Netflix has it. Blown away.

omg. It's on Netflix? I know what I'm doing tonight!

The Hidden Fortress is Kurosawa light.

I agree on The Hidden Fortress being Kurosawa-light. It was a deliberately more commercial effort as payback to his film studio Toho for letting his three previous films, The Idiot, The Lower Depths, & Throne Of Blood, be more risk-taking.

I was told by someone who speaks Japanese (and is from Japan) that it is pronounced "Rahn"....sort of like the American name "Ron" as in director Ron Howard.

Vowels in Japanese are pronounced almost exactly like Spanish... the "a" in Ran is pronounced like the "a" in, uh, taco

@@gc3k your description is the only one I've read that's anywhere near close. The others are way off.

"Gone with the Wind" is right up there with "Birth of a Nation" and "Triumph of the Will"...

+zopiclone199 RAHN

Al Cd This was during the pre-Internet days where information like proper pronunciations was very often not readily available. Considering how culturally insular most of America still is today, give Siskel & Ebert credit for being way more culturally open-minded than most Americans tend to be.

Al Cd I know it’s not obvious but these guys aren’t Japanese.

Yes,if only Americans could pronounce Japanese as well as Japanese pronounce English... Sigh.

La La Land is the most overrated piece of crap I've ever seen. Don't compare that shite to Kurosawa's masterpiece. Anyone with a semblance of a brain knows this.

@@lonestar6709 you got trolled brah

Ted Striker Or maybe it's something lacking with you.

jackal59 Oh please. Watching an old guy stare intensely into the distance for ten minutes in a row is kind of boring.

Ted Striker I don't remember any part of the film that fits that description, either for the time you're claiming or for the action. Even when Hidetora is nearly catatonic in the later scenes, his fool is moving around and talking. Surely you're not just commenting on a movie you claim to but haven't really seen based on this video? Because that would be really pathetic.

jackal59 That's all I remember. An old man staring and pondering, then shouting a bit, and then staring again. I do not see why the film had to be so painfully slow paced.

Ted Striker So, you don't remember the boar hunt that starts the film, the massive and very bloody attack on the castle by two armies in the first third of the film, or the even larger battle in the woods toward the end with the cavalry charge being repeatedly cut down by crossfire from the tree line? Instead, you remember something that might kind of describe a single scene in the middle of the movie, which comes after a ten-plus minute battle sequence in which you see (among other things) a man sitting in mud and blood while fighting rages around him, holding his own severed arm? You've never seen this movie.