Japan Film Series #1 will be held on 1/24 (R) at 5:00pm. The venue is now COED 065!!! Don't go to McEniry bldng.
Enjoy the world renowned director's (Kurosawa) film. He is probably the most known Japanese person in the world.
An actor, Mifune, is also a famous actor performed in Kurosawa's films.
Also, please write a very short movie review (a paragraph is fine) as a comment under this post. *Click "comment."
This movie review is the first assignment of this class for this semester.
Also, let me announce again Fugaku Taiko (Japanese drum concert) at Davidson College on Friday at 8pm. This is an extra credit chance.
For the detailed information, please refer to my old post of this site.
37 comments:
Are there subtitles?
oh, yes.
japanese audio with english subtitles.
I looking forward to it. If it is the same guy that did Rashomon and Seven Samurai.I liked watching Rashamon during the hurricane because it was raining in the movie too. Silly I know but made the two movies memorable.:-)
yes, this is the same guy as in rashomon and seven samurai.
he plays a lot of kurosawa movies.
Well, it was good for an older film. I must admit that the old lady got on my nerves quite a bit in the beginning. However in the end when her husband is speaking, he didn't want it to be violent. So I she was looking out for his(her husbands) best interest. Tsubaki and the guy in the captured guard in closet were pretty funny. It also made me realize I have to study a lot harder in my japanese class, 'cause I didnt pick up on much in that movie.:-P
I must say I love characters that are laid back and uncaring, yet through their own ways they actually do show that they aren't as heartless as you think they are.
You see that a lot throughout the movie as u see Sanjuro do simple things that shows how humble he can be. The ten men learned a lot from him in his short stay with them I'm sure.
Overall enjoyed the movie and wouldn't mind seeing others produced by the same director along with the same actor who played the part of Sanjuro. He did an incredible job. ^_^
I absolutely love all of Kurosawa's films. My favorites are Yojimbo and of course Sanjuuro. I like how Mifune's character Tsubaki is an anti-hero type, he seems rough and uncaring but he really looked out for those guys. and I enjoyed the comic relief from the man captured and put into the closet.
To be honest, I don’t have any senses of ‘Kurosawa’ films. I enjoyed watching it, but I saw this film from different perspectives. From Sociological view of the media, two women really remind me a traditional Japanese female’s role. Historically, it was ok to make fun of them due to the sex segregation. However, the media is a powerful influence. Additionally, I couldn’t stand watching violence scenes towards the end. Overall, it was reasonable to see about a part of history— Meiji period and Samurai.
I really enjoyed the movie, I was kind of skeptical at first but after a little bit I really got interested in what was going on. I thought the older lady & the prisoner they took were hilarious, but then again I'm easily amused. I haven't seen any of kurosawas other films but now I think I'm going to check the other ones of for sure.
I found the movie to be quite boring. I thought it would be similar to Yojimbo but I was sadly disappointed. I dislike it less than Ran and Kagemusha but is far inferior to Yojimbo, Seven Samurai and Rashomon. In the future, I would not go out of my way to see this movie.
The Japanese film, “Sanjuro”, is filled with action-packed scenes and occasional comedy. Throughout the film, the main character, “Sanjuro”, acted as though he didn’t care about hardly anything. He was always either fighting or relaxing. The prisoner that was kept in the little room and the mother and the daughter provided comic relief throughout the film. I especially enjoyed when the daughter made the suggestion to use red flowers as a signal and her mother said she liked white flowers better. Their actions and facial expressions made me laugh. Although I normally don’t enjoy action films, “Sanjuro” was interesting to watch, especially with my friends from my Japanese classes!
I thought the movie was okay. There were some interesting parts, but overall it was highly unbelievable that Sanjuro could predict everyone else's movements. The nine men were all pretty interchangeable, without any real characterization. The man in the closet was pretty funny, though, as were the two women (even if they were rather offensive).
To agree with a former poster, I love all of Kurosawa's films being an avid movie buff myself, but I would much rather have watched Yojimbo or The Seven Samurai as a selection of one of his films.
One of the things I find interesting about the old samurai films and Kurosawa films specifically is that they seem to have a fairly heavy influence from classic American Westerns. I don't mean to say that he is copying the western, but if you were to watch each type of movie back to back there are many parallels between the two.
One of my main gripes with this movie is the inconsistent patches of comedy, and I think the chintzy sound work on the movie (ie: sounds matching heads popping up from behind bushes etc. which happens a couple times) takes away from the overall tone of the film. I understand though that that type of comedic style was popular at the time.
I was impressed with the fight choreography as well considering the age of the movie. The movements are fairly fast and intricate which is something many of the other movies of that time didn't have.
overall I'd seen the movie years ago I'm glad I got to see the movie again now knowing what I know because my opinion has changed quite a bit, and as always, had a nice time watching it.
P.S. as a side note, the room we used to watch the movie is terrible because the screen is too low and the people in front of you block the bottom quarter of it. You may want to try and find another room to do it in or address this problem some other way because it's really annoying to watch subtitled movies without being able to see the subtitles (duh).
~jake
I thought the film "Sanjuro" was okay because there are some part in the movie i couldn't understand what was happening. But i really enjoyed watching the man in the closet and the old lady, i think they were humorous. i really liked the character, sanjuro, he is "calm, brave, and clever". overall, the movie wasn't as good as i thought it was, but at least i didn't fall asleep during the movie.
Sanjurou, much like Kurosawa’s other films, took a considerably short and tolerable story and stretched it out into a length almost unnecessary. But, leave it to Kurosawa to that for us. Despite the fact that the movie opened rather randomly without completely explaining the details of what the conspiracy is about or the background to the fighting, it managed to hold my attention pretty well for the full length and had some decent action and fight scenes mixed throughout. I especially loved the last scene in which blood sprays out as Sanjurou destroys his enemy. Overall, the movie kept me interested and I’d recommend it to those interested in samurai films or other Akira Kurosawa films.
I really didnt like "Sanjuro" at all. the movie was slow paced and really boring. it was hard to read the subtitles at the place because the classroom that we sat in didnt slope enough for the people in the (where i sat) could see, even when i tried sitting on the top of the chairs, it was still difficult. if we have the other movie at the same place again, i will try to sit in the front. a cool part of the movie was the blood spurt scene at the end. it was pretty intense.
I actually really enjoyed this movie until the ending came. About 3/4 into the movie, I found myself wishing it would hurry up and get to the climax. But I liked the simple plot of a rogue samurai arriving as some kind of miracle for the band of good-willed samurais who couldn't do anything. I was glad there was little bits of humor in the movie, also. (The bits with the POW in the closet were good.) However, the scenes concerning the older woman often bored me. And the music composition for the soundtrack was much too bold for my taste. Overall, it was a really good movie, though. I just wish the ending had gone faster. There were some parts that seemed to drag on.
Sanjuro was kind of complicated and difficult to understand...even with subtitles,but overall it was a pretty good film.
The main character, Tsubaki, was very comical. His wisdom gained through massive amounts of alcohol consumption was hilarious. It is a shame this doesnt happen to most people. The most interesting part was when he used tricks to confuse the opposition. The funniest one was the flower bud trick because the opposition ended up helping him with his plan without even knowing it. Tsubaki seems uncaring at times but the last part of the movie redeems him and shows that he really is a good guy.
I didnt like the fact that the women were protrayed as being stupid and nieve.
the movie was great . i like the way they are dress. it s very interesting and unique. the actors an are very funny especialy Tsubaki. he never takes anything seriously. i like the movie a lot it already made me learn a lot about japanese culture.
At first I wasnt sure if I would like the movie, but once it got started, it kept my attention. This was my first Japanese film, and I really liked it. I also liked the storyline. Nothing to complicated, but enough to keep you engaged. I wish that they used the other characters more. It kind of got boring with Tsubaki. Tsubaki was either telling the other guys they were stupid and saving them. It was funny the first couple times, but then it just got old. The scene at the end was kind of odd. Overall I liked the movie though.
Honestly, I thought the movie wasn't that interesting. I had trouble understanding the plot of the movie and it was hard to see the subtitles from the seats, but what I did understand was Tsubaki always coming up with tricky tactics to solve the problems and I guess that was one of the things I did enjoy about the movie and also the traditional clothing and housing.
The movie was okay not something I'd watch again though. It kind of bothered me that subtitles were only translating necessary meanings of the lines. The movie could be more interesting if subtitles were better.
I liked how the director put comical elements sporadically thoughout the movie but at the same time was uncomfortable about how the women were described; they were so whiny and dependent on their men...
Let's watch a better movie next time, please.
I thought it was quite good for an older film. I felt that it was a bit slow and boring, but I find that to be a problem with most old films like this. I thought that it was a bit difficult to understand the overall plot of the movie, but I guess you need to know some things about Japanese history in order for it to make more sense.
I thought it was interesting to see some of the customs and things that the characters followed. In particular, I noticed when the three women were serving Sanjuro food, all of their movements, from the way they served the food, to the way they opened and closed the door, was done in a very specific manner. I think that's one of the things that makes Japanese culture very interesting, the way they can take seemingly normal activities like that, and turn it into an art form.
Akira Kurosawa made great movies all the time. "Sanjuro" was a very old movie but I could enjoy it a lot. Story was not too complicated and the main actor has a nice character. Moreover, BGM was greater than I expected. A type of sound was very old but it made me trip to the white and black color era. It made the movie more interesting. Most surprised thing was non-Japanese students laughed more than Japanese students. It is no doubt that Kurosawa movies are loved by whole world. I was injected a little bit of Samurai spirit from this movie. I would love to watch other Kurosawa films, too.
Overall, the movie was pretty decent with a great plot i would say. I had trouble keeping up with the plot during the movie because there was so many heads in front of me. But i like the plot that was presented. I like how Sanjuro was very trickery toward him helping him the clan. I think he a great hero during his time. There was some funny part within the movie and how they look as samurai.
I enjoyed the movie “Sanjuro” That was greater than what I expected. The story of the film was not organized as today’s movies but, it was ok to watch it with black and white and I like the ladies, old and young. They made the movie humorous even it was samurai movie. The main actor Tsubaki and the other nine samurais were like funny guys. They made humor at the right time in the movie. Over all, the movie was pretty good even though it made in mid 20th century. Also, the story and background music was fine. Anyways, it was fun to watch black and white movie.
Sanjuro,in short, is about a group of young samurai who are aided by a lone warrior in a mission to clean up the corruption in their town.
Overall, I would give the movie a grade B. For me, it started out really slow and kind of randomly, so it was very hard to be able to pay attention and get into the movie. It wasn't until later that I started to understand the plot and become interested. I was happy to see a bit of comic relief in the movie. It helped to lighten the overall tone. I also thought it was good to have a female presence in the movie. Watching the way the Japanese women and talked showed a lot about gender roles in (old) Japanese society.
Also the seating in the room was horribly cramped and the subtitles were hard to see. I actually realized later that there is a way to move the subtitles to the top of the screen. Maybe we could try that next time.
The story of movie may occur in eighteenth century in Japan. The hero of the movie was sleeping inside a temple and happened to get involved in a political event. Nine young men decided to present an accusation of corruption in their clan to the local superintendent. However, the superintendent wanted to kill them as well as kidnapped the Chamberlain, the uncle of the leader in the nine-man group. Our hero saved the nine men’s life and join their group rescued the Chamberlain’s wife and daughter. Finally, they successfully rescued the Chamberlain.
What is the hero’s name? - Tsubaki Sanjuro. As the scene showed, the hero looked at camellia flowers in the garden and replied the madam’s question. He addressed himself “Tsubaki Sanjuro”. Actually, it is not his real name. Meanwhile, the words “30, maybe it is going on 40”, revealed his age to the audience.
Sanjuro was a mystified person. He is a sleepy, shaggy dude always asking for food and even money. Not until did he face enemies and chop up dozens of soldiers in a breath, we recognized he was hero. In fact, he is really a tough hero. After he saved the nine men, he asked for money, but only took a little sum of it. This manner made him humble and ridiculous as well as easy-going. He is rough but somehow adorable at the same time. When he successfully rescued the Chamberlain’s wife and daughter and then they scolded him for being "too violent". Looking the women lying on the hay and talking about the romantic feeling, he was baffling and astonished with this scene. He may find it both funny and annoying.
Sanjuro has his distinct style in communication with others. He always praises something by abusing. Critics praise can be treated as an epitome of cool. However, this manner caused misunderstanding to him for someone deemed him too rude and untrustworthy. In fact, he was just too shy to act nice and he did not appreciate too much respect and gratitude from others. So he was a respectable samurai.
As a samurai, he was inevitablly involved into killing. But he was unwilling to kill people though he killed the whole house soldiers in order to save the four stupid men. At last, after he killed Muroto, he deeply comprehended the Madam's words " a good sword always be kept in its sheath".
The movie was an excellent look into Japanese culture. I loved the idea of a loaner taking on an army a classic concept, yes. But this film added comedy into it. The swordplay was amazing for such and old film it incorporated modern fighting tactics. I usually do not enjoy black and white films, but this film was one that was best told in black and white. The cast of characters helped submerge me into the story, the older woman was kind of annoying though.The ending was amazing with the simple swipe of the sword a hero was made.
Sanjuro is a film that is actually a sequel to "Yojimbo"(also a Kuroswa film) with the lead character who goes by the name,Sanjuro, leading the stories. What I loved about the movie was how humorous it was. Not just the crazy hose-blood-spitting duel scene at the end, but the characters themselves were quite funny. Mainly the lone warrior himself, who wants nothing more to do than relax. However he felt compelled to do the right thing and help the young men with achieving their goals and defeating the enemy. He felt obligated, as if it was his duty-rather he was the only one who could do it. Or maybe he was just bored and wanted to see some more action. There is honor in the film as well as humor. Yes the action was awesome, still boring at times, but when Sanjuro was on the screen, or whoever played him, I felt like cheering him on and laughing along with him. Sure he was facing unbeatable odds, but he had a heck of a time doing what he does best. ^_^ Loved the film, I liked also that it was a bit more simpler to me than Seven Samurai, that film I always got a little confused. This was much more fun.
I personally enjoyed the movie, altough im not a fan of watching black and white film haha. When i was young, i had this complete collection set of comic book called "kenshin" Its one of my favorite comic book along with slam dunk. since then I was interested in samurai a lot. This movie was very hypnotic. I found myself following every step as Sanjuro played both sides of the town. I think the director,Kurosawa, had pay attention to all the little details making sure the audience doesn't miss anything. It was Worth seeing, I love sanjuro how he was lazy, very laid back, uncaring but he really looked our for those 9 would-be samurais. I liked the way how the movie ended when he just left for nowhere
yes i made it before 12! haha g'night shoji sensei.
While this film tended to drag on at times, its random bits of comic relief saved me from sheer boredom. Tsubaki plays a very suave and carefree character throughout the film until the final scene, where his inner sense of honor and dignity are put to the test. I thought the fight scene with all the blood spewing everywhere was classic(early Quentin Tarantino maybe? haha).
I missed the first part and didn't get what's going on in the movie but overall, I really enjoyed it!
I loved the actor "Katsu Shintaro" who is the main character in the movie.
his performance is always distinct and I also enjoyed his "Katana-sabaki (scenes they fight with Katana)". That was awsome!!
Sanjuro plays the part of a dynamic character, in which during the course of the movie he goes through several internal changes. His character starts out as arrogant, as if he didn’t care, and all he wanted to do was fight or relax and eat. However when he meets the old lady, she is really greatful that he has helped them escape. Suddenly we see what a big impact she has made on him. His values also change when the old lady makes a comment saying something like ‘you are like a sword without a sheath’ in regard to his arrogant behavior and attitude. Through her, he gains a lot of insight and understanding about himself and his life and the choices he has made, and realizes that he must, like a sword, be put inside his sheath, and change his ways.
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