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The Lower Depths (1957) More at IMDbPro »Donzoko (original title)

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4 items from 2011

3 December 2011 4:06 PM, PST | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »

(Akira Kurosawa, 1952-70, 15, BFI)

The highlight of this five-film box is Ikiru (aka Living), one of the greatest films ever made and Kurosawa's finest non-samurai movie. Set in modern Japan it takes a hackneyed subject – a middle-aged civil servant (superbly played by Takashi Shimura) reacting to a diagnosis of terminal cancer – and turns it into a profound, moving, unforgettable statement about the human condition. Three of the other films star the charismatic Toshiro Mifune: I Live in Fear (1955), the nuclear-angst tale of a man bent on taking his family to safety in Brazil; the rarely shown The Lower Depths (1957), a fascinating transposition of Gorky's play to a changing 19th-century Japan; and Red Beard (1965), a medical epic about a dedicated doctor (Mifune's last Kurosawa movie) in a country clinic. The fifth film, Dodes'ka-den (1970), a mosaic narrative about dreamily eccentric slum-dwellers, was Kurosawa's first colour picture and influenced by Antonioni's Red Desert. »

- Philip French

1 September 2011 4:05 PM, PDT | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »

Akira Kurosawa remakes such as The Magnificent Seven led a Hollywood revolution in the 1960s – and now a new wave of Us adaptations could be coming

Akira Kurosawa and Hollywood may find themselves working together soon for the first time since the late director's abortive involvement in the war epic Tora! Tora! Tora!, one of several traumatic episodes that led him to attempt suicide in 1972. The remake rights to the lion's share of his movies and unproduced screenplays have been granted by the Akira Kurosawa 100 Project to the Los Angeles-based company Splendent, whose chief, Sakiko Yamada, told Variety he aimed to "help contemporary film-makers introduce a new generation of moviegoers to these unforgettable stories". The Kurosawa Project said it had received "countless" requests from Us and European film-makers, "expressing intense interest in remaking Kurosawa's movies".

The prospect of Kurosawa's influence being funnelled through Hollywood again is enticing; after all, the »

- John Patterson

24 August 2011 8:00 PM, PDT | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

Akira Kurosawa's Centennial last spring is still causing ripples. Splendent Media extends the celebration in a potentially controversial way. They have the rights to an enormous part of the Kurosawa catalogue should anyone want to purchase them for a remake. Kneejerk reaction is NOOOOooooooooo. But then you realize that Rashomon, The Hidden Fortress, and The Seven Samurai (and to a lesser extent many of his other films) have already been ripped off hundreds of times for movies and television. Hell, I've even seen an Off Broadway musical based on Rashomon!

So why would a straight up remake be any different? 

Here are the 26 Kurosawa directed pics (of the 32 he made) that they're offering rights to:

Sanshiro Sugata (1943)

The Most Beautiful (1944)

Sanshiro Sugata Part2 (1945)

The Men who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945)

No Regrets For Our Youth (1946)

One Wonderful Sunday (1947)

The Quiet Duel (1949)

Stray Dog (1949)

Scandal (1950)

Rashomon (1950) -- Honorary »

- NATHANIEL R

18 June 2011 11:04 PM, PDT | CriterionCast | See recent CriterionCast news »

It’s another week which means another round up of all the titles Criterion has put up on their Hulu Plus page. And it’s a great smorgasbord of releases that will keep your eyes full until the next installment. Also, thanks again to everyone who has signed up for Hulu Plus via our referral page. Please sign up and let us know what you think of the service. Enough of this small talk, let’s get into the nitty gritty.

Last week’s article spoke about Louis Malle’s films being put up and sure enough, only a few days later they finally released Black Moon to their page, showing a film that will be coming out on June 28th. I love that they’re doing that with releases that are coming out, just to give their audience the film itself and if you like it, you’ll want to grab the whole package. »

- James McCormick

4 items from 2011