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57 out of 61 people found the following comment useful :-
One of my all time favorites, 26 December 1998

Author: EzyRyder from Los Angeles

After the box office failure of Dodes'ka-Den, Kurosawa was extremely depressed and attempted to commit suicide. After his recovery, he got over his depressive state and directed the Japanese/Russian co-production, Dersu Uzala.

Set in the forests of Siberia in the 19th century, Dersu Uzala is one of the most important films about friendship ever made. It tells the story of Captain Vladimir Arseniev (Yuri Solomine) as he leads an expedition through the woods. While his group is camping one night, a small mountain man named Dersu Uzala (Maxim Munzuk) comes across the men and agrees to act as their guide. The friendship between Dersu and Vladimir grows over the years and Vladimir urges Dersu to return to the city with him but the latter always refuses. Finally Dersu agrees to go, but finds that it is a very difficult adjustment to make.

This was the first Kurosawa film that I ever saw and it amazed me in so many ways. The beautiful landscapes, the well-developed characters, and most importantly, the great friendship between Dersu and Vladimir make this one of my favorite films.

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53 out of 55 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best films ever, 15 November 2001

Author: akhilles84 from Turku,Finland

This is one of my definite favorites.It tells a story of a man who is one with the wilderness and nature and cant live any other way.Dersu Uzala is an old Goldi(siberian asiatic minority) hunter who thinks he has been cursed after he kills a tiger.To him,every being,every part of the nature is equally worth as humans.

The film gives us accounts of one Russian captain's friendship with Dersu.They are together through thick and thin and Dersu even rescues him from a blizzard when they are stuck on a frozen lake.Dersu has all the natural senses and therefore knows when he is in danger.He knows everything by looking and observing the landscape around him.

So when he kills the tiger,its like a spell has been cast on him.Or is it just his imagination?His people believe in a ghost that rules the taiga,Kanga.He thinks Kanga will punish him in some way.Soon his fears start to get real.He cant kill his prey for food that he needs for living because his eyesight dramatically worsens.One frightening night(my favorite scene) it gets too much for him,listening to the howling wind in the dark,waiting for Kanga to send a tiger to kill him.And captain Arseniev,seeing the horror that struck him,offers him to come with him to his hometown.It happens so.

Throughout the film,you cant help but wonder what will happen to Dersu.Not only because in the beginning Arseniev searches for his grave,in retrospection,but also because he is one lonely,sad man who lives only by hunting.There is no place for him but the taiga.And when the tragedy happens,its hard not to feel remorse and pity the old Dersu.His world has come crashing down.The end specially is painful and shows that there is no mercy in this world for a man who falls from grace in his own homeground.

In the end,this film has outstanding photography,outstanding music,outstanding cast,beautiful scenery and do i need to say anything about the director? A timeless work that can never be surpassed.

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52 out of 58 people found the following comment useful :-
My Favorite Kurosawa, 12 January 2005
Author: Chukar from Palm Desert, CA. USA

I own many of Akira Kurosawa's films. I have Ran, Throne of blood, Seven Samarai, Roshomon, Dreams, Hidden Fortress, Jojimbo, Snajuro, Red Beard, and even "Kurosawa" the documentary. I guess you can say that I like his work. The "Kurosawa" documentary narrated by Sam Shepard and produced by thirteen / WNET I recommend for anyone at all interested in Kurosawa's films as it will really wet your appetite.

Of all of his films, Dersu Uzala is my favorite. It is also one of my favorite films by anybody. It was done shortly after Akira had went through a very dark time in his life and had attempted suicide. It was his first film afterwards and the content of the film appears to reflect more than a little of his mindset at the time. Dersu Uazla is both a feel good film and also a sad film. It touches the way that people as they grow older have a more and more difficult time adapting to life as it changes and has its affect on them. The end of the film can certainly show light on the inhumanity that appears to be growing more prevalent in our society. But, I think what you remember from the film is the love between two individuals, and that is what feels good.

Many of Kurosawa's films have a great deal of spectacle, and he is perhaps known best for his Samarai films. There is none of that in this movie. Dersu Uzala is a statement by Akira of life. Akira was fighting to keep making films and was not having an easy time of it. If Akira Kurosawa could not make films, he could not feel that he was living. As a result, he attempted suicide. He survived to make this film plus many others that we all enjoy today. Dersu Uzala may be the most important of his films and the one that shows the great director's true personality. Just perhaps, it shows more about humanity than any of his other films. Again, it is my favorite.

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36 out of 39 people found the following comment useful :-
Once upon a time, there was a director..., 3 October 2004

Author: vdg from Vancouver,Canada

..and his name was Akira Kurosawa. Once upon a time there was a simple man: a hunter, and simple story of friendship and reflection about life. Once upon a time a magnificent director and film crew have put a beautiful story on the screen with such perfection, that in our days we look back and we wonder: why movies like this are not being made anymore??

It doesn't matter if you like any other Kurosawa's works or any other 'Russian' films, because this one would touch you so much that you would go back and looked for similar films… I wish I could see this film in all his beauty: on a big screen, in the original format (70 mm), as I felt that I missed a lot of details from the TV format.

There are directors and there is Kurosawa, there are dramas and there are Russian stories, so when you put both of them together, what do you get? Dersu Uzala!

Enjoy it, at least as much I did…

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34 out of 37 people found the following comment useful :-
Dersu!! Kapitan!!, 28 January 2005

Author: hartj-1 from Canada

A wonderful film. It showcases the natural beauty of the Taiga and presents a contrast between the technological and the pastoral. Dersu is one with the forest. He knows its ways and its moods. The Russians scoff at his ways and his 'primitive' belief system, but eventually come to rely on him, and even love him. It is a beautiful story that takes place in an world that very few of us in the West have had a chance to see. I thought the fact that the film was set in the pre-revolutionary period gave it a peculiar sort of charm - Russia before the Great War and the Russian Revolution was innocent and even naive, the same way the Russian soldiers were innocent of the wonders and the dangers of the Taiga. One of the things I loved most about this film was the cinematography - there are long, lingering shots of the landscape, the endless steppe, the forest, the rivers, the mountains. We believe ourselves to be powerful because we have been moderately successful in our attempts to harness nature for our own uses, but the film shows us that we are deluding ourselves, that nature cannot be controlled or resisted, and the truly powerful are those, like Dersu, who co-exist in harmony with nature and learn what the wilderness teaches.

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29 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :-
Still the best movie I have ever seen, 22 December 2004

Author: Anig-2 from London, England

Dersu Uzala is slow, serene, beautiful, but nevertheless gripping. It tells of the friendship between a nomadic Siberian native and a Russian army explorer, and how the former is able to help the latter and his team to negotiate the many obstacles presented by the Siberian wilderness. We see how traditional survival methods and intrinsic common sense can help the more urbanised army men to cope with the extremes of climate and geography. Eventually the nomad is persuaded to join the general on his trip back to a town. His ignorance of urban life is apparent, but interesting nevertheless, as we do not imagine such people nor meet them in everyday life today. Kurosawa is on top form here, letting the camera take in the vastness of Siberia, and still allowing the viewers to observe the characters closely. The story is interesting too, with a sadly ironic ending (won't say any more!). I think everybody should watch this film, because everybody will have something to learn from it.

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27 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
a tribute to the endurance of man and nature, featuring a masterpiece of a performance, 20 February 2005

Author: JackGattanella from United States

For a variety of reasons (that are well known in the darker period of the director's history at this time), Akira Kurosawa left Japan to make a film in Russia (Siberia to be exact). Instead of an epic action picture, he went to one of his other passions as a storyteller- the drama of pure humanity (like Ikiru and Red Beard, this film follows in that vein). The film runs two hours and twenty minutes, but it is a kind of epic story, that does have that pulse of adventure from his other films. But this time he combines that method of a big, spacious environment in the wild with a deep character study. His craftsmanship as a 'painter' of the frame is top-notch as always (all pretensions aside, he is one of the masters at finding the textures and moods in a scene's look as in its character and action), and the use of locations brings a quality that directors today would brush aside with via special and visual effects. Simply put, it is one of, if not the, ultimate testaments to man vs/with nature, with a character that remains one of the most memorable that Kurosawa's envisioned.

To give an idea of who Dersu Uzala is to someone who hasn't seen the film, picture Yoda without the ability to lift objects with his mind and to kick ass with a light-saber, but still contains all of the direct wisdom and strength that make him one with his surroundings (and, as well, uses his own kind of 'force' for knowledge and defense, and for attack as an ultimately final resort). As a lonesome hunter and drifter with a family tragically lost, Dersu comes upon a team of explorers led by Captain Aseniev (Yuri Solomon, not the best performance but sturdy enough to sustain the physical scenes). He goes along with them as a guide of the sights and smells and feelings that the others just can't sense (out of lack of experience). Aseniev and Dersu end up becoming friends as they brace a torrid windstorm over a bare, wintry landscape, as Kurosawa brings out one of his towering sequences (topping anything David Lean could've drummed up for sure).

It's always of interest to me to see characters doing things on screen, having to go against the elements that almost dwarf them in the face of nature (i.e. Cast Away's hour and a half second act). Dersu Uzala seems to be of few words and mostly actions, and soon gains respect and admiration after an odd introduction to the team- he shoots with a keener than keen eye, he spots tracks, he sets up protection in the harshest of conditions, and is always a step ahead of the pack. And bringing all this out is actor Maksim Munzuk, who appears here (like Falconetti in Passion of Joan of Arc) in the performance of a lifetime out of an otherwise obscure and small career. Munzuk never brings anything to Dersu that isn't in his character, and he makes at least a quarter of the film's success a reality (the other three-quarters could be attributed to Kurosawa alone). He can be tough, smart, funny (in an off-beat way), and if nothing else, humble. But more than anything, Munzuk makes Dersu seem alive in a way no other actor could've accomplished, and also brings out the better in Solomon's performance.

The story itself has a superb appeal most of the way, but it is in it's last act that 'Derzu Uzala' reaches an intensely tragic plane. Dersu does something (which I won't reveal here and has been discussed elsewhere on the message board) that brings great shame to his own self-worth. In this part of the film, Kurosawa brings out what can be said to be some of the saddest moments in any of his work, however not without logic. While it was likely a major dramatic function in the novel, Kurosawa doesn't just throw these last twenty minutes or so to let steam flow out of the picture. I sensed something almost cathartic about these scenes, that rose the qualities of the rest of the story to a higher level, to one of almost spiritual in nature. It's hard to really pin-point to one who has not seen the film (and, indeed, I have seen the film all of one time). But once its over, you may feel you have seen a work far more rewarding than imaginable- even in awe.

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27 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
Cinematic Masterpiece, 14 July 2001

Author: anton-6 from sweden

One of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.

Simple, gentle gold hunter-guide Munzuk teaches Russian explorer Solomine the rules of survival in Siberia; they develop mutual respect and friendship.

The acting by Maksim Munzuk is wonderful and this is one of Kurosawas

greatest films.

You never forget this amazing film.

5/5

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23 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Art!, 9 July 2005

Author: Gary170459 from Derby, UK

Akira Kurosawa was a masterful director and powerful storyteller, Dersu has always been my favourite of his films. It was also the first I saw - on Christmas Day afternoon 1978 on UK BBC2 - would that they were as adventurous nowadays! Since then of course I've seen all of his films from Stray Dog on, Rashomon and Ran being especial favourites, but I keep on coming back to watch this one, ostensibly the simplest tale Kurosawa ever filmed.

The understanding and bonding that develops between the two men Arseniev and Dersu is wonderful to see, and over two hours holds your attention with expertly observed minutiae of character and scenic interplay. The last ten minutes cover a lot of ground (no pun intended) but it's all so logical and sad that I always need to see the end credits to recover.

So many marvellous scenes: the tiger in the forest in the morning; the phlegmatic reclusive old Chinaman; the raft; wispy blue shaded smoke from night-fires; the conclusion of course; the view of those two great men, the Moon and the Sun in the same shot. Not everyone would like Dersu, their most likely comments being "boring" - but how wrong they are they'll never know!

A film not fit to lick Dersu Uzala's metaphorical boots (or even Plan 9 from Outer Space's for that matter), Blazing Saddles was filmed the same year in America and a generation on still gets more praise than this poetic masterpiece!

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
A hauntingly beautiful film set in the wilderness of eastern Siberia, 25 November 1998

Author: Colin R. Glassey from Bay Area, CA USA

On the face of it, Dersu Uzala would not seem like a candidate for a great film. The story is about a young Russian (Imperial Russia) officer is sent to the far east of Siberia to explore. He meets with a native of the region and they form a bond together. The territory in question is the wild, rugged eastern Siberia (north of Valdivostok). I would say that you have not lived until you have seen what Kurosawa can do filming nature in its raw splendor and magnificence. The scenes in this film like the wind rushing through the tall reeds, or the mist draping the forested hills, are images of haunting beauty.

Kurosawa, one of the greatest film directors of the 20th century, made his final masterpiece with film. The characters are well drawn, the sub-text of the story (the clash of civilization vs. nature) is nuanced, but most of all it is the wild beauty of nature which is the focus of this film. Once you see it, I don't think you will forget it, I know I never have.

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