Rewatched Seven Samurai (1954) on the BFI 4k that recently released. Never have you seen the very fake looking bald caps in such high definition, the level of detail allows you to see the elastic band straining against their foreheads
Watched it in 2 sittings which I prefer not to do but the film is super long, 3.5 hours. I usually like to watch something in one sitting but I find it a challenge with this film cause there's some elements I don't have much patience for, like the comedy. I do not like Mifune in this. I like Kurosawa's other films better I think, partly I guess cause this film is so insanely influential and originates this type of action film that it feels very familiar and cliche.
But the best parts of his films are the scene composition, and the way people move through a frame. Also the B&W photography with the rain and the mud during action scenes. The detail in which they go into the plan to defend the village, which is my favorite part. Flooding the fields after the harvest and creating openings to isolate and pick off the bandits one by one. I really like that kind of methodical stuff in a film. It's what makes it such an interesting action epic still, even if I don't love it enough to call it one of the greatest films ever made for me personally. More like I respect the fuck out of it, or something.
This whole ending scene is 10/10 tho. Look at how it's composed like a triangle, the graves pointing downwards to the surviving samurai. The youngest guy on the right a little listless and indecisive, like he doesn't belong or is unsure of his place in this society or the other with the farmers. Fucking great stuff
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edit I also watched Police Story (1985) for the first time, my last film of the year. This film is nuts. It's an action comedy, but the action is so brutal and hilarious, and Jackie Chan almost died in some scenes (for real)
I'll not say more, check out the action scenes on youtube or watch the film if you haven't.