foreign language films

"hes a great doctor. no, hes a great man." that quote from this film really wraps it up. this movie is flawless, perfect in every way. easily kurosawas best directing job, and mifunes acting performance is one of the greatest in film history. every line of diologue, every camera shot, everything was perfect. one of the 10 greatest films i have ever seen, absolutely brilliant in every way. the young doctor, the little boy towards the end, all of the acting was great and this story is stunning and beautiful. dont believe that kurosawa can only make samurai films, this one is even better than seven samurai.

after yet another viewing im reminded of why this is one of my favorite films of all time. my favorite actor playing his best role, it is fascinating to watch this ronin samurai play such a distant character who at the same time is perfectly calculated in every step he makes. this film is often imitated and never equaled, especially the exceptional scene at the end where sanjuro is standing at the edge of the street just moments away from his stand against his enemies. the music, weather, and cinematography were used perfectly and the entire film from start to finish could not have been carried out any better. this film improves with each viewing.

i just watched this movie for the second time and it was worth reviewing again. masterpiece. considered one of the 20 greatest movies of all time by most critics, and considered the greatest samurai film ever, this movie lives up to all of its hype. this film just furthers the lengends of kurosawa who did an amazing job making this film, as well as mifune and shimura for their brilliant acting performances. the whole film all i kept thinking was "wow this movie is amazing, perfect in every way." there are actually 2 other kurosawa films i like more, but that doesnt take away from this film, it just proves that kurosawa was a genius. what a fantastic film.

the great underdog story. a man who should struggle between the path of glory and being a good father, he really doesnt struggle at all. fatherhood comes first for the main character much to the suprise of the other samurai. a story about a man who seems lost to all around him but really only cares for what he loves.

absolutely incredible. this is only the second movie af all time to make me cry, and i cried twice. absolutely one of the sadest things i have ever seen. this film won best picture at the japanese academy awards in 2003 and absolutely deserves it. the story was marvelous and the acting was incredible. there were 2 major things in this movie that infuriated me, those 2 things made me so angry that i wanted nothing more than to HATE this movie. but i cant hate it. its nearly perfect. the main character does have a major contradiction within his character which seems like a possible flaw in the script, but other than this point this film is brilliant. the 2 things that made me want to hate this movie werent flaws or script issues, they were just things in the story that didnt go my way. this film does not have your typical happy ending. but like i said, despite my tears and sadness for the characters at the end, i cant find anything about this film thats not beautiful. i havent stopped thinking about it since i watched it, one of my favorites of all time.

Tashiro Mifune with a semi-sequal to yojimbo, almost as good as yojimbo, this film integrates humor into the role of the wondering ronin. even though yojimbo was slightly better, you can see a progression in kurosawa's skills as a director. this is a great movie.

easily one of the most gripping and fulfilling films i have ever seen. the film has enough twists to fill a lifetime, shifting the direction of the characters so often to keep one glued to the story but no too often so as to confuse. a perfect blend of mystery and suspense with noir like lighting and style. one of the best crime dramas ever produced.

this is a beautiful film. the close of yoji yamada's loose samurai trilogy, this film catches a seemingly cliche theme of a man looking for sight through blind eyes and makes something extrordinary and anything but cliche. the diologue is poetic and tragic and the story is passionate and heart felt. the acting, music, and direction were amazing and the cinematography was as good as it gets. yamada should never stop making period pieces, all three from the trilogy of films with similar themes were mind blowing. this will be one of my most rewatched films in years to come.

kurosawa does it again. this movie is incredible. i wasnt expecting alot from this because its one of kurosawa's lesser known films, and its one of the best movies ive ever seen. a detective story about a man whos son is kidnapped, this film takes you through every step of what a detective goes through when trying to solve a case. this film had a very intricate plot line and the details of the case were woven together perfectly. usually films this complex have holes, but this one was perfect. kurosawa got some great shots as usual and the acting was brilliant. the end was a little abrupt, but not enough to be an issue. great story, another great film from kurosawa.

strirring and perfect from start to finish. although difficult to watch, it is at the same time one of the more beautiful films ever made. non traditional for a semi-war film, the reality of the story and method of film making provide a shocking glimpse into the tragic reality of the life of people in the midst of struggle. one of the best films ive ever seen.

a film containing four short films that are ghost stories from various points of the samurai era in japan. while all four stories were compelling, my perfect rating is mostly for the third story called "hoichi the earless man". hoichi is easily the greatest ghost story i have ever seen on film, with wonderful acting, flawless cinematography, and a haunting storyline. it was a pleasant suprise to see takashi shimura appear as well. the art direction and cinematography for all four stories was essentially perfect, and these four stories assemble to make one of the greatest films i have ever seen.

fantastic film. winner of 12 japanese academy awards, this one has a great ending. i liked the film even better after a second viewing when i was able to invest more in the story. the second of yamada's samurai trilogy, all 3 are essentially perfect films.

the ultimate man vs. wild. bear grills has nothing on dersu uzala. another of the many absolute masterpieces by kurosawa, this film is possibly the best man vs. nature film ever made. tragedy makes the man that becomes so great that the world will no longer accept him. amazing on every front.

one of the most beautiful and powerful films ever made. mizushima is a heroic character yet tragic at the same time. the film could have used another 20 minutes to flush out more of the introductory relationships that the protagonist had with his fellow soldiers, but ichikawa directs well enough to give us enough of the story for it to profoundly impact the audience. this films shows the emptyness of the loss of life and holds as one of the greatest war films of all time.

a profound and beautifully told story that lives up to the hype and challenges even the most well meaning children on issues of honoring their parents. the story is stirring, especially as it picks up steam from its slow start. the actors capture their characters hearts well, and the film brings back visions of the life checking thoughts brought on by ikiru. this film begs the question, "how shall we then live?"

"are you shoveling to survive, or surviving to shovel?" one lead asks this of the other, and it is a telling question because it was the same question that circled my mind through the entire film up until the point it was asked. without question, woman in the dunes is one of the most unique pictures ever filmed, and its uniqueness brought with it brilliance. the plot is actually absurd and there are a few questions left unanswered, but teshigahara also made sure to answer the most important questions to make this outlandish story actually seem believable on every level. the acting was superb especially okada playing the lead, and the premise of this non horror film was more terrifying than just about any horror film ive ever seen. the cinematography was astounding, some of the best ive ever seen, and the film was effective in everything it attempted from start to finish. the music was also especially perfect for the film. the end of the film didnt go my way at all, but it wasnt supposed to. a genuine masterpiece of cinema.

an incredible finale to a great trilogy, the duel at the end is a classic scene built with anticipation and excitment. mifune was great as always and this film makes the trilogy feel less like a simple love story and more like an epic of human development. wonderful film.

a great middle step to one of the best trilogies ever.

considered the gone with the wind of Japanese cinema, a good blend of drama and samurai action.

astounding. this film blew me away. the only thing keeping it from perfection is the slightly choppy telling of parts of the story, but there are so many things about this film to love. the cinematography is among the best i have ever seen, period. the locations are beautiful, building an awe within me surrounding the world we live in. the acting, considering no one has heard of these actors, was near perfect. the counterfieters was a great film, but this should have beat it last year for the oscar for best foreign language film. absolutely amazing.

what a fantastic movie. this film is great, very similar in a lot of ways to kagemusha but much better. i thought about giving this film 5 stars but there is a loose end that wasnt tied up when the movie was over, and 5 star movies tie up their loose ends. but regardless, this is an epic film. tatsuya nakadai does an absolute wonderful job and each scene was shot beautifully. i cant believe that in akira kurosawa we had one man that could make so many incredible films. this is one of the best films i have ever seen and i can name 5 of his i liked better. there are plenty of characters in this film to root for and plenty of villians as well, great war film from fuedal japan.

incredible. kurosawa never ceases to amaze me. this is considered one of kurosawas least appreciated films but its so perfect. tashiro mifune offers up another brilliant performance. kurosawa is known for his period films but this one takes place around 1960 when the film was made. this is just as good as kurosawas other more well known films. just incredible. this film tackles corporate corruption and revenge and it has some cool plot twists. must watch for any movie fan.

profound. everything about this film is moving. it inspires the viewer to not waste his life. kurosawas shots are perfect as always and the side characters are just as compelling as the lead character. this is considered one of kurosawas 2 masterpieces along with seven samurai, there are 5 or 6 kurosawa films i like better but thats only because everything he does is so good. this movie is near flawless and i highly reccommend it to anyone. it will tug at your heart and make you doubt whether anything you do is worth your time.

one of the most disturbing and highly effective films that i have ever seen. ken ogata is masterful as one of the most notorious serial killers in japanese history, and the film delivers near perfection on all ends from the acting, to the cinematography, to the script itself. the fact that this is based on a true story is what secures its believability as a man who eluded a nationwide manhunt in plain sight. nothing feels gimicky or forced and we see enough of the killers life in flashbacks to understand his deranged nature but not too much as to detract from the story. imamuras directing and the editing are first rate in this absolute classic. a must see.

melville and delon come together again for a gripping tale of intrigue. one of melvilles best films, this story grabbed me from the first moment as we see the stories of two criminals side by side until a fateful moment when their paths collide in the red circle. the heist scene is paced for real time and is executed brilliantly, the side stories involving the mob are interesting and placed well into the story, and the cat and mouse between the theives and the police is mapped out perfectly. the absense of music through most of the film created a reality that set in, and the camera shot and angle choices specifically stood out. brilliant film.

absolutely enthralling and near perfect murder mystery/ghost story. my second viewing of a teshigahara film and he is already a director that has my attention, its just too bad he made so few feature films. this is one of the most unique and interesting ways ive ever seen a crime story told. the cinematography was perfect and the acting superb, especially on the part of igawa. as the writer kobo abe had a lot to do with the originality of the story, but teshigahara brings this story to film in flawless fashion.

an absolutely captivating crime story and probably one of the three best heist films ever made. the second act, a 33 minute heist sequence with no dialogue and limited score, is probably the greatest heist sequence in film history. the film also takes the bold and genius step of not having the heist be the climax as dassin is aware enough to realize that the heist is never the true end to any heist story. the final act is brilliant and even more enthralling than the heist itself. my only criticism is a subjective one in that i spent two hours investing in the story and its characters and i felt that the final scene lacked closure to an otherwise perfect story. all together this is really one of the most clever films ever made.

ozu's next to last film is strikingly similar in theme and tone to his masterpiece tokyo story, and its almost as beautiful. the film is definitely classic ozu, with its slow but effective pacing, simple storyline, astounding cinematography, and emphasis on the family and the portrayal of real life in japanese culture. this film, like tokyo story, confronts the difficult topic of death head on, and like tokyo story reveals the compassionate side of family life as well as the burdensome one. the dialogue was effective and the film stirring from the start. ozu was the master at making films without tricks and gimicks, and the realism cant be denied.

probably the most morally sensitive film of ozu's brilliant career. there might not be a single betrayal as tragic as one spouse cheating on another, and ozu explores this betrayal with depth, clarity, and insight. while difficult to watch the film is exceptionally profound, and although it carries usual ozu themes like gossip and marriage, he explores these common themes so differently in each film that they never get old. the film is strikingly similar to the sam mendes film "revolutionary road", although this film is even more epic and the theme of marital strife is even more fleshed out. i wasnt sure id like the film because of the topic but it was stirring to watch. a beautiful film.

what a brilliant film. entrenched in philosophy, the dialogue in the film and the films entire concept were incredibly profound and thought provoking. nakadai put in a great performance as always and the images produced through some great cinematography were perfect for creating just the right feel for the subject matter. a phenomenal film.

truly a beautiful film. the film is so simple that the same material in the hands of most any other director might have seemed pointless, dull, and without direction. in the hands of ozu it was profound, engaging, and more true to life than most other films ever made. this is ozu's gift, no bells and whistles, no fancy effects or rediculous melodrama, just real life on film that almost anyone can relate to. this was ozu's most criticised film upon its release because of the difficult themes of depression, suicide, and abortion, but the people are so genuine that i couldnt help but feel effected. some of the regular ozu cast members return and ryu specifically is becoming one of my favorites. a great film.

although this film is a reworking of ozu's 1949 film "early spring", it also bears some striking similarities to equinox flower in terms of theme, actors, and set designs which were identical in some cases. the film started slow and i was unsure how it would turn out, by the end it had become an epic romantic drama that drew some strong emotion. unlike ozu's usual approach which focuses specifically on family strife, this film is about families but deals more with romance. the film also fuses comedy into the drama to a far greater degree than the typical ozu film causing me to laugh out loud on more than one occasion. a beautiful film.

a rare remake of a film directed by the same auter of the original, ozu retells his silent 1934 classic with the use of sound, dialogue, and color cinematography. suprisingly the only reason this film is even slightly better than the original is ozu's ability to flesh out the story more with 30 extra minutes and talking actors, but the original silent is so amazing that both films should be seen as top notch films. this version is more light hearted than the original but still dark in its own ways, and the telling of this father/son story is beautiful and effective. a truly wonderful film.

an astounding film that if not for a few missteps towards the end could have been listed among the best war films of all time. compelling at every turn, this film grabbed me with its beautiful animation and near perfect dialogue. unfortunately the beauty and power of the story was tainted by an imprudent porn scene, as well as an all too abrupt ending that left me far too curious of a few untied loose ends. all in all however, this film is majestic, with perfect musical elements, great characters, and a tremendous flow to an amazing story.

one of the great samurai films of all time. it takes a small hit because of a very slow start, but once the film picks up steam it is marvelous. nakadai is brilliant as always, the cinematography is sensational, and the locations are beautiful providing the perfect mood of serenity for the story. this film would not have worked as well were it not shot in deep winter, but once the mood is set it captures the soul. great film.

interesting and powerful, gong li is beautiful in this film

one of the first and still one of the best psychological thrillers ever made. peter lorre was haunting in his role as a child murderer and getting into the mind of a killer was disturbing but profound. the vigilante crew was brilliant, and this film paints a stunning picture of what a city goes through when it is gripped by the fear of a monster on the loose. a must watch for all movie fans.

one of the greatest martial arts films i have ever seen. really brilliant. the fighting is excellent and the story was told very well.

very good story. the fighting is great and the lead character does a great job. the diologue is great and the story moves quickly leaving you interested through the entire film. a movie where the end leaves you satisfied.

another genius film directed by melville. the cast, camera work, and script were near perfect and the story was inventive and compelling. i was ready to give this a perfect score and declare it one of my favorite films of all time until an unfortunate final 5 minutes of the film that completely spit in the face of logic and common sense, but when an entire film is near flawless and the climax doesnt work out well the film still deserves respect. despite the empty ending this is a wonderful and excellent film.

beautiful. best of its genre

a striking portrayal of the classic work, the story is told well and the camera work and acting are excellent. the choreography and length of the battle scenes was a little less than desireable, but the rest of the film was near perfect. the use of poetry was engaging. a highly recommended and beautiful film.

the end was a little upsetting, but the rebel in me was excited for this one. overall a great flick, and even the disappointing end has a redeeming moment.

what a wonderful film. this film definitely deserved the oscar that it recieved last year for best foreign film, it was even better than pans laberynth. the plot was amazing and creative, the actors were incredible and it was a great portrayal of berlin before the wall came down. the story was also complete, something rare in cinema these days. i felt satisfied at the end that i knew the entire story. i HIGHLY recommend this film to anyone who can sit through a foreign film. wonderful.

mezmorizing, creative and fun. i loved this flick, it really makes you think.

lucas' major inspiration for star wars, this is a great film. a must watch, one of kurosawa's best

a beautifully crafted love story, and one of my favorite kurosawa films. there are three scenes that catapult this film into greatness, the baseball scene with the little kids, the scene where the two main characters dream about their future coffee shop, and the climactic closing scene that is one of my favorite scenes in film history where the two characters imagine taking part in a symphony in an empty ampitheatre. the weather plays a character, helping to change the disposition of the male lead, and the short speech the female lead gives to the empty ampitheatre (more specifically to us at home) sums up the purpose of the film beautifully. a wonderful sunday indeed, creating a wonderfully delightful film.

definitely one of the more american influenced samurai films, feeling like a blend of classic samurai drama and beverly hills cop, this film intrigue's from the first moment and never lets up. solid performances, great screen writing, and a wonderful story make this one of my favorite samurai films. the music was my only real complaint. directed by the legendary kon ichikawa and written by four of the greatest directors in history, including my favorite director akira kurosawa, this seldom sighted samurai film is a classic.

an excellent crime story. gabin plays a solid lead and scala is sexy in her limited role in a film that caught me by suprise. only loosely a heist film, it is fairly similar to much of melvilles great work. im glad i bought the film because i know i will rewatch it many times.

first of all, i have to say, that because this film only played in american theaters for one night, they charged me $15 to see this movie. so i needed it to deliver to say the least, and it did.
the animation was the strongest point, it was beautiful. the story was very borrowed from a long list of other samurai films, but it was still very engaging, and the characters were fleshed out well. it certainly isnt "the greatest animated samurai epic of all time" as many have suggested, because relatively none of it was original, but it was an absolutely excellent film and among the better samurai films that i have ever seen.

very inventive. the story was creative and deep. the only flaw in fact is that the story was too deep, so deep that parts were very confusing. alot of characters whose story intermingle in complex ways. the fighting was great and i loved the concept of samurai spies, sort of like early incarnations of ninjas.

ive always believed that striking images and effective facial expressions from actors was far more important in silent films than the story, but ozu brings us this silent classic where he uses effective performers, creates some of the most beutiful images ive ever seen in any film silent or not, and tells a near perfect story to bring the best of all worlds together so that we get one of the best silent pictures ever made. nearly as good as ozu's remake 25 years later, this story is authentic but passionate and convicting. easily one of the darkest films of ozu's career, the film is also beautiful to consider despite the folly and depravity of some of its characters. a must see.

a patient, emotional, and highly effective portrayal of the struggle of a virtuous woman in a not so virtuous world. the film features some of the great and familiar actors from this era of japanese cinema and just about every aspect of the film was performed well. the only real drawback was that the storyline with the main characters brother, a storyline i found myself very interested in, was the only storyline in the film not developed well. the main plot however was developed perfectly and the film gets its point across with beauty. overall an excellent film for any fan of good female leads or japanese cinema.

this was an excellent samurai flick. a story about two brothers battleing over the right to be shogun, the story is well told with great plot twists and a fast paced feel. conspiracies abound and you never know which side to root for from one moment to the next. by the end you realize that the only character worth rooting for was only semi-significant until the close of the war causes him to be the carrier of justice. highly recommended.

this samurai epic is one of the many examples of the greatness of samurai films and japanese film in general. inagaki does a bang up directing job and mifune puts in another of his countless stellar performances. the story is great, the camera work and locations used were top notch, and the film possesed a beauty to it that has to be seen to be understood. a legthy film that justifies its 2 hr and 45 minute length. great film.

the best samurai comedy ever made. mifune was as clever as he was in seven samurai playing a silly but effective samurai who ascends from farmer to savior. although the end was serious, the film blended drama and comedy well and made this a fun watch. excellent film.

this is definitely one of those hiest films that needs to be seen more than once. the film bears the usual complexity of a melville creation, but with sometimes the lack of clarity of the few films he made that rank slightly higher than this one. the only downside to the film is the early overuse of the macguffin tactic, but overall the final 90 minutes of the film come together impressively to create the brilliance of a film i know i will rewatch many times. the hiest sequence was among the best in film history, and with some slight choice differences early on this film could have flirted with masterpiece status.

zatoichi breaks into the world of color film in a great way. this third instalment of the zatoichi series is great, with more thoughtful diologue and an even more intriguing storyline than the first two which were already very good. zatoichi meets his mentor in a great duel and stands up for justice at the same time. excellent samurai film.

melville blends his usual style with a gripping crime story that tracks every detail as parts of the story unfold in almost real time. the only drawback might be the films accessability as it is so intelligently written and filmed that one might have to be almost too smart to track along the way, but those that follow the story will be drawn in. phenomenal film.

mishima wrote, directed, and starred in this short film that may be one of the most difficult films to watch or embrace in cinematic history. not only is the film graphic on its own account, but watching the film with the knowledge that mishima carried out his characters fate in real life 4 years after he made this film turns the film into an eerie self fulfilling prophecy. the film is absolutely beautiful when seen in the context of japanese culture and mishima created some powerful images not easily forgotten, but its harder to love the film like i wanted to when considering mishima exploited this film to carry out his own attepmt at artistic immortality in the likeness of manufactured tragedy. regardless of circumstances outside of the film itself, this is a cinematic experience that should not be missed.

this film is 3 and a half hours. it basically breaks into 2 halves, before the intermission is story and character development, after the intermission is the unfolding of the mission. based on a true story and one of the most famous instances in japanese history, this film tells the story of the 47 samurai who defied the shogunate to avenge the death of their master. character development is usually my favorite part of a movie, but in this film they over did it. there was too much development even for my taste. having said that, by the end of this film you cant say that they didnt tell you the whole story. there is zero action until the very end when the film climaxes in a huge fight scene, but it was worth the wait. the fight scene was brilliantly coreographed and the action was unmissable. getting through the over the top story telling was well worth it with the huge pay off at the end of one of the better fight scenes ive seen in a samurai film. when the film is over, the extensive story telling didnt bother me, although it was a bit much, it served me better having known so much about the characters. i felt invested. this was a great film that is worth the lengthy time it took to watch it. tashiro mifune was also good in this film but i was suprised at how small his role was. at the time this film was made mifune was already a big star and he had very little screen time, but he was good as usual. a great samurai film.

what a hilarious film. unlike any film ozu ever made. although this film does focus on his usual themes of family, multiple generations and the evil that is associated with gossip, the film is different in that it is an all out comedy, and one of the funniest films i have ever seen. the comedy brought in by the gossiping neighbors is classic, but the two main kids really steal the film. the film effectively blends potty humor with intelligent and witty dialogue, and even as an american the japanese humor was effective enough to not be lost due to cultural confusions. great comedy.

85 years later and battleship potemkin is still considered by most to be one of the greatest war films of all time. criticized often because of its manipulative appraoch, people often forget that this was eisenstein's purpose. the film was sort of an experiment to see how well a film could pull at the emotions of an audience, and for this film it works. the odessa stairway scene is still to this day one of the most shocking and tragic scenes in the history of film and its images are easily cemented on the brain. a true classic.

another brilliant film from the great kon ichikawa. fires of the plain deals with taboo subjetcs for japanese culture such as the surrender of soldiers in the time of war and cannabalism, but there is a sense of honesty and reality in the portrayal of these things. the camera work and acting were perfect, and although the story hit a wall for about 20 minutes in the middle, it picked back up and ended with excellence. beautiful anti-war film.

an interesting story about a hitman in paris. the stoic nature of the film was well crafted and the actors were great. a film limited on diologue, the movement of the main character and the intrigue into his actions drives the film. a true classic, this film doesnt grab me after two viewings like it does most, but it is still a great film that is the definition of the stylized approach of one of my favorite directors in history. while down the list a little for me this is often considered by many to be melvilles best film.

holocaust films are always so interesting and powerful to me, while also being by far the most depressing to me as well. this is a great film and very deserving of its oscar for best foreign language film, but it is incredibly sad all the same. to see that real people suffered such a fate is always disturbing. wonderful film covering an angle of WW2 that many havent heard about.

probably considered bergmans greatest masterpiece, although that sometimes depends on who you ask, seventh seal is a well directed and thought provoking film. cluttered with spiritual and philosophical concepts, this film is driven not by events or even the characters, rather it is driven by diologue and ideology. although i love great diologue, for this film its chatter is sometimes its only weakness, but this cant be denied as one of the most important films ever made.

a great example of near perfect story telling. the story pulls some conventional punches, but lays them out through some wonderful originality as well. definitely one of the most gritty and heart wrenching films of the year, the film is careful not to glorify anything, leaving it up to the viewer to make their way through a dark story to see why any of it matters. a great film.

i liked this film a lot. this is considered one of kurosawas 5 greatest films, and i wouldnt even put it in my top 8 of his, but it was still very good. i think most respect this film so much because it was the film that catapulted kurosawa to stardom, and i can see how. mifune and shimura were great as always and the story was very compelling. ultimately, its a story about liars and thieves and the reality that most people in this world are not to be trusted. the last fight scene was weak, but most of this film was great. more brilliance from akira kurosawa.

the watching of this film was bitter sweet for me. bitter because this is the last of kurosawa's films that i needed to see, ive watched all 30, and there are no more purely kurosawa films left for me to pursue (although i can go after the few that he worked on in smaller capacities). watching this film was sweet in that i can now emphatically say that kurosawa never made a film that was even average or worse. some werent great but they were all good enough to recommend and watch more than once. as for this film, kurosawa's first color piece is a beautiful one. the film details the lives of many people living in a slum together, and while it never really crosses the stories over it is more a commentary on slum life and human nature. depravity reigns heavy and many of the stories were incredibly touching despite the lack of hope the characters face. the cinematography and art direction were especially impressive, and i was overcome with the reality of how unfortunate it is that this film was so unsuccessful that it drove kurosawa to a suicide attempt, which was ironic considering a character in the film attempts suicide and is tricked by the crafty old man into seeing that life is valuable. a beautiful and worthwhile film.

often considered cinema's first great masterpiece, its a shame that some of the scenes from this fritz lang classic are lost to us forever. i feel that the film only preserves so well despite its missing pieces because it is a silent film and can be filled in with text screens, because i was still engaged in the story from start to finish. the only real critique of the film is that some of the actions of the characters didnt fit the story that well, but overall this film is highly effective in its scale as it tells a great science fiction story for its era. an impressive film that any true film fan should see.

really fascinating, based on the realities of life for many in austrailia not so long ago, independant but well done

ozu's first color film not only brought an insurgence of popping colors and lights into his art direction, but it brought a new wave of thinking as well. ozu's work up until this point had been more focused on traditional japanese family values and the younger generations responsibility to their elders. in this film we see a shift in ozu's thinking where he engages in the more emerging and progressive cultural leanings of allowing more freedom and respect to younger people. although many people grow harder as they get older including some of the characters in this film, ozu himself softens and portrays the family in ways he hadnt done until now. in the same way ozu had resisted color in film until this movie, and then he used color vibrantly to the fullest of its potential. the film itself started far too slow, but it picked up and ended well and deserves an added measure of respect because of what it meant for ozu's career. a great film.

to begin with, this film is certainly not without its flaws. the first 25 minutes of the film are told in a non linear fashion that is more confusing and jumbled than it is creative. the film also throws in a love story for the lead character and a young girl that is completely without purpose and feels forced. and finally, the end of the film is so abrupt that it literally leaves you hanging with many unanswered questions. normally this would be too much flaw in a film to overcome. having said all of that, since this film was based on a true and epic event in japanese history and because im well versed on the historical events that took place, i was not only able to follow the film through the rough start and incomplete finish but i was so enthralled with every part of the film other than the three flaws that i just mentioned that i completely enjoyed this movie. ichikawa's choice of set design, natural settings, camera work, and direction of his actors were all as flawless as i would expect from an ichikawa film, and the parts of the story told well were told especially well. if you dont know the real story behind the film it might be hard to follow, but if you do you might love this film as much as i did.

predictable bergman in style and temprement, while this film was slow it was probably the most interested ive been in a bergman film. not quite as epic as seventh seal but maybe more profound, this classic is simple but engaging. a classic and worth while film.

this is a great war film and one of the best french films i have ever seen. i would have rated it an entire star higher were it not for the gratuitous smut given me on three different occasions in the film, but aside from this dissapointing element the film was brilliant. the story was flawless and well executed, the cinematography was solid, and the actors were great. a solid tale of the french resistence to nazi rule, i was gripped the entire way through. you see the characters evolve and develop so well that i cared about each of them. wonderful movie.

great flick. tatsuya nakadai is becoming one of my favorite actors, and he is good in this one. the story is a little confusing at parts but becomes more clear at the end. mostly about betrayal but the action is good and it gives an even perspective to the ups and downs of being a samurai.

this is a simple yet very engaging samurai classic. katsu plays this role well and the story was well told with a great climax ending. i cant wait to make my way through the entire zatoichi series.

we pick up a year after the last zatoichi ends, and i have to say that i was excited to see zatoichi again. if i feel this way after 2 films, im sure by film #10 he will feel like an old friend. just as good as the first, this film continues some of the first films story lines in interesting and entertaining ways. a really solid samurai classic.

this was a great samurai film. the shinsengumi are a well documented group of loyalists to the shogun in japans history and this is a great film about them. mifune was brilliant as he always was. you get to a point in this film where one moment you are rooting for mifune and his followers, and the next minute you are rooting against them. you sort of go back and forth throughout the film. in the end, i was saddened by the outcome but i was ok with it. really a great film.

an innovative and captivating drama of heart break told as two short films that are loosely connected by coincidental circumstances. wong's characters are engaging and most of the dialogue was well done. unfortunately, the short story of the two featured that i most enjoyed was not fleshed out well enough and was the shorter of the two. the second story, which was also good but not as much so, was given most of the screen time and was fleshed out well. had the first story been given twenty or so more minutes this film could have reached masterpiece status for me, but even as it is i loved watching it and i highly recommend it.

one of mifune's portrayals of the character yojimbo. certainly not as good as the versions directed by kurosawa, but mifune obviously knows this character. this is a solid film with a great and unexpected twist.

really good flick. one of kurosawas earlier films and it is considered to be his coming of age film. it really does show the growing brilliance of kurosawa. mifune and shimura are both great in this movie about a cop hunting down a thief who stole his gun. you see the progress that the cops make in finding the criminal one step at a time until the climatic ending, which was the best part of the movie. it was very slow at times and was light on dialogue, but kurosawa made this slow story interesting. as with most kurosawa films the weather was as much a character in the film as the people were. another great one by kurosawa.

really intersting film. a movie by kurosawa about poverty and the people who live in it. there are some very profound things in this film and i think it really helps one to understand an impoverished mind set. to see people living like this is troubling, and kurosawa did a great job with the diologue as usual. very similar to reniors version of the same story made 21 years earlier.

despite the limitations that this film faced with its limited story, few characters, and single environment, the film is incredibly effective with what is put on screen. the cinematography was especially perfect in every way, creating a necessary eerieness that sets the perfect mood for a mild horror film that takes place in the most perfect of settings with the daunting tall grass near an unsettling river. the fear factor was at a perfect level and overall the film is perfect for fans of the old style horror that cares more about story than gore and shock value. one of my favorite horror films of all time.

the film begins well, then heads towards one of the most heart wrenching and beautiful second acts ive ever seen on film, and the third act even continues in this leading me to want to give the film at least 4 1/2 stars until an incredibly anti-climatic and disappointing closeout of an otherwise brilliant film. although the film drops an entire star for the horrible ending, i still loved this movie. as a father it was hard to watch but reminded me of how much i love my kids. a gritty crime story with solid performances from belmondo and ventura, highly recommended for anyone into the crime genre.

this is a very profound film. mifune nails his portrayal of an old man losing his grip, and you see that he doesnt genuinely go crazy because of the reasons his family thinks he's crazy, he goes crazy because of his family themselves. shimura's character was great and even underused, and he is the character with the real moral dilema that the audience can relate to. very good and different film.

great flick. mifune and shimura are great as usual and the story was very interesting. this is one of those films that has you asking, "what would i do if that was me?" kurosawa wrote a great script as usual and the direction was great. ive read where people have compared this to red beard and they shouldnt, they are two very different films. the only similarities are that they are about a doctor who helps people in need, the rest is entirely different. this film is no red beard but not many films ever made can compare to that one, but this is a great flick.

incredible, the end was lacking but the director found some beautiful shots

often considered one of the better films ever made, this is probably herzogs greatest work. in many ways its acclaim is deserved, the locations were awe inspiring, the music and cinematography were haunting, deliberate, and effective, and kinski played aguirre perfectly. however, this film loses points with me because it just wasnt entertaining. disturbing films can be masterpieces if they are consequential, but this one wasnt in many ways. it just didnt connect. definitely made like a masterpiece, just not played like one.

this is one of my 2 or 3 favorite jackie chan flicks. it really turned me on to martial arts films and the action sequences were truly amazing. i liked chan better before he got too big in america.

pretty good film. visually beautiful and well acted. the film was void of diologue and charactr building and it was overly simple in some ways but what the actors didnt say with their words they said with their eyes and facial expressions. jai was realy the only likeable character, but the story was compelling enough to make this movie very good.

This was a really good movie. its a samurai classic and tatsuya nakadai was amazing as always. he is definitely one of the finest japanese actors ever. i didnt like a few aspects of the way that the story was revealed, and too much of the pay off was given too early in the film, but it was very good. the story was great and the message of corruption and hypocrasy in fuedal japan was strong, a great samurai film.

a great depiction of french resistance, melville blends substance with his usual stylistic approach. the film falters at many points with a lack of clarity and direction to the shifty plot, and the film is almost entirely without emotion, but it has striking images and flawless direction in its portrayal of horrific events. overall very good film.

a simple but profound story that is part father/son story and part profile of the soul of a desperate man. there have certainly been more telling and detailed film searches of the human soul in the last 60 years, but this is still considered one of the great films of all time because it was so transparent for its time. without some knowledge of foreign film the brilliance of this would be lost on most american movie fans, but this is a must watch for all serious movie fans.

even though this is one of kurosawa's more criticized films, i really liked it quite a bit. the acting and incoherence of the plot are the things most often criticized, and while i agree the love story lost its focus a few times, i actually found the acting to be very engaging. as with most kurosawa films, the script was the strongest point, with diologue that was complete and poetic at times. i do feel that they could have cut another 20 minutes off the film, but this final product is an already much trimmed down version, from the original 4 1/2 hour film kurosawa intended to this 2hr and 46 minute final product. overall, another beautiful film by the master of directors.

akira kurosawa's version of shakespears macbeth. this was a solid film in most ways. part ghost story, part betrayal story, mifune plays a rare role as a villian and does a magnificent job as always. there were some chilling shots in the film and the story was told well. this was definitely a less involved movie than most of kurosawas work, but still compelling. a story about a woman with a poisonous tongue confusing her loyal husband into betrayal and treason against his lord in fuedal japan. the wife plays a character riddled with evil.i have to say that i did expect more from this film because there was less struggle than i expected, but still a solid film.

"are we eating to sell our bodies or are we selling our bodies to eat? - and either way, what are we living for?" this quote from one of the lead characters sums up the film well. an engaging and tragic story of postwar life in japan centers around a cast full of very unlikeable characters. suzuki's use of color in the film is the standout, but the pacing and the gritty nature of the film also shine in this effective if not slightly over the top tale. a very good film that sets the stage for a progression in the stylisitc appraoch of suzuki.

ozu's final film is a great and fitting end to one of the great careers in film history. as with so many of his films he hits on family and many of his regular collaborators are featured in this film. because the film begins so similar to so many of ozu's films and because he reuses sets that he used in other films like "good morning" and "equinox flower" i expected to find this film to be maybe too similar to many of ozu's other works. this would have been fine because as ive said before even when ozu copies himself he's the only director i know that makes it beautiful each time, but i was actually pleasantly suprised that the film takes turns ive never really seen ozu take. a great film to close out an epic career.

while being an incredibly flawed film in many ways, jigoku is also utterly profound in its message and entirely effective in its execution. a film about a "good" man who through a series of poor choices finds himself in hell, this film builds well in its first two acts until a final act that enthralls completely. while ones world view may get in the way of their ability to be effected by the portraits of hell in the film, one cant escape the empty feeling that the film provides of a godless existence. a great and creative horror film the likes of which is rarely seen in this genre anymore.

i watched this film after i saw kurosawas japanese version, and this one was just as good. this is a french film about people who live in poverty. the characters are interesting and the story was told well. you really admire some of these people, and others come across as almost happy and peaceful despite thier circumstances. really good film.

samurai comedy. i actually was ready to hate this film, but there was a charm to it that made me love it by the end. the music was terrible and the action left me wanting, but the attempt to do samurai comedy was a noble one and didnt fall flat, so the charisma of the characters works despite its silliness. great flick.

this is the chinese film that scorcese adapted into the departed. i wanted to see this to see what scorcese used from it and to see how similar they were and i was suprised by what i saw. they are the same movie. almost exact, scene by scene, line by line. this movie is about 40 minutes shorter than the departed and that 40 minutes is the only real difference between these films. i did enjoy the departed more because of the superior acting and execution, but i almost think less of the departed when realizing how much it took directly from this film. ultimately, both are great and i recommend this to anyone who liked the departed.

often considered by critics to be one of the 5 or so greatest films in italian cinema history, l'avventura definitely has its strengths, the greatest of which are its striking images. the locations and cinematography are some of the best ever put on film despite the picture quality being less than par for a film in this era. the actors also played their roles well. really all around the film delivers on an overall concept that is incredibly unique. my only reserve is that the film just didnt resonate with me like it does with most people who see it as a masterpiece. it was a tad overlong and the end was empty and anticlimatic for such an interesting film. overall a very good film that needs to be watched for the historical significance if for no other reason.

this was an interesting film. basically a story about a troubled young kid who cant get out of his own way, although the problem is not himself as much as his incapable parents. he suffers with parents that fight, a mom that cheats and thinks that her own son is annoying, and parents incapable of communicating with their son on a loving level. this is just the sad reality for many kids gone astray, its often the result of flawed parenting. despite a compelling point and wonderful directing, this film had one essential problem, it was to slow. limited diologue and weak character build up and development made this film difficult to focus on. in the end however, it was powerful in a gentle and subtle way. i wish all bad parents were forced to watch this film and at the same time be given a divine revelation that they are the case this film was made for. it was good overall and bears a watch for anyone interested in landmark foreign films.

kurosawa's first film is also his most incoherent, but the overall story and display of kurosawa's early versatility make this a very good film. the variations in the style of the five fight scenes especially show early greatness for kurosawa, and shimura's presence adds intrigue. great beginnings for the greatest director.

a charming and beautiful film, this movie is a lot like another shimizu film "ornamental hairpin" but it has an added element of wonderfully timed humor. if romero had made this film he might have called it "night of the living blind", as blind massuers comically invade a small mountain town. i loved the story, and despite its short 66 minute running time the film felt complete. great film.

the first of shimizu's films that i have seen was a pleasant surprise. an early film for chishu ryu, the film was simple but charming and had some thoughtful things to say about living a life worth meaning and the value of friendship. this film gives me great excitement to pursue more of shimizu's films.

more a visual poem than a documentary. it can be argued that teshigahara made a mistake by not using a narrator or providing much information about gaudi's life or career, which is a criticism i agree with, but we have what teshigahara wanted to put on film and it is still quite beautiful to watch. if youre a fan of teshigahara's films or gaudi's architecture than you should see this film, if not then you might not find it very interesting.

a great morality tale, mifune and shimura put in their usual top notch performances in this kurosawa film about a tough gang leader that is softened by the combination of a deadly disease and a no nonsense doctor. the film was a little redundant in the beginning and it started a little less engaging than most kurosawa pictures, but the themes of human struggle and optimism were strong and the overall feel of the film was wonderful. another good kurosawa effort.

although not as good as other zatoichi movies, this is a solid zatoichi tale. the story is a bit incoherent in the begining, but the story picks up well and the fight scene at the end is classic. zatoichi goes all cyrano debergerac on a group of samurai, and we see his first true moments of vulnerability. good flick.

this film was pretty good. the story was depressing and one thing that the main character does at the end doesnt make a lot of sense, but the film was well acted and the story well told. all i kept thinking through the whole film was "wow, what a terrible way to spend a life"

scattered and unclear, but a great representation of japanese regime culture. battle scene at end is terrible, but the characters are represented well.

this score is almost entirely for the absurd but excellent gun fight at the end of the film. the film was shot very well, highly stylized, and the characters were excellent, but the method of storytelling knocks this film down for being entirely incoherent. a good film that could have been a masterpiece had it made a bit more sense.

this story is very slow and even pointless until over half way through when they finally reveal the point of the film. this is a ghost story with some decent twists, there is a sad element to this and the acting was decent, but the story just took too long to develop.

I had a tough time giving this film 3 stars. i rate it this high because the film seemed to be going in a good direction through the first 1hr and 30 min, the characters were cool, and most of the sword play coreography was very good, but the last 30 min was beyond terrible. i cant believe a film with such a great start could end so poorly. when the film is over there is no closure on any single character in the film. Nakadai's character appears to be on his way to death but that is uncertain, and the way one would expect him to meet his doom based on the story is not the way he appears to die. I was most dissapointed with not knowing exactly what happens to tashiro mifune's character. the acting in this film was top notch but im not sure if i have ever finished a film less sastisfied that with this one.

very similar in theme to some of mizoguchi's other films from this period, osaka elegy executed its themes well in a way that brings forth difficult family drama and tough ethical questions. there is no clear villian because everyone in the film is pretty screwed up save one lesser character, so picking sides as a viewer isnt easy. it was cool to see such an early appearance from takashi shimura in this solid film.

the great belmondo stars in this film often seen as godards masterpiece. while the film had a likeable quality and an engaging concept, it was oversimplified and a bit too expirimental for my tastes. significant and worth while, a must see film that is easily forgetable.

a solid film with great acting and diologue, even if the plot was a little silly. there is a sense where the plot is very good as it points out the abuses and hypocracy of the media, but at the same time the film didnt really carry any significance in the bigger picture of humanity which is rare for a kurosawa film. still, this story had some profound elements, especially the internal moral struggle of shimura's character and the impact that his dying daughter had on him. written and shot well and entertaining to watch.

this film had the makings of what could have been a great film, but it made a few vital errors. the main character had some major contradiction in his character, the telling of the story was unreasonably choppy, and the end of the film fell very flat. even with these major issues the film was very entertaining and had a strong likeable quality. the film missed out on a chance at an epic fight scene at the mid point that i wish suzuki would have followed through on, but all in all this is a good flick for casual viewing.

pretty fulfilling movie. this is actually a series of 8 short films that average around 15 minutes each. they are short films about the actual dreams of kurosawa. george lucas and martin scorcese helped make this film and a variety of actors starred in the various short films. ultimately 4 of these films were fantastic, 2 were just ok, and 2 werent very good, but overall it is worth a watch for any die hard kurosawa fan so that we can get inside of his head a little. blizzard and watermill village were the most profound of these. if you arent into kurosawa, you might not like this film much at all.

pretty decent film. a late film for kurosawa made toward the end of his life, its one of my least favorite of his but still a great watch. this is a film about 4 kids spending the summer with their grandma in nagasaki reliving the events of the atomic bomb in 1945. richard gere appears in this film and was a little miscast. gere being in this film is maybe the only decision kurosawa has ever made that i would question, but this was still a solid film. a problem that i had as an american was that the japanese characters were a little condemning about the US dropping the a-bomb, which they have a right to be, but they never mention the fact that we dropped the bomb because they attacked us first. they make it sound like we dropped the a-bomb because we had nothing better to do that day. but it was still great to see the japanese perspective on a horific event in human history.

widely considered one of the greatest films of all time, this one falls a bit flat for me. i understand the commentary renoir was attempting, but the cinematography and acting were bland and the editing was distracting. it deserves a decent score for the fact that high society types might find the satire engaging and because the film is so well respected, and it certainly wasnt a bad film by any means, but this is one of the "greats" that fails to move me. the decade has certainly produced better films.

this was a decent film. better than another bergman film that is often compared with this one called winter light, this story was a little more compelling. the acting was great and bergman got some wonderful shots. this movie was very slow however, and you really sort of miss the point until the last 30 minutes or so. a very simple film taking place on a single set, this film was made to convey a very simple point about hope and faith. i really didnt enjoy this film until the final scene, but that final scene is one of the best scenes i have ever seen in a movie. its a profound scene that explains and justifies the movie and gives this film a reason for exsisting.

as a war film it is extremely effective and entertaining. as a love story it falls short. as a blend of the two it is a good film that could have been better but is still worth seeing. sezuki's stylistic appraoch didnt work as well here as it has in other films, and the acting could have been better, but the film does well at grabbing the attention and telling an interesting japanese war story.

one of kurosawa's earliest films, this one has his characteristic great diologue and thoughtful presentation. this is one of my least favorite kurosawa films, it starts well and sort of loses something along the way and the film drags you through things unnecessary to the story. but it was still very good in most respects. when one of kurosawa's worst films could be this good, its just more evidence that he was a master filmmaker.

one of the earliest films from the greatest director that ever lived. at only 1 hours length there wasnt much time to hash out a story, but it was an interesting one. the plot was very interesting and the actors were amazing, pulling great facial expressions to portray their thoughts and feelings. its hard to rate this film too high because it was such a simple expression of what was being portrayed, but it was a solid film.

im certainly not pretending to know what kurosawa was doing with this film, but it feels expiremental. a very simple story about the plight of female factory workers in japan during WW2, the story seemed to be a side issue. the film excels in its cinematography, especially angles, and it really hinged on the movements and facial expressions or lack there of from the actors. it just felt like, as one of kurosawas earliest films, that he was playing around with things to see how they would come out. although it was just 85 minutes the film suffered from being too slow, but the idea was very good and the sense of emotion pulled in to the circumstance was effective. decent beginnings for a film master.

this is probably kurosawa's most average film. granted, kurosawa's average is better than anyone else's, and this is still a very good story with great camera shots, but it sort of stalls a bit at the end. solid viewing and a decent addition to the story of saam chee.

far from being one of melvilles better films, the film suffers from intolerable characters and a dull and pointless story through 3/4 of the film. thankfully melville did a lot with a little, redeeming the otherwise dull story with an interesting and tragic final act. the technical points also save the film with great direction, interesting camera angles, and great lighting choices, especially in the gallery scenes. overall somewhat disappointing but still very worthwhile, especially for melville fans.

i wanted to love this film, and i definitely liked it quite a bit, but ultimately it fell a bit flat. often good movies are made good through the details, and the details are where this film stummbled. the film was well shot and the story was great but it was ill-explained. i love thinking in movies but i had to think about things in this film that i shouldnt have had to think about because the pieces werent put together well enough. good flick however.

great action and jackie chan acted the drunken thing very well, but the story took too long to develop and it seemed thrown in to provide a weak plot so that they could justify letting jackie chan kick people.

every cinephile has at least one "great" director that they dont resonate with at all, and i think mine is fellini. like 8 1/2 i found this film to be beautifully shot and technically impressive, but also like 8 1/2 i found the actual story telling to be choppy and non-sensical. rather than a coherent plot the film is 3 hours of random and unconnected moments in marcello's life that are supposed to lead one to an understanding of his plight for love and the meaning of life, but instead i just felt that his life sort of sputtered along until an anticlimatic ending that brought no closure at all. a beautiful film to look at and ekberg brought some needed charisma to the film, but the story was very unsatisfying for me.

this is considered by most respected critics to be one of the 100 greatest films of all time. i dont get it. its a movie about making movies, which is a great concept, and the acting was superb, but this film was EXTREMELY long and slow and ultimately the characters never developed enough for me to care about any of them. the end was pleasant because the people that i wanted to end up together did, but its hard to feel good about the main character because he was kind of a rat. i can see why many might enjoy this film, but top 100 it was not.

this movie is hard to describe. its like xena and hercules meets elektra meets shogun assassin meets pirates of the caribean with the soundtrack from top gun. in the spirit of samurai films this is a terrible movie, but if you ignore the samurai element and just look at this as an action flick its entertaining. the end got a little silly but it intrigued me enough to want to watch the sequel. some of the fighting was over the top but other fighting scenes were very good. there were a ton of wholes in this film but its watcheable on many levels.

interesting diologue but slow and unconvincing. done by bergman in an era of his life where diologue was everything, this film was saturated with talk but lacked many other things that carry a film. this didnt even effectively raise the questions it appeared that it was trying to raise. the shots in this film were good and the acting was the best part.

in many ways an interesting tale of two sisters who are geisha, one is kind and intentional towards her feelings and the other cruel, selfish, and out to get hers. the film doesnt overly flesh out its conflict but the cinematography was solid for a 70 year old film. not great by any means but a solid watch if youre a fan of mizoguchi.

a fairly incoherent story and confusing shot sequences along with sub-par acting almost tanked this film for me, but it was balanced by an emphasis on style and plot intrigue. this re-imaging of the yojimbo plotline was a far cry from the original, and despite being taken from yojimbo it actually reminded me more of scorsese's "mean streets" as a heralded film that fell empty for me. an average film, but if youre a fan of suzuki there is no reason to avoid it.

some films from the early 30's like "M", "it happened one night", and "scarface" just hold up well over time and continue their tradition as masterpices. others dont hold up so well but people like me who are apart of the more knowledgeable critical tradition feel pressure to continue to rate them high because they were masterpieces for so long. this is one of those films i refuse to bow to the pressure with. its not a bad film by any means, having a solid portrayal of jealousy and marital strife that ends with a classic representation of the power of love. but at the same time this film just doesnt hold up so well. its a must watch because of its significance, but a bit slow and far too simple.

very stylisitc and the concept was excellent, but unfortunately this film didnt deliver on anything else. the concept wasnt fleshed out and nothing in the film was developed well, the pacing was far too slow, and the dialogue could have been written by a 10 year old. a visually captivating film that fell far short of its potential.

great color and some of the shots were beautiful, but the story was dull and the end should have been better

i heard amazing things about this movie from a number of sources only to be extremely dissapointed. the cgi work was incredible but the story lacked any depth and spent too much time on the virus and not enough on the monster hunt. it was entertaining which keeps its score from going lower, but the movie was unsatisfying and the end was terrible.

i was really disappointed with this film. the story was very intriguing, but it wasnt developed well at all. despite the film being over 2 1/2 hours, there wasnt any real development aside from the bare essentials that at least kept the audience in the loop. i also expected a little smut because of the title, but the soft core porn that popped up on screen was useless and lowers the already average feel of this film.

although considered by many to be a masterpiece, this is my least favorite of bergmans films. it is well directed and well crafted for sure, but the goodness ends there. at three hours it is overlong, needing as much as an hour of this slow paced film to be left on the cutting room floor. the characters are dry, although bergman did a decent job about making me feel slightly emotionally attached to a few of them. fanny doesnt say more than 10 words the entire film and alexander has no real charisma. the bishop does a good job of making the audience hate him, but there were endless amounts of storyline outside of his that were pointless. the film also introduces a character in carl who seems important and he dissapears an hour into the film, which is poor story telling. overall, the story just didnt matter much. it also felt normal through most of the film, but delved into the supernatural at inopportune and confusing times. overall, not worth much.

easily the worst samurai film of the "serious" samurai films. this is still better than the samurai films that blend chinese martial arts, or the "D" attempts at samurai or the samurai films where the samurai's use guns or fight vampires, but as a serious attempt at jedi-geki samurai film making this is incredibly disappointing. it is unfortunate because this is shintaro katsu's last film, but the story was jumbled, the acting was weak, the cast was poorly chosen, and the end fell flat.

this is a silly film. billed as a coming of age story, it plays more like a story about a married woman making two teenage boys fantasy come true. a little trashy and without purpose, this is an overhyped and pointless film.