Featured Audience Ratings

• danny d

  
  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… More
  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.

• Byron B

  
  Simple but powerful. Captain Arseniev is looking for a grave on a construction site in 1910. Flashback to 1902 when he and a group of soldiers are on a mission to map out the wilderness between Russia and China. The soldiers are a rowdy bunch. A hunter comes upon the soldiers… More
  Simple but powerful. Captain Arseniev is looking for a grave on a construction site in 1910. Flashback to 1902 when he and a group of soldiers are on a mission to map out the wilderness between Russia and China. The soldiers are a rowdy bunch. A hunter comes upon the soldiers speaking kind of broken Russian. The Captain welcomes him and offers him food. Thus begins the friendship of the Capitan and Dersu Uzala. Dersu is Gonli, or Mongolian. He has lost his family and lives in the woods moving from temporary shelter to shelter. The soldiers come to respect Dersu's tracking skills, his concern for all the "men" who live in the forest, and his skill with a rifle. The Capitan especially gains great admiration for Dersu's survival skills and spirituality. The wind, water, fire, sun, moon, plants, and animals are all "men" deserving of the same respect and concern as human men of whatever race. Through the seasons, two expeditions with different sets of men, and obstacles like getting lost on a frozen tundra, being washed down rapids, and facing a tiger the bond between the Capitan and Dersu is strengthened. Dersu has a beautiful understanding of the environment and also a joyful sense of humor. There are lots of wise quotes. The plot is slowly paced, but keeps a good steady rhythm. The images of nature through all the seasons are often breathtaking. Dersu is much older than the Capitan. He has so much knowledge, but when his eyesight begins to go what is a hunter supposed to do? The third act has Captain Arseniev with his wife and son welcoming Dersu to his house in the city. For a man who has lived his whole life in the hills the city is too constricting despite the still close bond between the two men. Kurosawa realistically immerses the audience in the story's time and place, but more importantly develops this magnificent friendship.

• Matthew Y

  
  For whatever reason Kurosawa's works were always far more appreciated in western society than in his native Japan. After his split with Mifune the nation seemed to embrace the actor and vilify the director. Kurosawa was unable to get financing to make any new films and it was… More
  For whatever reason Kurosawa's works were always far more appreciated in western society than in his native Japan. After his split with Mifune the nation seemed to embrace the actor and vilify the director. Kurosawa was unable to get financing to make any new films and it was up to other countries to keep the master directer working with films like Tora, Tora, Tora and Dersu Uzala. A few months after his notorious suicide attempt Kurosawa signed on to direct the first ever film collaboration between Russia and Japan. Dersu Uzala is the story of an elderly woodsman who guides some Russian explorers through the wilderness and on more than one occasion saves their lives. He builds a strong friendship with Capt. Vladimir Arseniev and so taken by the old man is he that Vladimir decides after the expedition to bring Uzala to his home and care for him. Unfortunately civilization is so strange and unwelcome to Uzala and he struggles to fit in or find happiness. His health begins to fail and Vladimir wonders if he was right to remove the man from his natural environment. It is here when the film is at it's most emotional and memorable.

• Anthony V

  
  Great story, well told.