Sanshiro Sugata Part Two
1945 ‘Zoku Sugata Sanshirô’ Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Synopsis
In this government-suggested sequel, Sugata again grows as a judo master, and demonstrates his (and by extension, all Japanese) superiority to the foreign warrior.
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After reading Donald Richie's book on Kurosawa, in which he blasts the film, and reading comments from Kurosawa himself that he just wasn't into the project from the start, I was ready to watch the first film from the legendary director that I didn't like.
Maybe it was my lowered expectations, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It doesn't match the quality of the first, the young filmmaker's stunning directorial debut, but I thought the sequel was actually pretty good. I really enjoyed the aspect of American influence in Japan, just one of many factors leading to the potential demise of pure martial arts in the East. My favorite scene involves the judo master practicing alone with only a lantern lighting the room. The lighting in this scene was exquisite.
The search to find a bad Kurosawa film continues.
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Kurosawa's sequel to his debut film is in some ways a step forward, in other ways a step back. Overall, the film is probably more consistent in its storytelling and more accessible, but overall Part One had more memorable moments which make it a superior product. Part Two isn't a bad film, and I like it more than Kurosawa's The Most Beautiful, but it hasn't reached the level of good either.
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What is true honor?
Are rules meant to be broken?
Find out in the snow. -
"Had enough?".
Was this a necessary sequel? Probably not, but it seems that at the time Akira Kurosawa didn't really have a choice as he was pushed into it by the P.C.L. because they wanted another instalment. The end result isn't great but It's not terrible either.
What the film lacked was any real development in the title character of Sanshiro Sugata. This was probably the most disappointing thing for me as everything he appeared to do was basically a rehash. What Kurosawa did instead was expand on the character of Gennosuke Higaki - the villain in the first film - and this was intriguing as he was very one dimensional in the first film. Without spoiling too much, Higaki…
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After reading Donald Richie's book on Kurosawa, in which he blasts the film, and reading comments from Kurosawa himself that he just wasn't into the project from the start, I was ready to watch the first film from the legendary director that I didn't like.
Maybe it was my lowered expectations, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It doesn't match the quality of the first, the young filmmaker's stunning directorial debut, but I thought the sequel was actually pretty good. I really enjoyed the aspect of American influence in Japan, just one of many factors leading to the potential demise of pure martial arts in the East. My favorite scene involves the judo master practicing alone with only a lantern lighting the room. The lighting in this scene was exquisite.
The search to find a bad Kurosawa film continues.
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Just ok film. Not one of Kurosawa's best
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A decent enough sequel. However the fact that Kurosawa really wouldn't want to make it rubs off. It lacks quite a bit of the spirit the first movie showed. Otherwise, it continues in the same footsteps.