Saw it for the first time in years. Top 10 film material.
The way Kurosawa coveys emotions through framing and movement is unmatched. There is one scene half way through the film during the invasion of one of the castles where all diegetic sound is removed, leaving only the musical score to accompany the moving images. It almost felt like watching a silent film and was one of many great artistic choices that elevated the film to a masterpiece.
I…
It takes the joker story into an interesting direction, but the pacing drags a lot in some parts. The writing is probably the weakest aspect of the film, but everyone does the best that they can with the material that they're given.
There are certain scenes, especially the one near the end between Joaquin and Deniro, that manage to reach a certain level of raw intensity that is really unsettling, and something I wished there was more of throughout the film.
One of my biggest film highlights of 2019.
Excellent directing from Masaki Kobayashi.
Some of the best writing for a film ever.
The cinematography by Yoshio Miyajima is beautiful.
One of the greatest performances put to film by Tatsuya Nakadai, and now I want to seek out more films that he's acted in.
As I sat there watching, trying to adjust to the film's unusual style, my partner comes in about half way through, watches a few minutes then turns to me and asks "what the hell are you watching?", and I asked myself the same question.
At first I was put off by the overdramatic acting and low-budget look of the film, but eventually I got used to it and found myself caring for the characters and being absorbed into their story.…
