Popular reviews

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  Review by Darren Carver-Balsiger ★★★

  Coming after two crimes films and one about syphilis, and just before the philosophical Rashomon, Scandal is a decidedly lighter entry in Akira Kurosawa's filmography. It's easygoing and comedic, even as it tackles themes of intrusive journalism and mild sexism. Scandal is a rather frivolous piece, being cheesy as hell, and having very little insight into celebrity related issues. It just feels like a filler movie. There's stuff I admire about Scandal, especially the subplot of the girl dying of TB which is really moving. Every now and again there'll be a particularly smooth shot that highlights Kurosawa's skill and that also helps. But otherwise there's little of note here and it's probably Kurosawa's worst post-war film.

  Side-note: The Christmas scene was quite enlightening, watching the East and West mix together through Western songs sung in Japanese. Not a great scene, but interesting.

  Akira Kurosawa Ranked

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  Review by Lencho of the Apes ★★★½

  Three movies in one -- the key moments that set the plot in motion are shaped like the meet-cute of a rom-com, but it quickly turns into a prickly, Sweet Smell Of Success satire about postwar modernizing/westernizing influences, like 'celebrity culture,' and their effect on traditional Japanese values, then morphs into a Capraesque feel-gooder about the spiritual redemption of a shady lawyer after being exposed to some angelic-goodness life lessons. At Christmastime, no less.

  Many of the best things here point directly to Ikiru (including the always-welcome presence of ol' Fish-Face, Takashi Shimura), which is far more wonderfuller than this... but this is quite wonderful enough. It's the long, blatantly Ikiru-esque Christmas sequence, though, that really makes it.

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  Review by BrandonHabes ★★★½ 3

  A story about fake news, differing perspectives, interrogation, slander, false witnesses, obfuscating reality while smearing one's reputation, and a culture's inability to parse truth from fiction feels like an all-too perfect dry run for anticipating the RASHOMON effect. Arriving on the heels of that film, SCANDAL is a protest story against yellow journalism in the same way DRUNKEN ANGEL is a protest story against the yakuza. SCANDAL protests "verbal gangsterism," said Kurosawa, an ideology he saw embodied in the media's expanded, postwar freedoms after being liberalized from the shackles of American Occupied censorship. Ritchie states: "The Occupation was coming to an end and for the first time in the history of Japan people were beginning to be allowed to say,…

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  Review by D Rock ★★★★

  Another tour de force performance by a Japanese acting legend, in one of his many collaborations with director Akira Kurosawa. Oh and Toshiro Mifune is pretty good in this too.

  Kurosawa uses clever sleight of hand in Scandal, leading us early on to the threshold of a combination love story/courtroom drama revolving around questions of press freedom, libel and protection of privacy. But actually the story Kurosawa is telling is about the fraught path to salvation and redemption by one very flawed man. And Takashi Shimura's performance is very nearly as gut-wrenching as that of the dying bookkeeper in Ikiru, made two years later.

  Mifune is excellent as well of course, as a man of supreme independence and self-belief who…

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  Review by Fabian ★★★½ 2

  Sandwiched between two of Akira Kurosawa's many masterpieces, namely Stray Dog (1949) and Rashomon (1952), Scandal looks and feels like one of the director's minor works, but it is definitely not deserving of being dismissed too quickly. In its essence, Scandal is a courtroom drama, as well as a critique of media companies and their practices, of spinning scandals and click-bait stories out of rumors and distorted misconceptions, basically tackling fake news in the process.

  In the beginning of the film, a celebrity magazine fabricates a scandalous story about an alleged love affair between a famous singer and a painter, leading to a lengthy process as the affected protagonists attempt to invalidate the powerful impact of a vilifying newspaper story.…

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  Review by WraithApe ★★★

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  I'm sure the fact it tells a tale of press intrusion will be cited as a reason for Scandal's enduring relevance - the issue of libel and freedom of the press versus defamation is a hotter topic now than when this film was made. The actual story is a trifle though, it's more the bones on which to hang the weighty themes of shame and redemption in post-war Japan through a character study of the plaintiffs' council, Otokichi Hiruta. He begs to take on the case of well-known singer Miyako Saijo and artist Ichirô Aoye when they are scandalized be a fake news story after being snapped in an innocent exchange on a hotel balcony. Kurosawa seems less interested in…

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  Review by Mads Ej ★★★

  Akira Kurosawa movies ranked: boxd.it/cOTI2

  This is not one of Kurosawa’s strongest movies, but it still had some interesting themes and some good characters, which overall still made it a good movie.
  The story was good, though the scandal wasn’t that big, which kinda made the rest of the movie an overreaction. We follow two public figures, who are false believed to be lovers after standing close on a balcony, which gets published in the magazines and to battle the false information they sue and bring the case to the court. I am surprised that the themes of the paparazzi shamelessly spying and taking pictures of celebrities were relevant back then and it is only even more relevant today. 
  Though…

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  Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★ 2

  Catching Up with Kurosawa Mini Project

  "Every cent the pig earns is as filthy as can be."

  The sanctity of the public image

  A salacious tabloid publishes a fake news story about artist Ichiro Aoye and musician Miyako Saijo having an affair, so they sue the newsrag for libel. But here's the thing: the article isn't exactly ruining their lives. Neither of them is in another relationship, so they're not being portrayed as unfaithful or as having done anything indecent other than engage in some consensual sexual activity. In fact, if anything the story has been good for business: it's put them both in the spotlight and increased their popularity, even if for bad reasons.

  They're suing not because of…

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  Review by Noah Thompson ★★★

  Even scoundrels know the law.

  Hearing Takashi Shimura drunkenly yell "Merry Christmas!" at random people was not something I knew I needed until now. Another Kurosawa film that's really just okay, a cool concept with lackluster execution, but that idea driving it is indeed cool. I have loathed the paparazzi for about as far back as I can remember. They are the lowest common denominator when it comes to journalism, leeches in the entertainment and publication industries. If I had it my way, the entire occupation would just disappear off the face of the Earth, and the lives of many people would be substantially better for it, including the very people who are paparazzi. Anyway, Scandal does a good job…

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  Review by Dario Habulin ★★★ 9

  Scandal is watchable and somewhat enjoyable film but I wish that it had more staff to offer then it actually did .
  Story was done with solid pace and few moments had ok comedic timing in it but it also had some outdated moments and forgettable things .
  Scandal is simply said one watchable film but nothing brilliant or amazing .

  
  🔜 Unforgivable

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  Review by Joel Haver ★★★½

  Kurosawa dragging TMZ 50 years before they existed cause somebody had to.

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  Review by Mr. DuLac ★★★★

  For the first time in my life I saw a star come into existence.
  -Ichirô Aoye

  Synopsis: "A paparazzi photo sparks a court case as a tabloid magazine spins a scandalous yarn over a painter and a famous singer." Sounds like a snoozefest and nothing that would interest me, but when you see that it's Toshirō Mifune and Takashi Shimura being directed by Akira Kurosawa, you just shut up and watch.

  Co-written with Ryûzô Kikushima, like most Kurosawa films you can't expect what is in the synopsis to be what the film is really about. What originally made me a fan of Kurosawa was his epic samurai films like most people, some of them co-written by Kikushima as well, but…