| Welcome to In The Balcony. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Plus, you'll be eligible for the monthly $1 million prize. (Not really.) Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Kagemusha (1980); Akira Kurosawa | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 6 2008, 06:29 PM (226 Views) | |
| Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer | Jan 6 2008, 06:29 PM Post #1 |
![]()
Sapient Balconeer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I went to The Belcourt to see this flick today, it started at noon and at somewhere around 3, I left my seat. I read that this film was about a Japanese civil war, I didn't catch that during the viewing (I musta been lookin at scenery) but here's what I managed to catch. Around 1570 in Japan, Shingen, the leader of a clan, is sitting with his brother and a thief. Shingen's brother has saved the thief from crucifixion because of his uncanny resemblance to Shingen. The leader and the thief bicker which causes the thief to tell Shingen that the leader is no better than a theif, the way he gets money, plus his warring ways. This endears Shingen to the thief, and he and his brother decide to keep the theif around in case a look-a-like is needed for the leader. ...and ya know he's gonna be needed! Shingen gets shot as his army is waiting out a castle, where the water supply has just been cut off. There has been sweet flute music coming from the hold and this draws Shingen into the open. My favorite scene happens here, as Shingen's killer tells his superiors how he pulled off the shot that felled the opposing leader in the dark at, oh about, 100 yards. The movie then explores the warring factions as the thief is used as a figurehead and keeps the peace, as the other clans scramble to figure out what the next move is for Shingen. This is a great story. I would call it a Japanese fable, if'n I knew anything about such! Good Shi*!!!! Alrighty.....time to put this puppy to bed. When I wrote the bolded portion on my Blackberry, the beer was flowin' like a mountain stream, if you know what I'm sayin'!!!! The peace is kept as the thief is in Shingen's place. Shingen's brother and some of the men who were closest to Shingen are aware of the switch, but Shingen's horse and his wives are believed to be able to tell the difference between the actual leader and the thief. The thief is neither allowed to ride the horse nor the wives (I didn't make that up, it was presented in the film, just like that!!!). When the thief is presented with questions by some and in particularly, his granddaughter, the thief comes out smelling like a rose as he answers and acts honestly from his heart BUT when the thief tries to act like the leader, all hell breaks loose. The film was 3 hours long and my ass was numb from the theater seat, but I'd take a numb ass with a damn good film any day. |
| It's like Rodney King used to say, "Can't we all get a bong." | |
![]() |
|
| panzer the great & terrible | Jan 7 2008, 09:49 AM Post #2 |
|
Mouth Breather
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Netflix has a lot of Kurosawa flicks. Avoid the oldest ones -- the translations on the DVDs are lame Japanglish. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
![]() |
|
| Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer | Jan 9 2008, 12:55 PM Post #3 |
![]()
Sapient Balconeer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Is it Japanglish when one spells the word thief, "theif"?...numerous times??? |
| It's like Rodney King used to say, "Can't we all get a bong." | |
![]() |
|
| Inspector Carr | Jan 9 2008, 06:41 PM Post #4 |
|
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
or Rook the cherry Brossems are Brooming
|
| "Life is a Crapshoot however you need a pair of dice to participate" | |
![]() |
|
| Black Tiger | Jan 9 2008, 08:23 PM Post #5 |
|
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Kurasawa films are awesome. Try "Yojimbo" or "Seven Samuarai" as well. He also wrote an autobiography called "Akira Kurasawa, Something Like An Autobiography" that was pretty entertaining, funny and interesting. |
![]() |
|
| « Previous Topic · Dans le Balcon · Next Topic » |






![]](http://z2.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)



12:47 AM Jul 11