The flaws of this film are numerous; the cinematography seems intentionally primitive, with lots of static wide shots and zero, I mean ZERO closeups in the entire film. It really feels like a stage play on film, with lots of overacting and melodrama.
The lead character of Hideotora goes mad about halfway through the film and then there are endless scenes of him being wide-eyed and crazy, and it gets old fast.
The battle scenes are a huge swing and a miss, endless shots of horses and men running around aimlessly, followed by endless shots of them getting mowed down by gunfire. It gets old fast. And the rate of fire of those guns simply is not accurate to the times.
In short, if you want to get into Kurosawa, watch his black and white classics, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood...not this, which, IMO, is a sad endnote to a great director's career.
The lead character of Hideotora goes mad about halfway through the film and then there are endless scenes of him being wide-eyed and crazy, and it gets old fast.
The battle scenes are a huge swing and a miss, endless shots of horses and men running around aimlessly, followed by endless shots of them getting mowed down by gunfire. It gets old fast. And the rate of fire of those guns simply is not accurate to the times.
In short, if you want to get into Kurosawa, watch his black and white classics, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood...not this, which, IMO, is a sad endnote to a great director's career.