Random Film Notes
By Upon the release of new versions of Sanjuro and Yojimbo:
As time passes, it is Kurosawa’s genre films that seem to be gaining in stature (chief among them the superb “Seven Samurai” of 1956), while his more self-conscious art house efforts, like “Ikiru” (1952) and “Red Beard” (1965), fall away into the same graveyard of good intentions occupied by John Ford’s non-westerns “The Informer” and “The Long Voyage Home.”
Really? While I can do without Redbeard, Ikiru remains one of my favorite Kurosawa.
In other news, I’m almost ready to complete my 2006 Top Ten list. Saw Letters from Iwo last night. I was prepared to wander from the theater in a cloud of self-loathing; really, how stupid do you have to be to see the follow up after you hated the first one? I was pleasantly surprised, though, as Iwo was quite good. Now need to see Last King of Scotland (which has finally arrived in Lexington), Pan’s Labrynth, and Notes on a Scandal.
…speaking of which, I see that the Oscar nominations are out. Four of the five best picture nominees are defensible, with Little Miss Sunshine being out of place. How did Leo get a nomination for Blood Diamond and not for The Departed? Mirren would seem to be the prohibitive favorite for Best Actress…
Finally, check out this discussion of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road if you haven’t done so already.