DRUNKEN ANGEL (1948) It’s clear that the condition of post-war Japan was on Kurosawa’s mind during the years immediately following World War II. He didn’t shy away from it in One Wonderful Sunday, but that film featured a respectable working class couple. In Drunken Angel, Kurosawa almost literally dives into the cesspool of corruption and […]
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ONE WONDERFUL SUNDAY (1947) After World War II, neo-realism sprung up as a film movement; films about everyday people struggling with the new realities of the world around them, a counter-movement to the big, glossy, Hollywood productions. These films were often shot on location and frequently featured non-professionals. To me, the movement reached a pinnacle
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NO REGRETS FOR OUR YOUTH (1946) After World War II, the Allied Occupation set a few rules in place for the Japanese film industry. No movies that celebrated feudalism or Japan’s recent military adventurism, or that contained elements that were critical of the Occupation were the basic rules. For Kurosawa it must have been an
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THE MEN WHO TREAD ON THE TIGER’S TAIL (1945) As World War II was dragging to an end, Kurosawa wanted to make his next movie, a samurai epic, which the Allied bombing campaign was making impossible. A studio film with many sets or other lavish production values was out of the question. In a stroke
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SANSHIROSUGATA PART 2 (1945) SANSHIRO SUGATA told a complete story and didn’t need a sequel. But, it was popular and the war office wanted a propaganda film to inspire the audience as Americans pushed towards the island nation, so Kurosawa complied, albeit without much interest. The result is widely regarded as one of Kurosawa’s worst
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THE MOST BEAUTIFUL (1944) In normal times, Kurosawa would have been given free rein after the success of Sanshiro Sugata. But it wasn’t normal times, it was World War II and Japan was losing. So Kurosawa was basically ordered to make a propaganda film with preapproved messages and material. The result was one of the
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