Review of Red Beard (1965) by Leisure M — 21 Jul 2009
This film is simply amazing. It's the pure technical filmmaking mastery of Kurosawa merged with undeniable human optimism reminiscent of Frank Capra. Red Beard shows humanity at its best and worst, but Kurosawa infuses every line of dialogue with hope and a sincere belief in the goodness of people.
Whether you agree with him or not, its incredible to watch unfold. Beyond the themes of the film what I was most impressed with was Kurosawa's shot composition. Every shot is perfectly framed and the actors and props placed in such a way that it is always the most aesthetically pleasing.
The result is a film that looks like it could hang in a museum, or at the very least shown on Day 1 of film school. At 3 hours, the film may seem long, but I honestly could have kept watching because the characters are so interesting.
Mifune's Red Beard stands above them all, he brings a kind of mythic quality to the man while also examining his flaws. Several scenes caused me to chuckle out loud at just how epic he was. Not many people talk about this when discussing Kurosawa, but I liked it more than Seven Samurai, and I can tell this is quickly going to become one of my favorites.
This review of Red Beard (1965) was written by Leisure M on 21 Jul 2009.
Red Beard has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
