Fri Jan 27, 2006 9:05 am by Tawakalna
Kolberg is actually very good (given it was made in 1945 in the last months of the war) the Agfacolor processed cinematography is excellent, all the performances are well done if rather one-dimensional, but the film truly excels in its scale and scope, which of course you couldn't do today without CGI. Thousands upon thousands of troops diverted from the Russian Front and shoved into Napoleonic-era uniforms as extras, and real not fake explosions! Of course it's propaganda but its not obvious propaganda, well except at the end when the Prussian arms are displayed and they're clearly referring visually to the Nazi Swastika banner. And of course the soldiers are unerringly brave and die heroically and the civilians all stand together to resist the invaders even though theyre obv going to lose.
It's a fascinating insight into the minds of the Nazi leadership at this period and their deceit of the German people up until the very last minute, traipsing out this romantic pseudo-historical rubbish. But it is actually a dam fine film, very reminiscent of Gone with the Wind in many ways, even the upbeat final scene. It;s def been the worth the 20+ year wait to see it from beginning to end. An edited version was released in West German cinemas in the 1950s, sanitised of all political content, and was very successful, but of course one always has to see the original cut to get a true impression. I'll do you a copy if you like, I don't think UFA or the Goebbels family will complain about copyright infringement from 1945 do you?
Why do i like Ran so much? I'll answer that very simply - stunning cinematography in every scene, Ran isn't just cinema it's an artistic masterpiece. Every shot is composed and considered, nothing is accidental, and it is visually flawless. The swirling armies technique has been copied many times but Kurosawa invented that language for cinema and he has never been surpassed. Kurosawa took the Japanese story-telling style from prints and silks etc and turned it into cinema and Ran (and many of his other films) are to me like being inside a superb theatrical performance.
Also Kurosawa is an adept at showing the destructive consequences for an entire society of its leaders ambition, pride, arrogance and vainglory, in this case the downfall of the Ichimonjii clan. Kagemusha's final scenes also clearly convey this sentiment.
And Lady Kaede is just about the most single-minded vicious and detrmined b*itch I've ever seen in cinema. She destroys the entire clan and all its hopes for the future as vengeance for her own family, even at the cost of her own life. The scenes where she manipulates all those around her are full of tension and suspense until the final moment of release where she triumphantly declares her victory and why she has brought down the clan - she's terrifying. The cut-and-thrust play of words between her and Kuregane the hatamato is truly compelling, especially the *fox* scene. The duty and loyalty to clan and lord are as always with Kurosawa superbly brought to life.
Edited by - Tawakalna on 1/27/2006 9:16:47 AM
