Filmamour: The Human Condition

Kobayashi and Nakadai in another of their extraordinary collaborations. This trilogy portrays, through the eyes of an idealized good man, how infamous can most be under certain situations (war). The human condition, as opposed to many naive conceptions of human beings, points towards the lowness of our humanness. The point of Kobayashi in this movie is that of Hobbes: "man is wolf to man". This is a marvelous and complex treaty of human beings under strain. Kobayashi (1958-1961).

Samurai Films

For amateurs and for serious fans alike, if you want to watch good samurai films, the must see classics come from two directors, Masaki Kobayashi and Akira Kurosawa, and two actors, Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai.

From Kobayashi, don't miss:
- Harakiri (1962)
- Samurai Rebellion (1967)

From Kurosawa, don't miss:
- Ran (1985)
- The Hiden Fortress (1958) with Mifune performing a persecuted princess' samurai-bodyguard.
- Yojimbo (1961) with Mifune in the middle of a confrontation between two gangs in a small and frightened town.
- Sanjuro (1962) in which Mifune and Nakadai converge but confront each other.
- Kagemusha (1980) with Nakadai, who interprets two roles: the clan lord and his double.
- The seven samurai with Mifune, in which a selfish apparently poor peasant town is bravely and strategically defended by seven samurai.
- Rashomon (1950) with Mifune, a movie about truth, desire, narrative and perspective.

And, of course, if you like these directors' samurai films, you shouldn't miss their other wonderful stuff (particularly Kobayashi's Human Condition trilogy (1959, 1960, 1961), and Kurosawa's Akahige (i.e. Red Beard, 1965), Dodes kaden (i.e. The Idiot, 1951), and Dersu Uzala (1975)).

Also with Nakadai and/or Mifune starring but from other directors:
- Okamoto's The Sword of Doom (1966), in which Nakadai, a violent and turbulented-samurai's soul, finally confronts Mifune, his calm rival.
- Miyamoto's Samurai trilogy (1954, 1955, 1956), in which Mifune performs the maturation of a samurai from a simple ignorant but strong peasant-fighter to a gifted-well trained-samurai who controls strength, love needs, and technique.

Filmamour

The Human Condition

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