Kurodrama

Akira Kurosawa seems fond of epic films. At least he is fond of films with profound themes and messages. It is a shame, then, that Kurosawa is so overly dramatic in his films. Many analyze the use of weather and how it highlights scenes and heightens effect. Many directors have done so to great effect. However, Nebraska sized gusts blowing down the feudal streets of Japan is nothing but a distraction. Stray Dog does not need to remind us of the heat at constant intervals throughout the film, it is partonizing. The issue hardly ends with Kurosawa's depitction of weather. It grows to influence effects such as blood. This is especially evident in Ran. Kurosawa spent a million and a half dollars to build the set of a Japanese castle, only to burn it down. That shows a great level in care in the creation of cinema. It baffles me, then, why blood would be depicted by fire truck colored spray paint. The old idiom "the Devil is in the detail" comes to mind.

The Purple Rose of Cairo

For the last of the director posts, I lack a specific theme or thread to write about. Thus, you will probably be as bored with this post as I was with the final film in the project. The Purple Rose of Cairo was released in 1985. After the other Allen films that I have seen, this film was not to par. It was a movie where the idea was cute (at best), and the execution didn't save it. The main character literally walks off the movie screen of an old Depression-era theater in New Jersey. A blase romance blossoms with a woman who leaves her abusive, Depression-era husband. It seemed a departure from the quality of Allen's other films (although this film won a plethora of awards and acclaim). The major characters did not have the wit that I so appreciated in Annie Hall or Bananas. There was nothing unique about the plot besides the "cute" idea on which the film is based. I suppose that I all I have to say. The Purple Rose of Cairo doesn't leave me with alot of material.