Takashi Shimura & Toshiro Mifune

                                 Takashi Shimura     &    Toshiro Mifune

Today marks the one year anniversary of my blog. I felt compelled to start this blog, when I did, from my love of Akira Kurosawa. I knew then that this was going to be the blog I would post on this day, devoted to the two actors who appear in a vast majority of Kurosawa's work. Takashi Shimura (03/12/1905 - 02/11/82) and Toshiro Mifune (04/01/20 - 12/24/97) have become two of my all-time favorites. Whenever I watch a Kurosawa film, and neither of them appear, I do miss their presence. For me, it is incredibly hard to assign a definitive performance to either of them, the same way I find it difficult to assign Kurosawa with one definitive masterwork. Consensus would seem to tell us that Seven Samurai would be the one definitive work, and how could I argue with that?

Before Kurosawa made Seven Samurai, he made a film about contemporary Japan (1952), with Shimura in the lead role. Mifune was not to appear. The film was Ikiru. Shimura plays an aging bureaucrat who is diagnosed with stomach cancer. He is very slow moving and weakly throughout the picture, and totally believable in the role. That makes his role in Seven Samurai all the more impressive, as Shimura plays the leader of the samurai. Again, 100% convincing in the part, and he completely springs to life. A complete transformation that must be considered one of the finest in history. He is also fondly remembered for his non-Kurosawa role in Godzilla. Shimura usually played the older, wiser characters in Kurosawa's films, and really specialized in that role. He plays mentor to Mifune's character in several pictures, including Mifune's first picture with Kurosawa, Drunken Angel.

Drunken Angel is a great showcase for both actors, Shimura got to display his reserved wisdom while Mifune was encouraged to play off that and be explosive. Donald Richie says that the Japanese audience found Mifune to be a bit of a ham actor at the time because he infused so much physicality in his roles. Mifune was a strong physical presence which made him perfect for the long list of samurai roles that Kurosawa and others had for him. His physical style also makes him incredibly entertaining to watch. For each role, he often came up with some physical gesture that would almost act as a motif. So he is constantly seen swatting at flies or scratching his neck. Howard Hawks used to say, if you wanted your film to instantly become more violent, you cast John Wayne. Same could be said of Mifune. In one of his samurai roles - he was violence. Mifune was George Lucas' first choice for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. As time went on, he took Shimura's place as the older wiser mentor.

When I am asked about who my favorite actors are I usually give a list of current actors, classic Hollywood actors, and I make sure to mention Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune. Two fantastic actors in their own right, and when together, and when with Kurosawa, that's synergy that can't miss. They were as versatile as any actor I've seen. Their performances would make you run through the gamut of emotions effortlessly. If you get a chance, throw on Rashomon, Drunken Angel, Stray Dog, Ikiru, or Seven Samurai, and soak up their marvelous brilliance. 

The Darkest Timeline Is Over

Thanks to my good pal, Slobodan Bubalo, I have finally seen Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory, I got to see Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie on the big screen with an introduction by Leonard Maltin & Tippi Hedren, Casablanca will be shown in theaters next Wednesday night, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy will be released on Blu-Ray/DVD next week, and most importantly, March 15 will bring the return of COMMUNITY.

I don't know why it's taken so long for me to see Paths of Glory, it's been on my Amazon wish list for well over a year, and it's been hailed as a masterpiece. Well, I've seen it now, and it truly did live up to the hype. It's incredibly powerful, sure to poke at you and make you uneasy. It's photographed beautifully and most effectively. The cast, led by Kirk Douglas, couldn't have been better. Each actor is 100% believable as his character. I still don't find it as exciting or thrilling as The Killing, though it's definitely not supposed to be, but Paths will linger in your consciousness and you shouldn't put off seeing it like I did.

Last week I was able to attend a screening, part of TCM's Road to Hollywood series, that was hosted by film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, and the star of the film, Tippi Hedren. The film was Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie, and it was at one of the older theaters, complete with an organ that would rise up off the floor to provide the pre-show entertainment. They intro from Maltin and Hedren was a real treat, though much too brief. Maltin said the film wasn't understood or appreciated in its time, and we found out that a vast majority of the audience hadn't seen the film, which the made the experience all the more exciting. Everyone had seen Hitch's & Hedren's previous film, The Birds, but not this one. Sean Connery plays the male lead, and it was a revelation seeing him on the big screen, just after he debuted as James Bond in Dr. No. It's no wonder he became such a megastar. The crowd also erupted in applause for costume designer Edith Head, composer Bernard Herrmann, and Hitch's cameo. Now, if we can get Dr. No released in theaters this year, that would be swell!

My fingers will stay crossed for a Dr. No release, but we will definitely be getting the chance to see another classic in the theaters next week, one of the most popular films of all time, Casablanca. After seeing Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery light up an audience, I can't wait to see how Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman do the same. Casablanca is one of the films we studied in junior high school, the task being to describe the seven different structures of power, just by watching the first five minutes. That kind of assignment really ruins the experience of the film, and most of the students dreaded it, and couldn't believe that the filmmakers' intent was to reveal such information. It was in such classes that the mystery of Rosebud was spoiled for me. If they would just let us enjoy the films once through, I'm sure the students would have much more incentive in discovering the layers of the filmmaking. Seeing Casablanca on the big screen and with an audience will be a treat, no doubt, but I fear I'll also be analyzing the first five minutes, trying to discern the various power structures.

It's been almost a decade since I've found a film that I can watch over and over again, and not have my enjoyment of the experience fade. Thankfully, there has been almost no time between the theatrical release and the BD/DVD release of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. It's been in the theaters since December, and it just opened at the dollar theater right down the road. There's only been one other film that I've seen more in the theater, and it's not one I'd care to admit to right now. The film is already available for on Demand rental and digital purchase. This is a timeless film, audiences fifty years from now wouldn't be able to tell that this was a film made in 2010/2011 just by watching it. I am absolutely mesmerized by this film, and am very grateful that I won't have to wait another few months to enjoy it on my home theater.

Things have been dark for the first couple months of 2012, but on March 15th, COMMUNITY will return, and order will be restored in the universe. I've posted a couple of times on the show, and won't go into it again, but if you haven't given the show a chance, I beg of you, as a birthday present for me, please, tune in to NBC on March 15th at 8/7CST. It is the only show I've ever tried to push on everybody within my sphere of influence. Some have watched an episode and saw no worth in it, but I persuaded them to watch another, and before I know it, they become just a big of a fan as I am.

Opposite Sides of the Coin

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the cinematic James Bond. My post regarding On Her Majesty's Secret Service is tied for my most popular post, along with the post on the second season of Community, and I'm pretty sure I'll have plenty more to say about James Bond before the year is through. Ian Fleming is the creator of James Bond, and like his cousin Christopher Lee, led a tremendously full and fascinating life. Fleming created a character, in Bond, that all men wanted to be and all women wanted to be with. John Le Carre, also served in British Intelligence, but felt that Fleming's world needed to be balanced out. Le Carre's work makes it clear that nobody should want to live in the world of espionage. I've been a fan of James Bond since I was ten years old, and became aware of Le Carre with the 2001 release of The Tailor of Panama (based on Le Carre's novel of the same name), which starred James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan. The film adaptation of Le Carre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was my favorite film from last year, and finally got me digging into Le Carre's work a bit further. Fleming and Le Carre seem to have similar backgrounds and live in the same genre, but definitely have differing paradigms of life. Instead of feeling like I should choose one over the other, I find that the two complement each other wonderfully, and my experience of both seems to be enriched by the other.

I find that it's in my nature to investigate the roots of things, which is how I learned about blues legends like Robert Johnson. Once I really started to appreciate music, I found myself drawn to artists like Eric Clapton. Eric Clapton sees himself as a servant of music, and is always covering songs from his idols, and trying to spread the word those artists. Back in his Cream days, in his 20s, Clapton was very innovative and experimental, yet throughout his career he found himself yearning to go back to his roots. Today, he is able to reach a vast audience and is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest living guitarists by creating his own style that pays homage to those who came before. Clapton describes guitarist, Jeff Beck, as being on the opposite side of the same coin. Jeff Beck has had great success, but I'm not sure he ever really became a mainstream artist. Beck became a far different guitar player than Clapton, constantly experimenting, trying new sounds, and covering any song from any time or place in history. Beck says his playing is all about trying to create the sickest sounds possible. The both share very similar roots, but they are like opposite sides of the same coin. Clapton wants to spread the history of the artists he loves by trying to reach the largest possible audience. Beck wants to spread the history of the artist he loves by influencing guitarists themselves. Both artists know their history and have tremendous respect for each other, though some of their fans will either like one or the other.

Jimmy Stewart is credited with saying, "Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners." I find this to be true in television these days, but not so much at the cinema, or so I thought. Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg came out with the films, J. Edgar and War Horse, that both received mixed reviews when they came out and I ended up not seeing them. I've seen them both now, and regret not seeing them sooner. Neither are without their faults, but I felt both delivered what they set out to, even if they weren't all that impressive in their delivery. Seeing War Horse in the dollar theater was great fun, as it's been a while since I've been in an audience as vocal, engaged, and interactive in a film. It was easy to see where Spielberg really hit the mark with certain beats. I saw Tinker Tailor in the theaters a total of six times, but the audience never did all that much interacting apart from a few gasps. My mission has always been to close the gap between the artist and the audience, and it seems I've been missing out on some of the films which are making a solid attempt at closing that gap.

I love James Bond and George Smiley. I love Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. I love filmmaking and love sitting in a crowded theater enjoying the experience of watching a film. I will continue to vomit at movies like Project X and Piranha 3D, which are little more than pornography, yet I'll look forward to a year of great films. It seems today that everything has become unstuck, things are ever changing. I wasn't all that interested in seeing Being Flynn, but I think now I'll give it a go. A great DeNiro film has become too much of a rarity, and I think I should be more appreciative as an audience member. I do feel that the state of film is in decay; however, I've come across a lot of great folk who are anxious to turn the tide. We can agree on the Masters of the past, we will continue debating the Masters of the present, and we'll strive to bring back the magic of cinema for the future.