Yojimbo and Rashomon, both films by Akira Kurosawa, were showing as a double-bill tonight at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith. So, off I trekked again. Except, again, I had visions of walking, but left it too late and ended up taking the Tube. Where I ran into Nabeel, who asked me what I was going to. And I ended up having yet another of those discussions with someone who's dubious about my policy of following IMDB ratings.
Undaunted, I made it to the venue with not much time at all to spare, given that I had to queue to get my ticket. I see the 10% discount voucher for a drink seems to be standard with double-bill tickets. Had to get it in a plastic container this time, and take it upstairs - they were calling for people to come for the film while she was still trying to figure out my discount. No calculator on the till, I guess! I made it upstairs without spilling very much, and as I climbed, it occurred to me that I've improved - the first time I went to the cinema here, I was nearly dead by the time I got to the top - now, it hardly phases me. Oh, and I got there with several minutes to spare, it turns out. So I think they were just trying to scare us. :-)
I knew little about Yojimbo before tonight, apart from that it was an influence on many spaghetti westerns, particularly A Fistful of Dollars. And the trailer looked ok. Well, I was blown away. It's from 1961, but it looks and feels so modern.. it's excellent. A Western with samurai. Swords (mainly) instead of guns. Pathos. Dramatic music. You can see the influences on Western cinema.
It was so good that I decided to stay and see Rashomon, despite it being available on YouTube. There was a short film in between, during the 20-minute interval. And then Rashomon started, which is an even older Kurosawa film, from 1950. It deals with a murder, committed in the woods, and the stories of the people who were there (including the murdered man, via a medium - quite a creepy sequence). Everyone has a different perspective, and we get to see the scene re-enacted from each point of view. Terrific film, this - even better than Yojimbo. When I see Kurosawa films mentioned again, I will take notice. And so, proof yet again that my system of following IMDB works!! I wasn't even keen on going to see these tonight - what a great night I would have missed.
Let's hope I do half as well tomorrow night, with Brighton Rock at the BFI.
No comments:
Post a Comment