Dodes'ka-Den
by Akira Kurosawa
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DVD details
Director: Akira KurosawaBrand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 144 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-03-17
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Criterion Collection
DVD Reviews of Dodes'ka-Den
DVD Review: Underrated, gorgeous, and beautiful...one of Kurosawa's most unique films..
Summary: 4 Stars
Dodeskaden is one of the most unique films in the Kurosawa filmography. It went against almost everything he's done before it, and it was the beginning of his late period, in which he only made seven films between 1970 and the year he died, 1998.
This is one of Kurosawa's most strinkingly beautiful films. It has some of the most memorable colour cinematography in all of cinema. Combine the fact that it is about slum people living on a Tokyo rubbish tip makes it an even more remarkable feat. This was Kurosawa's first color film, and the color is absolutely amazing. Kurosawa shot this film in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio (forgoing his usual 2.35:1 framing), and it really makes the film much more intimate and, from a technical standpoint, makes the colours more vibrant. This film came out during a rather bad time for Kurosawa. He hadn't completed a film since 1965's Red Beard (another underrated film), and had just been fired from the 20th Century Fox production Tora! Tora! Tora!, because of creative differences and Fox treating Kurosawa like an assembly line director. He was having a difficult time in Japan receiving financing, so he formed a production company with 3 other top Japanese directors. Japanese films at the time were more concerned with monsters and Yakuza thrillers than art or big themes, so Kurosawa's group wanted to make films with substance and art. Dodeskaden was the first film of this venture. Sadly, it was also the last. It was a commercial failure, which led to the group's disbandment. No other films were made from this venture. Shortly after this, Kurosawa attempted suicide. Luckily, he survived, and went on to make 6 more films, including several masterpieces (Ran, Dreams, Madadayo, Dersu Uzala).
This film is really a departure for Kurosawa. Toshiro Mifune was not in this film. Kurosawa and Mifune had huge disagreements on Red Beard (its production was almost 2 years before the camera), and they never made another film together. The film is more of an ensemble piece than an actual epic, heroic story, which is were the films Kurosawa was known for making. Despite its subject matter, it's actually a gorgeous film, with excellent performances, a beautiful music score by Toru Takemitsu (one of Japan's most famous composers), and amazing cinematography. It has several memorable scenes, including the boy who is "trolley crazy" (the word Dodeskaden is actually the sound his imaginary trolley makes), the two drunks who can't tell the differences between their wives, and a powerful scene in which a man married to an onery woman defends her to his friends, and defends her eloquently.
It's one of Kurosawa's most underrated films. It is not as fantastic as Kurosawa's best work, but it's still worthwhile.
Description of Dodes'ka-Den
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