The season of classic Japanese cinema in new 35mm prints continues. For further details, pick up a leaflet at the Cornerhouse box office.
The Hidden Fortress (1958); Cert. PG; 2hr 18min; Subtitled
- Friday, September 20, 2002: 1:55 PM & 8:15 PM
- Tuesday, September 24, 2002: 5:30 PM
Kurosawa’s first film in widescreen, the aptly epic yet lighthearted action-romantic comedy The Hidden Fortress is full of swashbuckling set-pieces, spectacle, and heart-stopping moments of bravery. A faithful general (Mifune) escorts and guards a feisty teen princess on the run, begrudgingly aided by a pair of squabbling peasants. One of Kurosawa’s greatest hits, it provided inspiration for Star Wars.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
I Live in Fear (Ikimono no Kiroku) (1955); Cert. 12; 1hr 43min; Subtitled
- Friday, September 20, 2002: 6:00 PM
- Tuesday, September 24, 2002: 1:55 PM
- Thursday, September 26, 2002: 6:00 PM
Whilst America turned to mutant bug movies to deal with its atomic paranoia, Kurosawa’s Cold War response reflects the national mood in a more thoughtful manner. During a Tokyo heatwave, a despotic seventy-year-old industrialist (Mifune) resolves to take action to save his family—whether they like it or not.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
Ikiru (To Live) (1952); Cert. 12; 2hr 22min; Subtitled
- Saturday, September 21, 2002: 4:50 PM
- Thursday, September 26, 2002: 1:55 PM & 8:10 PM
Ikiru is Kurosawa’s gentlest and most contemplative film, a polar opposite to his samurai dramas. Shimura plays an elderly civil servant who discovers that he’s dying and determines to spend his last months finding something that will give meaning to his life. Potential sentimentality is diffused by a satirical look at society and the salaryman’s subservient role.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
Red Beard (Akahige) (1965); Cert. 15; 2hr 59min; Subtitled
- Saturday, September 21, 2002: 1:55 PM
- Monday, September 23, 2002: 7:30 PM
The final film in the long partnership between Kurosawa and the iconic Mifune finds the actor playing the red-bearded head of a late Nineteenth-century hospital. The young intern that he’s training can’t understand this brilliant but highly unconventional doctor and is bothered by his lack of respect for medical orthodoxy. Gradually he learns otherwise.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai) (1954); Cert. 12; 3hr 26min; Subtitled
- Saturday, September 21, 2002: 7:30 PM
- Sunday, September 22, 2002: 4:00 PM
- Wednesday, September 25, 2002: 1:55 PM & 7:00 PM
The most famous samurai film ever made, and deservedly so. Kurosawa’s epic recounts the story of villagers who decide to hire masterless samurai to protect themselves from the bandits who have been plaguing them. Six are proper samurai, the seventh a loud-mouthed farmer’s son wannabe. The influence of Kurosawa’s beloved Westerns is apparent in every frame; in turn Samurai went on to inspire The Magnificent Seven.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
Sanjuro (Tsubaki Sanjuro) (1962); Cert. PG; 1hr 35min; Subtitled
- Sunday, September 22, 2002: 1:55 PM & 8:15 PM
- Monday, September 23, 2002: 5:40 PM
In this unofficial sequel, Yojimbo‘s scruffy loner samurai (Mifune) appears in an earlier era where he finds himself the unexpected saviour of a group of tidy young samurai and a pair of court ladies. The interaction between the sartorially challenged Mifune and his polished charges brings comedy to leaven the tense action sequences.
For more information about this film, see the Internet Movie Database.
Ticket Prices
Matinees (before 5:00 PM):
- Full: GBP 3.80
- Concessions: GBP 2.80
Evenings (from 5:00 PM):
- Full: GBP 4.70
- Concessions: GBP 3.70
Special season ticket for all six films:
- Full: GBP 21.00
- Concessions: GBP 15.00
All details taken from the September 2002 Cornerhouse Calendar and may be subject to change. See the Cornerhouse website for full details.