Today we're gonna dig deep and begin a little series to help expand one another's interests in what might be previously untouched genres of cinema for youself. Why? Simple, to share with our fellow Escapist's some recommendations for movies that you like and think more people should see. If you want to start your own Recommend This thread by all means do so, the more the merrier.
We'll start off with FOREIGN films mainly because the general audience usually turns a cold shoulder to the films overseas (not just the USA). Whether the reason is it's in Black & White (we'll get to that later), dubbed, or you have to read the subtitles these films are brushed aside and forgotten only to be kept alive by the native fan base and a few foreign fans as well.
So let's begin shall we? I'll start with my recommendation.
"YOJIMBO" 1961
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/75/Yojimbo.jpg
This black & white gem is by Akira Kurosawa starring Toshiro Mifune (one of the seven samurai in Kurosawa's masterpiece from 1954 "THE SEVEN SAMURAI"). Here we have a nameless samurai who wonders into a town that's suffering from a gang war between two incompetent groups of hired cutthroats. However, when the nameless samurai (Toshiro) enters the town he devises a plan to rid the town of the gang by warring them against the other so they might eventually kill each other. What you get are beautiful sequences of Toshiro Mifune wielding a katana through amazing swordsmanship and genuine moments of tension displaying character development in the samurai. Yes it's subtitled and black & white, but what it shows is Toshiro in his prime as an actor.Superb action sequences, character development, and all this in less than 2 hours? What more can you want?
Fun Fact: Toshiro Mifune's samurai served as the model for the nameless cowboy Clint Eastwood's character was based on in the excellent Dollars Trilogy (Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly). That's right: Without Toshiro Mifune the badass persona of Clint Eastwood's "MAN WITH NO NAME" would most likely be nonexistent.
Where to find this: If you have an account with Netflix you can instantly watch it now from your computer. If you don't have Netflix then I suggest looking for it on Amazon or another site. Now that I've given my recommendation please feel free to do the same. Shalom.
We'll start off with FOREIGN films mainly because the general audience usually turns a cold shoulder to the films overseas (not just the USA). Whether the reason is it's in Black & White (we'll get to that later), dubbed, or you have to read the subtitles these films are brushed aside and forgotten only to be kept alive by the native fan base and a few foreign fans as well.
So let's begin shall we? I'll start with my recommendation.
"YOJIMBO" 1961
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/75/Yojimbo.jpg
This black & white gem is by Akira Kurosawa starring Toshiro Mifune (one of the seven samurai in Kurosawa's masterpiece from 1954 "THE SEVEN SAMURAI"). Here we have a nameless samurai who wonders into a town that's suffering from a gang war between two incompetent groups of hired cutthroats. However, when the nameless samurai (Toshiro) enters the town he devises a plan to rid the town of the gang by warring them against the other so they might eventually kill each other. What you get are beautiful sequences of Toshiro Mifune wielding a katana through amazing swordsmanship and genuine moments of tension displaying character development in the samurai. Yes it's subtitled and black & white, but what it shows is Toshiro in his prime as an actor.Superb action sequences, character development, and all this in less than 2 hours? What more can you want?
Fun Fact: Toshiro Mifune's samurai served as the model for the nameless cowboy Clint Eastwood's character was based on in the excellent Dollars Trilogy (Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly). That's right: Without Toshiro Mifune the badass persona of Clint Eastwood's "MAN WITH NO NAME" would most likely be nonexistent.
Where to find this: If you have an account with Netflix you can instantly watch it now from your computer. If you don't have Netflix then I suggest looking for it on Amazon or another site. Now that I've given my recommendation please feel free to do the same. Shalom.
