I watched Emperor after reading Jack Black’s biography of the life and times of homeless people in the late 19th and early 20th century, You Can’t Win, and absolutely loved the three lead performances. I still think I would give the edge to either Marty or The Catered Affair as my favorite Borgnine role, but he can play a terrific heavy (like his supporting turn in Bad Day at Black Rock).
All great parts. Marty is probaby his greatest role, but my self-indulgent faves are as Dutch Engstrom in The Wild Bunch, and as “Kat” Katzinsky in the TV movie Version of All Quiet On the Western Front.
Oh and I am a sucker for him as Cabbie.
Haha, you’re the gif master, Navaronegun!
Some films, like Escape from New York, I think every single frame has been giffed online. :)
I don’t watch a lot of old movies (read almost never), so I’ve never heard of this one. I am interested though, one of the best films of all time… really? Hmmm.
I’ve not seen it either, but considering it’s competing against prime Kurosawa I’m not sure it would be the best Japanese film of that decade.
But if it gets picked I would certainly like to see if it earns it.
Obviosuly, these things are not incredibly precise. It placed #1 on the Sight & Sound Director’s poll, and #3 on the critics poll.
Let’s just say it’s a highly-respected film, and it happened to be one where I agree with the directors and the critics…unlike, say, Citizen Kane, which I’ve tried and tried with. This is a film I love wholeheartedly.
I don’t often put a lot of weight in how critics vote so much as what they say to drive me towards or away from a movie. Some of the stuff they bitch about, well I just like. the fact it was in the running makes it interesting, but my friends often seem, shall we say, surprised about all these great movies I have not seen. When I get around to them, I often do not like them.
I was going to nominate Your Name, but I don’t want to nominate movies I would choose for the Make Us Watch What You Want Palooza.
Oh sure, I’m not saying it doesn’t deserve that moniker, just that it is competing against a run of films that marks one of the greatest decades any director ever had, just to even be the best Japanese film of said decade, let alone greatest film of all time.
Seriously, Spielberg, Hitchcock, and Kubrick wish they had a decade as good as Kurosawa had from 1950-59.*
*Kubrick in the 60’s probably is pretty close for second.
My girlfriend and I watched this recently and loved it. Enjoyed it more than some of Ghibli’s stuff.
Yes, to Your Name! Brilliant film. Ghibli wished they made something that good.
I like Kurosawa a lot, but of the four Japanese Masters I perhaps find him the least compelling. Ozu, and specially Naruse I connect with much more. Kurosawa’s western influences makes his films somewhat easier, but also somewhat more diffuse, more broad stroke.
Ah, see for me it is his profound impact on western filmmaking that elevated him to the top spot.
Now, granted, I also prefer his work to what I’ve seen of others. So it’s one part influence one part the films themselves.
Well, I think there’s no question that Kurosawa has been the most influential Japanese director, yes.
This, plus the fact that so many Kurosawa movies feature Toshiro Mifune, kick his movies to the top for me.
I certainly would. Your Name is great, and I love the RADWIMPS soundtrack. That said… it’s actually not my favorite Makoto Shinkai movie (that would be 5 Centimeters per Second, which is even better if you read the manga as well). But it is certainly the most “western-friendly” one, so to speak.
There are other great anime movies I watched recently - namely The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, A Silent Voice, Wolf Children - and I’d easily recommend all of them. ;)
There’s a nice little video essay doing a compare and contrast of Ozu and Kurosawa here, in case anyone’s interested.