Dersu Uzala

And this week's Friday Night movie has been... Dersu Uzala!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st April 2023

I have previously spoken about my efforts to explore the oeuvre of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. So we come to this: One of his lesser-known works.
This came about because Kurosawa wanted to do an adaptation of the novel by Russian author Vladimir Arsenyev. And he got a chance to do so when he was given Russian backing - so, with a Russian cast and crew, along with the opportunity to shoot in the wilderness of Siberia, Kurosawa came up with this movie.

When one thinks of Kurosawa, his samurai epics come to mind as well as his ability for orchestrating action scenes. But that is selling him short: He had a strength for his humanist approach to filmmaking and his subjects. And that is well and truly at play here. The titular character is a Mongolian man, well at home in the wild, and how he assists, and eventually bonds, with the captain of a Russian surveying expedition. It does make for a fascinating character study, with we the audience learning a lot about Uzala both as a character and his survival skills. Which makes the ultimate conclusion hit like a truck.
Another one of Kurosawa's strengths is his ability to conjure up beautiful shots. And here we have plenty of shots of the Siberian wilderness - it's all looking magnificent, especially considering that much of it isn't really accessible to human presence.
So yeah, an excellent movie with Kurosawa doing what he does best. Thoughtful and compelling tied with moments of beauty.

The Man From Hong Kong

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Man From Hong Kong!

Original image located here. Accessed 31st December 2021

Watching a 1970s Australian attempt at making a Kung-Fu movie? Well I have spent worse New Years Eves.

Obviously this is a product of it's time: The music, the clothes, haircuts, and film-making techniques all scream mid-1970s. Why, even that opening scene has no chance of being replicated now.
And it may be easy to mock the movie for it's corniness.
But in the end I still find a lot to admire: It is a decent stab at tackling a particular genre, the nods to the James Bond franchise are admirable (most notably having George Lazenby as the villain) and the fight scenes are really good - special mention to the car chase, the fight in the restaurant and the martial arts school.
All in all, an entertaining way to see out 2021.

Anywho, this concludes the Friday Night Movie for 2021. Thank you for reading these and to anyone that provided any likes and comments made throughout the year. Next year brings some more movies to watch and I'm looking forward to it already....

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

And this week's Friday night movie has been...The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

Original image located here. Accessed 1st November 2019

Halloween may have been last night but I can still end this October run in style.

Well, I've put this off long enough. This movie still commands an audience forty-four years later and many people I've met talk it up. Indeed, i have lost count how many women I've spoken over the years who have seen this movie. Personally I know little of this movie beyond a) The Time Warp (apparently it's just a jump to the left.....) - but even then it's more from a Kodak commercial; b) a few of the other songs (kind of...); c) it's reputation as an audience-participation movie and d) it's popularity with the LBGT crowd.

Mind you, it's this movie's afore-mentioned reputation that bothers me. Clearly this is a movie that is best enjoyed with a group of people. I think it's safe to say that being with a group of people who are getting into The Rocky Horror Picture Show may make for a different experience than someone watching it by themselves.
Other than that, this movie was a lot of fun. Considering how unconventional this movie is as a musical, it makes me wonder if it was a fore-runner to a lot of unconventional musicals that has followed in it's wake (ie the South Park movie, Avenue Q, and Book of Mormon). But ultimately it's bizarre natural is my cup of silliness. And considering that this film has the message of being comfortable in one's own skin, even to the point of defying normality, that may go a long way why it still has an enraptured audience.

At least I now know, when I go to a party and the Time Warp gets played, why the song ends with everyone falling to the floor.

Barry Lyndon

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Barry Lyndon!

 Original image located here. Accessed 11th November 2016

I have to say, this movie was a surprise. I'd heard beforehand about how the movie involved a lot of natural lighting - notably the use of candles in certain indoor scenes - but nothing could prepare just how visually beautiful this film was. The art direction (the art direction!!!), the attention to detail and how true to the time period this movie was blew me away. So much so, I found myself caring less for the drama that was unfolding before me. But that's not to say i found it dull - the final duel scene in particular being a stand out.

All in all, seems we got another winner here