Clint Eastwood Didn't Mince Words About Akira Kurosawa's Oscar-winning Classic

Daiei / Mosfilm

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One of Clint Eastwood's much celebrated movies — Sergio Leone's 1964 Western "A Fistful of Dollars" — was an unofficial remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1961 samurai movie "Yojimbo." I constitute "unofficial," arsenic Leone didn't springiness immoderate benignant of in installments to Kurosawa, contempt "Fistful" being astir identical to "Yojimbo" successful galore ways. Whether aliases not Leone intentionally tried to rip disconnected Kurosawa remains a matter of speculation, but nan Italian filmmaker later admitted that it was conscionable a accumulation mistake. He said that his shaper simply forgot to salary Kurosawa for nan authorities to his story. 

Whatever Leone's intentions, Toho sued. Kurosawa was quoted arsenic saying that "A Fistful of Dollars" was "a very good movie, but it was my movie." Toho ended up getting 15% of nan gross, and an further $100,000 besides.

"A Fistful of Dollars" prima Clint Eastwood was, of course, acquainted pinch nan similarities betwixt "Fistful" and "Yojimbo," and seemed to beryllium a Kurosawa instrumentality successful general. At least, Eastwood was a instrumentality of Kurosawa's activity from nan 1950s and 1960s — nan worldly from nan '70s, not truthful much. Eastwood declared arsenic overmuch successful nan question and reply book "Conversations pinch Clint: Paul Nelson's Lost Interviews pinch Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983." It seems that Eastwood had been asked successful nan early 1980s astir immoderate of nan awesome board he was contemporaries with, notably Ingmar Bergman, nan awesome Swedish master. Eastwood noted that Bergman utilized to beryllium great, but that he was coasting connected captious bully will successful nan '80s. 

He past noted that he felt nan aforesaid measurement astir Akira Kurosawa. Eastwood praised nan director's films "Seven Samurai" and "Red Beard," but said outright that he hated Kurosawa's 1975 movie "Dersu Uzala." This is simply a baffling take, arsenic nan movie is great, and it won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Daiei / Mosfilm

The value of "Dersu Uzala" cannot beryllium understated. It fundamentally revived Kurosawa's career and, immoderate mightiness say, saved his life. Back successful 1971, Akira Kurosawa changeable his first movie successful color, "Dodes'ka-Den," as impervious to a caller procreation of filmmakers that, yes, awesome activity tin beryllium made connected a fund and changeable connected a little shooting schedule. Sadly, Kurosawa didn't beryllium his points very well, arsenic "Dodes'ka-Den" tanked astatine nan container office. It threw Kurosawa heavy into depair — he was already wrestling pinch depression, and he attempted to return his ain life. 

Luckily, a Russian movie institution reached retired to Kurosawa astir adapting Vladimir Klavdiyevich Arsenyev's memoir "Dersu Uzala" to nan large screen. It was nan correct task astatine nan nonstop correct time. The movie followed Arsenyev and a typical topography ngo that he and respective men took to nan Siberian region of Russia backmost successful nan 1910s. The title character, played by Maxim Munzuk, was an master successful wilderness survival, and helped Arsenyev and his men past successful nan harsh Siberian weather, school them to unrecorded successful harmony pinch nan woods. 

Eastwood hated it, saying: 

"I loved Kurosawa's work. I didn't for illustration 'Dersu Uzala.' I thought that was terrible, isolated from it had a bully upwind series successful it. But I thought nan early stuff; 'Red Beard' (which wasn't excessively early), going backmost done nan years to 'Seven Samurai' and 'Yojimbo,' — which we remade arsenic 'A Fistful of Dollars,' aliases made a type of — were really awesome ocular things. He had nan awesome operation of being capable to do a ocular image and person his characters travel to life. You wanted to cognize them."

But what was missing from "Dersu Uzala" that made Eastwood not deliberation it was arsenic bully arsenic Kurosawa's different movies?

Daiei / Mosfilm

Clint Eastwood implied that "Dersu Uzala" didn't win connected either a characteristic level aliases a ocular level. He doesn't delve excessively overmuch into nan particulars of nan film, but theorizes that moreover nan top masters of nan trade are ne'er going to churn retired a assemblage of activity that is 100% bangers:

"[A] batch of times you get 1 aliases nan other: you get personification who's very bully pinch nan characteristic point and not pinch nan visual, aliases very bully pinch nan ocular and spectacle part, but you can't ever get into nan people. But it's everybody for a peculiar movie aliases immoderate group of films. The people of a bully director, of course, is what nan assemblage of his activity is worthy overall. Not conscionable a flick. really it turns retired complete nan years. Naturally immoderate of them are going to guidelines heads supra others conscionable by nan quality of tone and each nan components coming together. It's half talent/half luck aliases destiny aliases immoderate you want to telephone it." 

Elsewhere successful nan aforesaid interview, Eastwood besides admitted to disliking nan then-recent "Kagemusha" (released successful 1980), preferring Kurosawa's movies from 30 years earlier. He continued:

"I didn't for illustration ['Kagemusha']. But immoderate of his earlier things were conscionable really fabulous. 'Rashomon' was really good. I haven't liked immoderate of his past works. But I loved his play Samurai." 

Clint Eastwood turns 96 connected March 31, truthful he still has clip to drawback up pinch Kurosawa again. Perhaps he tin springiness "Dersu Uzala" different chance, and possibly propulsion successful a re-watch of "Kagemusha" while he's astatine it. These are really awesome movies.