|
|
|
|
|
VHS : Sanshiro Sugata (AKA Judo Saga) |
Price: $60.00 Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786304391907
Format: Black & White, NTSC
ISBN: 6304391900
Label: Homevision
Manufacturer: Homevision
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Homevision
Release Date: June 13, 2000
Running Time: 80 minutes
Studio: Homevision
Theatrical Release Date: April 28, 1974
Sales Rank: 7216
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Description:
Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Ikiru), perhaps the best known of all Japanese directors, made his extraordinary debut with this thrilling martial arts film. Though filming during World War II, Kurosawa avoided patriotic and propagandistic elements to create a judo saga as visually stunning as it is exciting. The story of Sanshiro Sugata, a talented yet headstrong judo student, chronicles the struggle to establish judo, rather than jujitsu, as Japan's premiere martial art. Wartime censors ordered many cuts, but could not destroy the power of Kurosawa's vision. With its strong emphasis on discipline, Sanshiro Sugata anticipates later Kurosawa masterpieces that focus on the difficult path to spiritual enlightenment. The violent yet beautiful showdown, shot on a windswept mountainside, set the standard for all Japanese action films to follow.
Amazon.com:
Akira Kurosawa's extraordinary first feature concerns the genesis of the martial art, judo, in 1882. The film feels ancient, as though it were made long before the existence of cinema. Deceptively primitive and simple, it also has a starkly modern quality. Austere, mano a mano battle sequences shot in the shadow of night have a dreamlike aura. We are presented with one craggy, fearsome warrior's face after another. An eerie soundtrack adds another layer to the film's distinctive ancient/modern tone.
Sugata (the excellent Susumu Fujita) is an overeager young man anxious to learn the art of judo under the tutelage of great warrior Shogoro Yano (Denjiro Okochi). The formidable Yano feels that Sugata has betrayed the art by fighting brashly and frivolously: "Teaching judo to such a man is like giving a knife to a lunatic!" Mortified, Sugata shouts, "I can die!" and jumps into the canal, where he stays all night, stewing. (As always, there is a sly humor in Kurosawa's exploration of these weighty matters that sets his work apart.) Sugata then has his obligatory mythic epiphany: a beautiful water lily blooming at dawn inspires him to go on living and fighting, but now with a pure heart. (Can there be anything more quintessentially Japanese than this?) These scenes echo down through the years, all the way to George Lucas and the Star Wars movies: Sugata is Luke Skywalker; Yano is Yoda; judo is "the Force."
The film's stunning climax is a fight to the death between good and evil: Sugata versus Gennosuke Higaki (Ryunosuke Tsukigata--menace personified). There are few cinematic sequences more shockingly gorgeous than this: shot in black and white on a mountaintop in ghostly half-light, two men roll over and over in the tall, wind-whipped grass. It brings tears to the eyes. --Laura Mirsky
Average Rating: 
Rating: -
Martial arts films have come a long way since this curious historical drama, the first feature film directed by the up-and-coming Akira Kurosawa. Filmed and edited during wartime, it dramatizes the story of the late 19th Century development of judo as a breakaway form of the jiu-jitsu school of martial arts. Without the benefit of Hong Kong style wire-works or the flashy acrobatics of Bruce Lee, et al, the combat looks mostly like wrestling or sumo... Which, perhaps, back in the 1880s, it was. ... Read More
Rating:  -
See it - you won't be disappointed. Definitely a must see if you're a Kurosawa fan! Despite being his maiden film, Kurosawa's mastery clearly shines through. Indeed, there is even a certain purity in his artistry in this early effort.
As is the case with all his films, and maybe even more conscientiously so in this case, every scene, every shot is so exquisitely crafted, with so much sense and purpose: the camera staying on a scene a deliberate amount of time, the assiduous panning of ... Read More
Rating:  -
"Sanshiro Sugata" tells the story of the rise of Judo, and the efforts of it's practitioners to replace the leading martial art, Jujitsu. There is a tournament, with the winner of the tournament hired to train the police force in martial arts. Young Sugata is determined to prove his worth, and to ensure that Judo is the recognized martial art of the police force.
Kurasowa's directorial debut is an uneven film to be sure. Judo is a martial art particularly unsuited to cinema. The ... Read More
Rating: -
All of the artistic flair and sweeping imagery that defines the typical Kurosawa film is evident in this his inaugural film effort. How easy it would have been at the height of Japan's success in WWII to make a cliche ridden film slavishly paying homage to nationalism. Yet Kurosawa manages to make a film dedicated to martial arts with self restraint and humility as its theme. Quite a remarkable stance from a novice director. Japanese censors were not pleased and at times the results show in abrupt ... Read More
Browse for similar items by category:
|
|
Cunard Line has announced that its new
85,000-ton cruise ship, which is scheduled to enter service in 2008, will be
named Queen Victoria. Based in Southampton, England, the Cunard Queen Victoria will be
the second largest Cunard Queen ever built. Together with the current flagship,
Queen Elizabeth 2, and Queen Mary 2, the biggest passenger liner ever, the
Cunard fleet will include three Queens for the first time – truly the most
famous ocean liners in the world.
Raddison Cruises
Cruise
Queen Victoria will enter service in the company’s 165th anniversary and will
operate cruises to and from Southampton to the Mediterranean, the Canaries,
Northern Europe, the Caribbean, and South America. The 1,968-passenger vessel
will feature a covered wraparound promenade deck, a forward-facing observation
lounge, a large Lido pool with a retractable magrodome, and 10 of the12
passenger decks will be served by exterior glass-walled lifts. Like QE2 and QM2,
the liner will have a Queens Grill, offering single-seating gourmet dining.
There will also be a unique Colonial Restaurant on Deck 11 with spectacular
panoramic views.
Queen Victoria cruises will offer a wide range of
accommodations, large standard outside cabins (170 square feet) and a high
percentage of balcony cabins (67%), thereby bringing new levels of luxury and
choice to passengers preferring to depart from a European port. Cruise
Queen Victoria!
Low Priced Domain Host
The on-board menus, entertainment and lecture program will be geared to British
tastes and the currency will be sterling. Queen Victoria will fly the red
ensign; she will have the name of her home port, Southampton, on her stern, and
she will have a British Captain and Officers.
In design terms the cruise Cunard Queen Victoria will have an undeniably British feel with two British design
teams being responsible for the interior of the Cunard Queen Victoria.
Queen Victoria is being built at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, near
Venice, with her keel laid on July 12, 2003. One of the most technically
advanced shipbuilders in the world, Fincantieri has built more than 7,000
vessels, including many for Cunard’s parent Carnival Corporation. Originally
ordered as the fifth in a series of five 'Vista' class ships for sister company
Holland America, the contact was signed over to Cunard before the keel was laid
and Holland America then ordered a further ship for delivery in 2006.
Enjoy a Cruise on Queen Victoria. The
lead ship in the series, Zuiderdam, entered service in December 2002.
No cruise schedules have yet been
announced. Her float out is scheduled for May 2007, prior to
her delivery in March 2008.She is scheduled to enter service in April 2008. |
