RED BEARD Movie Review

Akahige

Akira Kurosawa's engrossing epic is the story of a tough but compassionate physician (Toshiro Mifune) in 19th-century Japan who does his best to treat patients from every walk of life, while simultaneously training a young intern. Red Beard was mistakenly dismissed by some upon its release as a soap opera in disguise. While it may share some of the plot elements of an episode Dr. Kildare or ER, it's also a powerful and sweeping portrait of the human spirit in the grand Kurosawa style. It was the last film that Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune would make together, and as the grizzled physician with the hard exterior and compassionate heart (who knows the martial arts as well), Mifune gives one of his most memorable and touching performances. This is a stately, visually grand three-hour film that remains one of Kurosawa's most unjustly overlooked masterworks. With Takashi Shimura (Ikiru) and Chishu Ryu (Tokyo Story). The stunning widescreen compositions deserve to be seen in the letterboxed video format.

NEXT STOP … Seven Samurai, Dodes ‘ka-den, Ikiru

1965 185m/B JP Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Reiko Dan; D: Akira Kurosawa. VHS, LV, Letterbox CRC, FCT