An acclaimed , photographically impresive picture with nice acting , colorful cinematography and enjoyable musical score . Dealing with a poetic , attractive , poignant examination of of constrasting lives . Simple, gentle , gold-hunter guide Dersu Uzala (Maxim Munzuk) is a native who has lived in the Mongolian/ Siberian countryside since birth. When he wanders into a Russian exploration party led by Capt. Vladimir Arseniev (Yuri Solomin) the captain meets the curious person and he hires as a guide. The old Dersu Uzala tells the foreigners stories about the land proving to them that he can out-hunt and out-shoot the best of them, and managing to save the life of the captain during one snow storm . They start to teach each other about their respective worlds . Along the way, the Russian surveyor in Siberia befriends deeply the crusty , resourceful Mongolian who teaches him the rules of survival in Siberia. And the soldiers develop a deep respect and affection for Dersu and Capt. Then Dersu goes to the urban civilization at the time , but Dersu decides to go back to the untamed land and Arseniev gives him his best rifle to take with him. Eventually Arseniev seeks out his old comrade but discovers that fate has intervened .There is man and beast at nature's mercy !. There is awe and love and reverence. And there is the man called...!
A larger-scale Russian co-production Dersu Uzala (1975) , an epic tale of adventure in turn-of-the-century Siberia. This Kurosawa's Academy Award Winning Masterpiece results to be a majestic film about the charting of the Siberian wilderness , circa 1900 , being surprisingly as intimate in relationships and details as it is grand in scope and vistas . Here stands out the agreeable friendship, mutual respect and comradeship that the two protagonits develop throughout the movie . A Japanese, Russian coproduction , the second half of this Oscar winner is much better than the first . Still , as only a great film can do, it transports viewers to a time and place unknown to any of us , and we emerge exhilarated. Divided in two parts , the first depicts the Siberian nature , wilderness , tundra and steppes , and subsequently the surveyor Arseniev brings Dersu into his home in the city to live with him and his wife and son bringing to the family an exposure to stories and a way of living that they could not gain from anywhere else in their city life , as the domesticated lifestyle doesn't suit Dersu whose daily activities clash with the local constabulary.
Shot in Sovscope in 70mm , this awarded best foreign film Academy Award winner was compellingly directed by Akira Kurosawa. After working in a wide range of genres, Kurosawa made this awesome film. The previous years saw the low-key , touching Living (1952) , the epic The seven samurais (1954), the barbaric , fascinating Shakespeare adaptation Throne of blood (1957) , a Macbeth's version , a masterful rendition that transports the story to Medieval Japan , and a fun pair of samurai movies Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962) , and Rashomon , often credited as the reason the Academy created the "Best Foreign Film" category. After a lean period in the late 1960s and early 1970s, though, Kurosawa attempted suicide . Other important movies were : The idiot based on Feodor Dostowieski , Drunken Angel , Scandal , A quiet duel , Tiger's tale , High and low . He survived, and made a small, personal, low-budget picture with Dodes'ka-den (1970). With the help of admirers Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, the samurai tale Kagemusha (1980), which Kurosawa described as a dry run for Ran (1985), an epic adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear" . He continued to work into his eighties with the more personal Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990), and Madadayo (1993) and Rhapsody in August . Rating : 7.5/10 . Better than average. Dersu Uzala will appeal to Kurosawa enthusiasts.
A larger-scale Russian co-production Dersu Uzala (1975) , an epic tale of adventure in turn-of-the-century Siberia. This Kurosawa's Academy Award Winning Masterpiece results to be a majestic film about the charting of the Siberian wilderness , circa 1900 , being surprisingly as intimate in relationships and details as it is grand in scope and vistas . Here stands out the agreeable friendship, mutual respect and comradeship that the two protagonits develop throughout the movie . A Japanese, Russian coproduction , the second half of this Oscar winner is much better than the first . Still , as only a great film can do, it transports viewers to a time and place unknown to any of us , and we emerge exhilarated. Divided in two parts , the first depicts the Siberian nature , wilderness , tundra and steppes , and subsequently the surveyor Arseniev brings Dersu into his home in the city to live with him and his wife and son bringing to the family an exposure to stories and a way of living that they could not gain from anywhere else in their city life , as the domesticated lifestyle doesn't suit Dersu whose daily activities clash with the local constabulary.
Shot in Sovscope in 70mm , this awarded best foreign film Academy Award winner was compellingly directed by Akira Kurosawa. After working in a wide range of genres, Kurosawa made this awesome film. The previous years saw the low-key , touching Living (1952) , the epic The seven samurais (1954), the barbaric , fascinating Shakespeare adaptation Throne of blood (1957) , a Macbeth's version , a masterful rendition that transports the story to Medieval Japan , and a fun pair of samurai movies Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962) , and Rashomon , often credited as the reason the Academy created the "Best Foreign Film" category. After a lean period in the late 1960s and early 1970s, though, Kurosawa attempted suicide . Other important movies were : The idiot based on Feodor Dostowieski , Drunken Angel , Scandal , A quiet duel , Tiger's tale , High and low . He survived, and made a small, personal, low-budget picture with Dodes'ka-den (1970). With the help of admirers Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, the samurai tale Kagemusha (1980), which Kurosawa described as a dry run for Ran (1985), an epic adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear" . He continued to work into his eighties with the more personal Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990), and Madadayo (1993) and Rhapsody in August . Rating : 7.5/10 . Better than average. Dersu Uzala will appeal to Kurosawa enthusiasts.