Reviews

Ever heard of the Emperor's new clothes? Everyone praising; no one able to admit the truth? This is the fifth Kurosawa film I have seen, and once again, it disappoints on a monumental level. Boring story, Slow pacing, mediocre acting, and yes I'll say it: poor directing. Listening to endless dialoge exposition and then watching action scenes consisting of characters running around like the Keystone Cops just isn't an artistic contribution to the hallmark of great film. I really wonder if others would continue to say they like this film if no one was watching them. I enjoy foreign films and watch a few dozen every year, but I will never, EVER waste another minute of my life watching a Kurosawa film. Don't be duped -- Avoid!

This Martin Sheen film went almost completely unnoticed on its release, probably because the film company knew it wouldn't be worth promoting it. The film is a bit pretentious; it's characters speak lines in a manner that no one would really say in our real world. The actors do the best they can with the script they were given (including Blythe Danner, Craig T. Nelson, and Sebastian Dungan as Martin Sheen's 10-year old French son). It's not their fault, but the fault of the screenwriter Erich Segal (who also wrote the novel). Towards the end the movie goes to extremes to jerk the tears out of the two or three people sitting in the theatre. Really, not very good.