78.750

this will certainly leave you wondering what could have been. but what's there is fucking awesome.

Man, Setsuko Hara could act just by looking at you.

edebiyattan sinemaya uyarlamanin ne kadar zor oldugunun ispatlarindan biri. yonetmen hikayeyi toparlayabilmek icin yazarin tartistigi konulari oyle budamis ki salt trajik bir aska donusturmus.

Could have been one of Kurosawa's finest.

Oh, what could have been.

I've never read Dostoyevsky's novel, but I'd always heard that it was "unfilmable." This one is pretty odd, and maybe if I had read the source material I could appreciate it a bit more. Even so, in its current form this movie is notably flawed by studio cuts. It's a series of bizarre events that, when taken individually, are quite elegant. As a whole though, the film is very disjointed. Hints of genius do show through at times, with beautiful Wintertime photography and some great acting.

One can only wonder how much better this could have been had anyone been able to track down a full 266 minute print. What's left is a wonderful, slightly disjointed film full of great performances from Team Kurosawa along with Setsuko Hara as well as some gorgeous imagery and masterful directing. The Ice Carnival scene is not to be missed!

What's left of this film is one of Kurosawa's most intriguing films. An air of mystique hangs over it, partly from the gorgeous wintry scenes and partly from the operatic melodrama. Most of the performances are over-the-top, but it suits the film so well. I longed to see more of Hara, playing very much against her Ozu-defined type but absolutely marvelous at it. I was just really impressed by the whole thing. But it is very slow.

Aware of it's problematic production, I was able to put on the same rose-tinted glasses I use while watching a significant portion of Orson Welles' career. The flaws are glaring, particularly in the pacing and narrative, Kurosawa's strongest suits, but I was still able to see the great movie in there despite that. Still, I can't help but long for the 90 or so minutes that are lost, as it probably would have made this one of his finest.