Analog Visions, Digital Futures: The Sci-Fi Cinema of 1984 - Part 2: Iceman & Starman

Two 1984 films with different types of visitors. One a neanderthal man revived after being frozen in ice, sending him 40,000 years into the future. The other is an enlightened visitor from an advanced civilization visiting earth. Both movies situate the audience from the perspective of an outsider looking at modern humanity. Iceman asked audiences to reflect on human origins and the meaning of a technological civilization, while Starman takes a more hopeful view of humanity. Both films use outsiders as a window into the contradictions of modern civilization. 

Iceman (1984, Fred Schepisi)

Iceman is often grouped with films from the 1980s dealing with the origins of humanity including Quest for Fire, Caveman, Altered States, and Clan of the Cave Bear. Australian director Fred Schepisi brought an observational and humanistic approach to the material from a script by John Drimmer and Chip Proser. A group of scientists at a research station in the Arctic, you almost imagine the events of The Thing happening simultaneously, discover a neanderthal man frozen in the ice. When the team thaws the ice; they detect brain activity and manage to revive the man. 

Timothy Hutton stars as anthropologist Dr. Stanley Sheperd who, unlike the other military and scientific personnel, treats "Charlie" with compassion. John Lone, in a sublime performance in heavy makeup plays the neanderthal. They place him in an artificial habitat so he can hunt for food, but Charlie begins to grasp there's something off with his simulated environment. Shepherd's colleague Dr. Brady (Lindsay Crouse) views him as a specimen they can study to learn more about cryogenics and longer human life spans, even immortality. The military sees strategic potential to leverage the Soviets! 

Shepherd refuses to view Charlie as a test subject, but as a living being who deserves dignity and respect, an invaluable source of wisdom for the present. As a living example of the past, Charlie can provide insight on language development, early human culture, and spirituality. How do we see ourselves in the universe? 

Schepisi emphasizes the alienating effects of technology and how it disconnects us from nature. The film emphasizes people immersed in screens and reliant on computer data - this was 1984! The world stands on the nuclear brink; one wonders if early humans just as self-destructive? How did they adapt? Intelligence, strength, compassion - a combination of all? We learn Charlie was trying to save his family during the Ice Age by going on a "Dreamwalk", adding a poignancy to the theme of human survival in the film. 

Hutton's scientist is the humanist voice, an avatar for Carl Sagan. He sees Charlie as a miracle, a way for a lost humanity to rediscover itself. He believes modern humanity also owes him all the dignity of a fulfilling life, and not to live as a test subject. In a memorable scene they bond when Shepherd sings Neil Young's "Heart of Gold." I suspect many in 1984 (and now) would go into Iceman expecting something absurd that would either veer into horror or comedy. Instead, the film provides a solemn meditation on the mystery of humanity's origins, a subtle theme on how the modern world is dependent on technology, and most importantly a feel for the cosmic sweep of time. 

                                                    Starman (1984, John Carpenter)

John Carpenter's Starman marked a departure in his filmography. In contrast to the cosmic horror of The Thing, Starman offers s mature humanism. Often thought of as a more adult oriented version of Spielberg's E.T., the film also imagines a visitor from an advanced civilization who makes a deep connection with a human being. 

Karen Allen stars as grieving widow Jenny Hayden, the film begins with her watching home movies of her deceased husband played by Jeff Bridges. A spacecraft crashes near her home in northern Wisconsin, an orb leaves the craft and goes into her house, finds a trace of DNA and takes the form of her husband Scott. Shocked at first, Jenny must transport the visitor to Arizona where a craft will retrieve him 

Sagan also influences the film, maybe unconsciously. It's the Voyager craft the visitors first encounter which leads them to earth. They hear the music and read the greetings. Sagan was a part of Voyager and the public relations behind the mission. The Sagan avatar in the film is played by Charles Martin Smith, portraying a fictional astronomer who worked on Voyager and is now a consultant to the military. Smith's character surmises the visitor is on an exploratory mission and knows the military wants to capture the being for experimentation.  

Jenny learns the visitor comes from an advanced civilization that's managed to flourish as a high-tech society. It's another Sagan concept, his hope that that intelligent species exist in the universe who managed to survive with high technology. He confesses to envying humans for their ambition and zest for life. He admires how humans are at their best when things are worse.

Like Iceman, institutions serve as the antagonist. First, the military believes the craft to be a Soviet ploy to test their response time. Once it becomes clear the craft is extraterrestrial the military wants to exploit the incident for national security purposes. It's part of a major recurring theme through all of 1984 Sci-Fi cinema, institutions as working against humanist ends in the name of national security. 

Starman also provides a panorama of 1980s America. The scenery shifts from the Midwest to the deserts of the Southwest. It's the America of motels, diners, and roadside attractions. There's a sequence in Las Vegas as the crass embodiment of America. Carpenter used Winslow, Arizona as the location for the climax (Devil's Tower was taken!). The road movie approach takes the viewer on a journey. 

Jeff Bridges was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar; Karen Allen was equally as good. Bridges and Carpenter provided the commentary track for the Blu-Ray, sharing many anecdotes from the production and their approaches to the story. 

The message for 1984 audiences displayed a hint of 60's idealism and 1970s New Age even in the middle of the Reagan era. The militarism of Reagan is countered with an emphasis on empathy and understanding. Of all filmmakers, it was John Carpenter who made perhaps the most hopeful film of the year. If The Thing explored the worst of human behavior when facing an incomprehensible threat, Starman centers wonder, connection, and understanding. 

Analog Visions, Digital Futures: The Sci-Fi Cinema of 1984 - Part 1: The Terminator & Runaway

The Terminator (1984, James Cameron)

The Terminator is the undisputed classic of 1984, so we'll start there. James Cameron's vision of the future felt raw and visceral. More importantly, it looked cool and dark. Yet underneath all the hardware and time travel mind benders was something unexpectantly humanistic. 

The film begins with a grim vision of a future war with machines. Cameron's vision of combat is the antithesis of Star Wars. Future technology looks and feels alienating as AI fueled airborne attacks extinguish humans. The imagery of crushed skulls, the wreckage of remnants from the industrial age, set to Brian Fiedel's mechanical synth soundtrack are like a nightmare. The visual style emphasizes blue and black, creating an apocalyptic hue. The sound design emphasizes inorganic, machinery sounds. 

Casting Arnold Schwartenegger in the title role proved for fortuitous for all involved. Already a legendary bodybuilder holding eleven titles, he was known to movie audiences for Conan the Barbarian. With his bodybuilder physique, the Terminator already appears more machine than human. Schwarzenegger's deadpan performance and monotone line deliveries might have been the first time audiences felt the reality of a cyborg. The Terminator has an almost supernatural ability to survive and track his targets, in fact the terminator is not too far removed from Jason Vorhees or Michael Myers, but his style is more industrial, efficiency is prized above brutality.  

Linda Hamilton's performance as Sarah Connor was groundbreaking, mainstream Sc-Fi rarely featured a female lead, Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in Alien was a few years before. Employed as a waitress and living with a roommate (and a pet iguana), she has no idea what's coming. Fate has selected her to save humanity. as will be thrown into a world of violence. She adapts and learns how to survive. Sarah's final confrontation with the Terminator seems to recall the climax of Halloween when Michael corners Laurie in the closet, only in this case Sarah isn't the survivor, she must begin to think and act like the killer. The sequel Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) shows the extent of her transformation. 

The film also introduces the concept of "before time." Shot on location, the visuals take advantage of run-down industrial parts of the city, creating a neo noir effect. The Terminator took a cue from John Carpenter's Escape from New York with proto dystopian view of the modern city. When Kyle Reese sees construction equipment he gets flashbacks to the dangerous machinery of his reality, one can already see humanity's reliance on technology. Connections are subtlety made throughout foreshadowing the dark future that lies ahead. The world of 1984 must look surreal to Kyle, food is available everywhere, terrifying cyborgs are not running rampant, there's light when he's only known darkness. 

Michael Biehn as Kyle makes sense because he's such a strong contrast to the terminator. Physically, he's not the typical 1980s hardbody, but lean and gaunt in appearance. But he's a capable soldier, the performance communicates Reese is a man who knows no other reality except war, plagued with PTSD. There's a vulnerability to the character rare with male leads during the era. Biehn prepared for the role by researching the Polish Resistance during the Second World War, learning about living on meager diets and under constant threat. He's not only serving as a protector of Sarah, but as witness to the grim future ahead. His love for Sarah, which stretched across time, almost takes on a biblical resonance. Although Kyle is physically weaker to the Terminator, he knows how to improvise and adapt to situations. 

Cameron added humor through the supporting characters who are all stock characters of the era. Lance Henriksen and Paul Winfield as the LA P.D. detectives are typical buddy cops of the decade, both seasoned actors, they do a lot with their supporting roles. Sarah's roommate Ginger (Bess Motta) and Rick Rossovich, as her boyfriend Matt, are typical victims from a slasher movie. Earl Boen as Dr. Silberman as the criminal psychologist serves as stand-in for the audience, personifying institutional skepticism. 

All these strands come together during the police station massacre. The script displays Cameron's mastery of blending genres, a Sci-Fi movie in theme and concept, but taking bits from horror, psychological thrillers, neo-noir, and buddy cop films.

In 1984, the theme of artificial intelligence being weaponized remained a novel concept on the big screen. Cameron's often cited Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) as an influence, the story of a supercomputer who takes on Godlike powers. With The Terminator, he added nuance, humanity harnesses AI for national defense purposes. But as Kyle states, "the cyborgs have no pity, remorse, or fear." And in a moment of cold logic, they decide to exterminate humanity. 

Released at the height of the Reagan era, national defense was a source of wonder and anxiety. In 1983 Reagan proposed SDI in a national address as a possible path out of the nuclear stranglehold, weaponizing satellites and lasers to shoot down incoming missiles. While scientists dismissed the idea as pure fantasy, the concept of SDI changed the conversation. The Terminator flipped the Reagan era notion that technological solutions insured a path to avoid destruction, what happens when the system that's designed to protect humanity decides humanity itself is the problem?  

The pop culture of 1984 reflected how technological sophistication and military power were becoming increasingly intertwined, from kids fare like The Transformers to loads of video games. At the same time, technology was making everyday life more entertaining for many, broadening entertainment choices, from the VHS to home computer systems. It brought cultural cache, bonding over VCR or Bera Max collections or the latest Atari game.

A defining image in the film occurs when Kyle recounts the future war. People have returned to a tribal way of living, struggling simply to secure food, subsisting on rats and canned goods. As Kyle returns from battle, we see kids gathered around a fire blazing inside an old TV set. Cameron subverts the object at the center of the American household, transforming from the source of entertainment into a piece of junk repurposed as fuel. It captures the strange irony of the film; technology became so advanced it destroyed the civilization that produced it. The comforts of technology in 1984 were everywhere, as were the threats it posed. 

The fragile humanity of Sarah and Kyle set against the industrial monstrosity of the cyborg reinforces an important idea: people might be weaker, slower, and less efficient than the machines, but they can adapt, experience emotions, and find meaning in existence. It's not that Cameron predicted the future, but he understood machines will keep evolving and it will be up to humanity to decide what to do with them and how to use it ethically. 

The film ends not with the transcendence of 2001: A Space Odyssey, nor the total surrender of Colossus:The Forbin Project, but with Sarah suspended between hope and fatalism, action versus outcome. She doesn't know what the future holds. Neither do we. 

Runaway (1984, Michael Crichton)

Written and directed by the bestselling author Michael Crichton, Runaway takes a surprisingly nuanced approach to technological advancement. Set in a near future where robotics have been incorporated into everyday life, handling household work like cooking, cleaning, and general upkeep - essentially serving as domestic workers that free up people's time. More advanced models can even perform medical treatments. Occasionally, there are "runaways" - robots that go haywire.

Tom Selleck, at the peak of his Magnum P.I. fame, stars as Sgt. Jack Ramsey. A widower raising his young son Bobby. Ramsey leads the robotics division of the police force who called in to handle runaways. An early sequence leads Jack and his new partner Karen (Cynthia Rhodes) to farm where robotic laborers are going berserk. 

Later Jack and Karen investigate a murder, the first case of a robot killing a human being. Jack stops the deadly machine but soon discovers a plot involving defense contractor Dr. Charles Luther played by KISS frontman Gene Simmons. Luther has developed ways to override robots' safety circuits and created heat-seeking bullets - the first case of bullet time in cinema history? - with plans to sell his technology to terrorists. 

Crichton keeps the narrative within the conventions of the police procedural and on that level the movie works. It maintains an even-handed pace between investigation, chase sequences, and suspense. Computer screens are everywhere, but not oppressive. The bad guys lose, the robots are contained, and order is restored. 

The score by Jerry Goldsmith was his first foray into an all-electronic score. Unlike the percussive and industrial sound of Fiedel's score for The Terminator, this one is more playful, not too far off from a toy commercial of the era. New technology not only has specific look and design, but a sound. Think of a modem warming up or the sound of a video game arcade. Goldsmith's score has a similar effect. 

In contrast to the Terminator, Runaway imagines a future in which robotics and other technologies are slowly integrated and normalized. If The Terminator asks whether our desire to create increasingly powerful technology might eventually destroy us, Runaway offers another possibility: humans will adapt. Robots will not doom us to extinction; they just might clean your carpets.  

Ramsey embodies that attitude. He reveals he was once a beat cop but moved into the robotics division because of his fear of heights and he discovered an aptitude with robotics. Technology has not destroyed his sense of purpose or made him obsolete. It simply changed his job. He understands technology can malfunction without treating its existence as a threat. 

We think of technology and the disruptions it caused in the past. The printing press changed religious and social life in Europe; or the splitting of the atom started the nuclear arms race. But the other side of it is how people learn to live with new technologies. Runway shows something close to that process, rare in science fiction. The future is not a clean break from the past, which is the way it's often framed in Sci-Fi cinema. People make mistakes, institutions adjust, and new technology becomes part of everyday life. 

At their best, Crichton's technological fables, like Westworld and Jurassic Park, function as warnings of humans losing control of systems. Runaway offers a slightly askew version of the concept. Of course, nefarious actors will exploit new technologies, but there are professionals in place whose job is to neutralize those threats. People will adapt to the digital environments and maintain their humanity. That might sound like 1980s optimism, but in year filled with anxiety about nuclear war and technology enabling Orwell's vision of surveillance states, Runaway offered a modest vision of the future, seemingly saying, stop' worrying, we got this. 

Analog Visions, Digital Futures - The Sci-Fi Cinema of 1984: Introduction

Introduction

Why look at 1984 now? 

For starters, the year saw the release of a remarkable number of science fiction films, offering audiences a variety of visions of the future. Some were concerned with the contemporary world and its fears and hopes, while others applied a more telescopic view. With the Cold War still dominating the political imagination, smack in the middle of the Reagan era, movies reflected the existential angst the nuclear world. But if you flipped over to the business or technology section of the newspaper, you might have seen another world in the making. 

Personal computers were becoming increasingly common. Cable television was offering more programming choices. Video games were starting to shape pop culture in subtle ways. For anyone following the news closely, whether in the user-friendly USA Today (ubiquitous in 1980s cinema), watching the Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, or tuning into the relatively new 24-hour news channel CNN - the media ecosystem was shifting. 

Then there was Orwell. 

The arrival of Orwell's year haunted the cultural discourse of 1984. Every pundit seemed to have a take on it. 1984 was once again a staple of the college syllabus. The themes George Orwell had written about - individual freedom, repression, surveillance, and governments perfecting new methods of control were far from fantasy. A major film adaptation was produced. Apple's famous Super Bowl ad reframed the year entirely differently, presenting technological innovation as a check against Orwell's dystopian vision.  

Science fiction was uniquely positioned to process all of this. 

This isn't intended as a nostalgia trip of the 1980s, or a longing for the analog era.  I'm more interested in what these films reveal about the moment in which they were made - and what they reveal to us now. The Sci-Fi films of 1984 offered alternative futures, giving audiences plenty to think about. Their variety is particularly striking. Some films offered humanism and hope. Others presented bold new technological and social possibilities. Some brimmed with trepidation. In a way, the films were speaking to each other. 

That's what interests me about 1984. 

Here's the list of films I'll be covering for this 10-part series.

1)The Terminator/Runaway

2) Starman/Iceman

3) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

4) Ghostbusters/C.H.U. D/The Brother from Another Planet

5) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock/2010: The Year We Made Contact

6) Dune/The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension

7) The Last Starfighter/Wargames (1983)

8) Repo Man/Night of the Comet

9) Firestarter/The Philadelphia Experiment/Dreamscape

10 1984/MAC Ad/ Brazil (1985)

The list of films is by no means definitive. Other films from 1984 and the surrounding years may find their way into these posts or become subjects of their own in the future. Future articles might also take a closer look into the larger cultural landscape of the era, whether through television, video games, technology, politics, gender, or consumerism. 

This isn't an argument 1984 was the year "everything changed." It did not. Nor am I attempting to make a grand thesis about the science fiction of the year. Instead, this series is an exercise in looking, comparing, and asking questions. Rather than beginning with a fixed argument, other than a notion 1984 marks an inflection point, I'm just going to keep watching and keep writing, bounce these movies off each other, and see what emerges.  

The Kurosawa Century #7: Shakespeare in Feudal Japan: Throne of Blood (1957) & Ran (1985)

Throne of Blood (1957, 111 Minutes)

Kurosawa's intense and violent version of Shakespeare's Macbeth leans into the militaristic aspects of the play. Toshiro Mifune stars as Samurai commander Washizu who is told by an evil spirit in the forest, he will be king someday. When he confides in his wife Asaji (Isuzu Yamada) she persuades him to murder the Lord of the Castle. 

Throne of Blood is one of Kurosawa's moodiest and most atmospheric films, the fog, rain, and darkness hover over the entire film. It might be his most heavy metal in style, you can imagine the film synching with Black Sabbath. Mifune's is really dialed up in a physically demanding performance. He plays the character as so troubled, tormented, and prone to violence. His death by a thousand arrows is one of the most famous in cinema history, I can't imagine any other adaptation of Macbeth topping it. 

Kurosawa's Throne of Blood is more in common with war movies than most versions of the play. Washizu is not a sympathetic character nor a philosophical one, there's no "Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" soliloquy. He's a fanatical warrior and I view the film as a commentary on the self-destructive nature of militarism as leading to madness. Whether Japan's history in the 1930s was on Kurosawa's mind is mere speculation. The battle scenes are the major set pieces, including the famous forest sequence. The cinematography is superior and the narrative is tight as a drum. 

Ran (1985, 162 Minutes)

Inspired by Shakespeare's King Lear, Ran reimagines the play as a bloody power struggle in feudal Japan. In this version the king has three sons, although the wife of one (Lady Kaede) plays a major role in the story. Ran is on the same wavelength of Throne of Blood, but the story goes much deeper into human psychology and power. 

The film opens with Lord Hidetora announcing his plans to hand over the throne to his oldest son Taro. The other sons immediately question the decision and all hell breaks loose. We know that Hidetora committed his share of violence in his past, he massacred and humilated his enemies. Lady Kaede (Taro 'wife) urges him to wage war on his two brothers for her own ulterior reasons. Bloody battles ensue, including the taking of Hidetora's castle that's unforgettable. People die senseless deaths. It's a cold business with no glory, a major contrast to Seven Samurai. 

Ran is Kurosawa's most apocalyptic film. It's like the history of humanity is a never-ending cycle of violence, the end of civilization. Technically, the film is a masterclass at every level. The sounds of the wind and rain. The distinct color pallets. Yet it maintains a reflective tone, inviting the audience to contemplate what they are witnessing. 

In contrast to the violence is the beauty and majesty of nature. As a force, nature seems indifferent to the story, and it's always in the background. As brutal events play out in these vast landscapes, the vibrant colors of the world coexist Characters are often dwarfed by the vastness of the sky and the mountains making their actions feel ephemeral and insignificant. 

 

The Kurosawa Century #6: Corporate Corruption & Contemporary Japan: The Bad Sleep Well (1960) & High and Low (1963)

The Bad Sleep Well (1960, 151 Minutes)

Moody, byzantine, and alienating are just a few adjectives to describe The Bad Sleep Well. Loosely inspired by Hamlet, in that it's a story about a son attempting to avenge the unjust death of his father, only it's' the version where Claudius wins. A plot summary would take several paragraphs, but if paying close attention, the plot is not over complicated. 

Toshiro Mifune stars as Nishi the young Vice President of the Public Development Corporation. The film opens with a wedding sequence with Nishi marrying Yoshiko, daughter of the company's president. Kurosawa used the sequence to frame the conflicts of the film.  The wedding party is interrupted by the police who arrest top officials on corruption charges, threatening he future of the company. The wedding cake is replica of corporate headquarters, with a certain window (on the cake) marking the spot where a former official leaped to his death. 

Thus, the plot is set in motion. Some characters have double identities, fake deaths are staged, and corruption goes on at high levels. A revenge plot in the planning for years is about to happen, dependent on several complex deceptions. Within this labyrinth are memorable scenes that include a character watching his own funeral and listening to co-workers make fun of him, a mock execution scene when a character is almost thrown out of a window and then is then made to believe he drank deadly poison. The grim and dramatic climax of the film happens off screen! 

One character observes, "It's not easy to fight evil." That's the truth. In Kurosawa's contemporary Japan evil has no human face, the banal offices and massive boardrooms feel oppressive, the bureaucratic levels are endless. Information and secrets are the currency. Mifune as the Hamlet avatar is so stoic and restrained, it's hard to get a read on the character.

Francis Ford Coppola named The Bad Sleep Well as an influence on The Godfather. The cinematography by Yuzuru Aizawa probably inspired Gordon Willis as so many frames are filled with darkness. The plot of Coppola's The Conversation also shares a lot with this film. Repeated viewings will be rewarded. 

High and Low (1963, 143 Minutes)

If The Bad Sleep Well is a thriller told in a minor key, High and Low plays in a major key. Inspired by the Ed McBain novel King's Ransom, the story involves a high-profile kidnapping and its aftermath. Toshiro Mifune (Kingo Gondo) stars as the top executive for a shoe company that's in the midst of a shake-up. The first section take place inside Gondo's spacious high-rise apartment. He gets a phone call telling him his young son has been kidnapped, only to find his young boy is still safe at home, it was in fact the child of Gondo's chauffer who was abducted by mistake.  

The kidnapper demands an extravagant ransom that would bankrupt Gondo, at first, he decides not to pay them off, but after the pleading of the father and his own guilt he decides to liquidate his savings. The police assure Gondo this will make him a hero to the public, while his bosses are far less charitable. In an astonishing sequence, a masterclass of shot selection and sound design, the money is dropped from a speeding train and the boy is returned. 

The chamber piece melodrama then shifts into procedural mode as the Tokyo police try to track down the kidnapper and his accomplices. The focus turns to the law enforcement professionals using every means at their disposal, whether it's high-tech forensic work, years of experience and wisdom, or managing the media. Kurosawa highlights the institution. which had modernized considerably since Stray Dog. Kurosawa emphasizes their efficiency, a storytelling mode that's popular today, people at their best getting things done. 

The final act becomes a gritty urban thriller as the scene shifts to the streets of Tokyo. Kurosawa explores the drug trade, nightclubs, and scrap yards. They capture the kidnapper, an intern at a hospital who envied the lavish lifestyle of Gondo. In the final scene, Gondo visits the young man in prison who is about to be executed for the kidnapping and murdering his accomplices. The two share a terse exchange. Crime driven by class resentment remains a cause célèbre in the 21st century, one thinks of the Luigi Mangioni case. Kurosawa takes a more telescopic view of class division, withholding political solutions or judgments, but does present class division as a tension fueling the undertow of a modern metropolis. 

The narrative flow of High and Low is nothing short of fantastic. The plot serves as nothing more than an instrument to explore themes of class, justice, moral responsibility, cold-hearted capitalism and systems reacting under pressure. Technically, the cinematography is also stunning, the use of blocking belongs on a film school syllabus. And one can see the DNA of modern urban thrillers, Lumet, Fincher, and especially Michael Mann. I can't imagine Manhunter or Heat existing without High and Low. 

The Kurosawa Century #5: Social Class: The Lower Depths (1957) & Dodes 'ka-den (1970)

The Lower Depths (1957, 125 Minutes)

Kurosawa's adaptation of the 1902 Maxim Gorky play The Lower Depths is a character study of people living in a downtrodden section of Tokyo during the 19th century. A work of social realism, the play was well received in Japan and France. The play's an ensemble piece with a range of characters making sense of their low station in life, while lamenting their failed potential. A love triangle that erupts into a murder is the central plot point, in addition to many subplots spanning the spectrum of comical and tragic. 

The Lower Depths is one of Kurosawa's least cinematic films, the action is limited to two sets that were intentionally grimy, although the opening shot is fantastic and there are many long takes to emphasize the theatricality of the film. The characters range from old to young, some trying to pick up the pieces of their lives while others spend their days in misery and regret. As one can surmise, this is one of Kurosawa's darkest films and offbeat tonally, moments of existential despair are paired with slapstick humor. When a wandering pilgrim shows up (Bokuzen Hidari) offering spiritual advice to the downtrodden, some begin to question his story. Toshiro Mifune also given a meaty role as a thief in love with two sisters and trying to reform. 

Made during one of Kurosawa's most creative periods, The Lower Depths may take audiences by surprise with its tone bordering on nihilism. Like the Gorky play, the drama reminds middle-class audiences of the people living miserable lives who are often hidden in plain sight. Kurosawa fills the frame with humanity, and while the reality is grim, they are still imperfect people struggling to make sense of their lives and while keeping their dignity. 

Dodes 'ka-den (1970, 140 Minutes)

After completing Red Beard, Kurosawa worked in Hollywood for a few years developing a film script about Pearl Harbor, which became the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora! After spending two years on the script, Kurosawa agreed to leave a few weeks into production. 20th Century Fox and Kurosawa clashed over his working methods being too slow. The experience left Kurosawa devastated and he returned to Japan.

Based on a novel by Shugoro Yamamato (A City Without Seasons), Dodes 'ka-den was filmed in 28 days. It was notably Kurosawa's first film in color. The story is a series of vignettes following characters who live in shantytown outside of Tokyo. One story follows a young boy who imagines he's a trolley conductor, a beggar and son fantasize about their dream house as malnutrition destroys their health, a mute teenage girl deals with her predatory uncle. Other stories involve infidelities, family conflicts, and other daily struggles. 

Primary colors dominate the visual style, although the brightness of the first hour gives way to the heavier stories and a more muted color scheme for the second half. The film works a companion piece to The Lower Depths, although Dodes 'ka-den offers more optimism. Imagination is portrayed as a means of escape, and the emphasis leans into renewal instead of despair. 

Dodes 'ka-den might be one of Kurosawa's most personal films. Questions of history and existentialism are in the background. The focus here is more on human interaction and small moments of compassion. Some interpret the boy imagining the trolley train as based on Kurosawa himself.  

The film failed to make money and Kurosawa questioned whether he would even continue making films, leading to a much-publicized personal crisis. Yet at the same time, at the lowest point of his career, his reputation among younger filmmakers was growing and instead of spending his late career in forced retirement he would become an elder statesman of world cinema and go on to create more masterpieces. 

The Kurosawa Century #4: Civilization and Nature: Seven Samurai (1954) & Dersu Uzala (1975)

Seven Samurai (1954, 207 Minutes)

The mystique of Seven Samurai continues to expand each decade. Kurosawa pushed the possibilities of cinema, a film with as much depth and insight into humanity on the same level with any work of great literature. All epic films stand in its shadow. Why is Seven Samurai a great film, maybe one of those films that should be launched into the stars as a future artifact of humanity? 

Set in 16th century Japan during the Civil Wars era, the film begins with a village getting raided by bandits, who terrorize and steal their rice harvest. Facing humiliation and starvation, elders of the village decide to seek out samurai warriors to defend the village. At the nearest town they meet an aging Ronin Kambei Shimada (Takashi Shimura) who agrees to help them. Kambei recruits six more, the "getting the team together" remains a fixture of action cinema. Kurosawa is patient through these scenes which are often comical but also building character. The villagers can only pay them in rice, nothing but honor is at stake. 

Toshiro Mifune was memorable as Kikuchiyo, a character who's comical, sensitive, menacing, full of contradictions. He's not even a samurai; in modern parlance he was a fan boy who eventually became the real thing. Kambei gathers a few trusted lieutenants, an expert swordsman, and a young samurai he takes on as a protege. Kambei's a quiet leader, he never gives speeches but always knows the right thing to say, when to be serious and when to joke around. 

Kurosawa's approach is both humanistic and anthropological. They peasants are presented as brave, cowardly, greedy, selfish, undeniably human. Disagreements among the samurai also happen, costly mistakes are made. The villagers are suspicious of the samurai, fearing their daughters will run off with them. Yet, they manage to cooperate and defend the village. Today "building community" is frequently invoked in rhetoric, but the film illustrates it's often a messy process with no blueprint. There's a sense of space and geography. The camera lets the audience know the layout of the village and how it will be defended.

It took over a month to film the final battle, often in the rain or snow. The sound of the horses, the wet mud, the courage, the cruelty, acts of foolishness and bravery, and the sense of exhaustion are all on screen. As we start to lose characters the stakes begin to feel real. When action, character, theme, cinematography, meet in such sublime harmony the experience marks a crescendo for the viewer. 

Existential themes punctuate the story and give further meanings. Early in the film Kambei talks about the big dreams of youth and how they vanish without notice and "before you know it you are all alone." In the final scene, he confesses to his lieutenant the victory came with great cost, and it was more for the villagers as they gaze at the graves of the four who perished. The film asks, what was it all for? What does it mean to offer service and ask for nothing in return? The peasants are celebrating their harvest, the surviving are no longer needed, standing like obsolete relics. 

For the ending, Kurosawa is asking the audience to make sense of what they just experienced. There's a difference between being forced to make a sacrifice and choosing to make one, civilization rests on doing things that may not benefit you but will allow others to live. Human existence cannot be all transactional, continuity depends on enough people willing to give their time and labor and never receive any material compensation. Would you still do the right thing if no one will ever know? Maybe someone else will get the credit, your actions might be erased. These are moving and important questions Seven Samurai asks about the foundations of civilization. 

Dersu Uzala (1975, 144 Minutes)

A co-production between the Soviet Union and Japan, Dersu Uzala is based on the true story of Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev (1872-1930) and his friendship with the trapper and hunter of the film's title. Kurosawa accepted the Soviet government's request to direct, spending several months in the Siberian wilderness in hazardous conditions. He was coming out of a difficult period in his professional and personal life when he struggled to get funding for his films and struggling with depression. 

Dersu Uzala is episodic in structure. In 1902 during a Russian expedition into the taiga, they encountered Dersu who agreed to become their guide. He bonds quickly with Arsenyev as he teaches them about the environment. In one of the most intense sequences Kurosawa ever filmed, Dersu and Vladimir build a grass hut in a blizzard to avoid freezing to death, the sound of the wind, the color of the sunlight, and the landscape are unforgettable. 

Dersu Uzala often looks like a nature documentary. All seasons are captured, the harsh winter winds and the violent thaw of spring, the ice breaking up in the rivers. Valdimir and Dersu meet again in 1907, when Dersu was making his living hunting sables, and they have further adventures. When the expedition encounters a tiger, Dersu is forced to shoot it. Believing he committed a crime against nature, his mood changes and he starts losing his eyesight. For a time Dersu lived with Arsenyev and his family, those scenes are also quite moving, but the idyllic moment was short lived. 

Tension between nature and civilization is recurring motif. Dersu carries important knowledge and life experience that will be lost forever, an entire way of life already deeply antiquated by the start of the 20th century. Kurosawa slowed the pace dramatically for the film, dialogue scenes are sparse. Much of the cinematography looks like a landscape painting, the tone throughout is more reflective rather than action based.

Watching these two films back-to-back speaks to how Kurosawa was changing as a filmmaker, more interested in the passage of time and what gets lost. Dersu might symbolize a passing world when humanity had a different, purer relationship with nature. but also signifies the value of his knowledge as the world moves on. 

Dersu Uzala was awarded the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1976.