Kurosawa: Ran, Seven Samurai or Ikiru — the cinephile debate

Ran, Seven Samurai or Ikiru: the duel that divides film lovers

An Akira Kurosawa retrospective gets settled by elimination: almost nobody disputes that the Japanese director is a giant, but when it comes to picking a single film the consensus breaks into three or four titles and no argument settles the debate. The paradox is that many people's favorite is not the most polished one, but the one that ages best or the one they saw first. And there, in the viewing order, more is decided than it seems.

Seven Samurai and the running time problem

The samurai epic comes up again and again as the obligatory reference. It is granted the status of a major work, but with a recurring caveat: **it's ing long**. Some defend it without reservations, while others admit the length is forgiven for what's inside it. The most commented detail, and it's no joke, is the shot of actor Toshirō Mifune that takes up a good chunk of the runtime: some consider it a house extra.

The other side of the coin is Yojimbo, read as a western disguised as a samurai film. The sharpest criticism points to the ending: **nine men against one** resolved in seconds after two hours of hardship. The argument has its logic: if the protagonist is invincible, the tension evaporates. Even so, it gets a pass.

Ran and the old man making faces

Visually, Ran takes the most intense praise. The castle assault and the cinematography are cited as the best of the retrospective. The complaint is about pacing: **too much runtime**, and some confess they end up fed up with the elderly protagonist. The strongest defense places it as the wisest Kurosawa, the one who does whatever he wants after a thousand films, with brothers killing each other and castles burning. The Japanese King Lear, summed up in one sentence.

The surprise: Ikiru and Dersu Uzala

Outside the samurai genre, two titles force their way into the conversation with unexpected strength. Ikiru (To Live) appears as the recommendation every film lover should fulfill: a gray bureaucrat diagnosed with cancer who decides to do something useful before dying. No swords, and more truth than many epics.

And Dersu Uzala takes several top spots with an argument that has nothing to do with cinema: **no women in it**. The boutade hides a real preference for the simplicity of the storytelling and the landscape. Rashomon is also mentioned, with its **88 minutes** and its crime told by four witnesses who don't match up, as the most enjoyable and profound option at once.

The fact that corrects the narrative

The most repeated confusion has a trick to it: Yojimbo is not a western in disguise, but the origin of the western. Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars is almost a copy, and Kurosawa and the studio Toho sued and got a share of the box office. The influence goes both ways: Kurosawa drew from John Ford's westerns and then the western copied him back.

With that map, the question remains unanswered. Do you choose the film that moves you most, the one that ages best, or the one you saw first?