Sanshiro Sugata (Akira Kurosawa, 1943)

Well, everybody has to start somewhere. Kurosawa’s first film plays like a dry run for his later historical fair, just, you know, not nearly as good. While not completely devoid of competence (it’s clear that Kurosawa was a master of the moving image very early on), the story of a young man learning judo and then fighting a bunch of people just isn’t very interesting. The fight scenes are pretty absurd, and the performances stock – there ain’t much worth liking here. However, it’s a mostly inoffensive affair, and I’m more than willing to forgive its rather dry eighty minute run knowing what Kurosawa would do very soon after making it. [C-] 80min, 35mm