Sanshiro Sugata: Viewer Comments

Kurosawa's directorial debut is surprisingly simple and naīve--compared to his later classics, which displayed a visual style influential to many of today's biggest movie directors. That said: "Sanshiro Sugata" is an entertaining and interesting film--the story of a young, impressionable man on a quest to perfect his skills in the martial art of Judo. Unlike many of the heroes in similar movies of the time, Kurosawa creates a lead character with real emotions and real faults--Sugata at one point threatening suicide because of the shame heaped upon himself by a thoughtless street brawl--and as such creates a film with a sweetness and innocence that is sure to appeal to anyone with feelings. That's not to say that "Sanshiro Sugata" is not laden with action. There are, in fact, some surprisingly dynamic fight scenes, shot with Kurosawa's then-emerging energy style. Sugata's fight scenes with one of Kurosawa's favourite actors--Takashi Shimura--are memorable, as is the finale where the hero battles it out "to the death" with a suitably caddish rival.

"Sanshiro Sugata" is a must-see for any self-respecting Kurosawa devotee, though just don't expect another "Yojimbo".