The Film Music of Akira Kurosawa, Part 2

Reviewed by Jeff Wilson

When we left the Film Music of Akira Kurosawa box set (last time), we had covered the first two of five discs in the box set dedicated to his music. Today we pick up with disc three, which takes us into the 1960s, beginning with the samurai classic Yojimbo (1961), which inspired the Clint Eastwood "Man With No Name" spaghetti westerns, and in particular A Fistful of Dollars. The film starred Kurosawa mainstay Toshiro Mifune as the truculent samurai of the title who plays competing gangsters against each other.

Ennio Morricone's music for the Leone films helped propel him to fame, and it isn't hard to see where he got the thematic inspiration. Masaru Sato's score to Yojimbo stands out with its bold attitude. The music fits Mifune's performance and the film itself brilliantly: the music is quirky, occasionally mysterious, and sometimes swaggering. The distinctive use of saxophones as a driving part of the cocky, "you don't wanna mess with me" main theme grabs the listener as well. Yojimbo stands as a score that richly deserves more exposure.

Following the success of Yojimbo, the inevitable sequel came along, and thankfully Sanjuro (1962) lived up to its forebear, albeit with a more overtly comic tone. Masaru Sato again did the musical honors, and his score is largely similar in tone to its predecessor, excepting the opening theme. That piece uses sax and trumpet to lively effect and gives a clear indication of the tone. The Yojimbo theme crops up, of course, and there is some delightfully irascible wind and percussion work throughout. Another success, but a shade below Yojimbo.

We move on to High and Low (1962), Kurosawa's masterful, absorbing adaptation of an Ed McBain story of an executive left with a difficult decision when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped in the mistaken belief that it was his own son. Sato again does the musical honors, and turns in a score that uses percussion and brass to strong effect. A constant sax wail or insistent drumbeat seems to pervade the music here.

The final film represented on Disc 3 is Red Beard, the three hour-plus story of a doctor (Mifune) and his charity clinic. Masaru Sato's final score for Kurosawa is largely string based, making for a nice change from the brass and percussion heavy work of the previous films. That said, the music is not really theme based but more textural, playing under the drama rather than boldly embellishing it. Consequently, it is not as immediately gripping as the previous tracks, but has its own strengths apart from those works.

We then move on to Disc 4, which begins with Dodes'Ka-den, Kurosawa's sprawling (original cut 244 minutes, later 140) tale of life in the Tokyo slums. One of film music's most eclectic and enduring composers, the late Toru Takemitsu, did the music, and it has a very pop, 1970s feel to it without sounding terminally dated. A lovely acoustic guitar based intro leads into a horn-led melody. The score flourishes with a nice acoustic sound in general, and on the whole, a work with a very organic sound to it.

Our next film up is Dersu Uzala, a Japanese/Russian co-production taking place in Siberia about the friendship of a guide and an explorer. The name in the book lists Isac Schwalz as composer, with whom I am unfamiliar. A Russian choral piece opens the proceedings, and swells into a tender, strings only melody before the chorus joins in again. Alas, the serene beauty of that piece segues into some boisterously sung acapella pieces in Russian. Amusing, but somewhat jarring. In addition, some dialogue and sound effects are again present, which is a bit of a distraction, although not to the extent they were in the early recordings. The majority of the excerpts are songs, which is too bad considering the opening piece. In short, it's hard to judge the effectiveness of this score based on what's given here.

The final score on Disc 4 is for the classic Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior). With more than 37 minutes of music, it has the largest amount of space allotted in the set, and we will begin next time with that film. Join us then for the grand finale, which also includes the devastating Ran as well as Kurosawa's final three films.

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