Rating: 
Summary: Stunningly beautiful and simple. See this film!
Review: Francis Ford Coppola said that the future of the movie business depends on scripts that are relevant. This is one of the most relevant films I have ever seen. The simplicity of the story, the depth of affection between the characters, the brilliance of the filmmaking, the eerie beauty of Siberia make this a film any person from any nationality can watch and come away feeling enriched. The dialogue is so sparse that when you hear someone speak -- even the utterance of another's name - it fills you with emotion. You cannot help but be moved by this film.
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Summary: Stark, Gorgeous, and as unlike YOJIMBO as anything could be
Review: Having seen Kurosawa's magfnificent samurai classics THE SEVEN SAMURAI, YOJIMBO, and SANJURO, this movie came as a bit of a shock. Don't let the running time fool you, though, this movie is magnificent. The story of a Russian explorer in eastern Siberia who befriends a Goldi (I guess; from the movie, I thought he was Buryat) trapper named Dersu Uzala, this is a movie that takes its time. Dersu and the explorer gradually form a bond that actually ends up extending to the explorer's boorish subordinates. This is a wonderful movie, and, judging from the cinematography, anyone in this country who figured Siberia would be an awful time might apparently want to try it during the summer...
Rating:
Summary: Tolstoyan Tale; Naturalistic Epic
Review: Hemingway once wrote that Tolstoy's "War and Peace" would have been far better had Turgenev written the novel. The Turgenev here he was referring to (the author of "Sketches from a Hunter's Notebook") was perhaps the earliest and most influential (compare e.g., his "Big, Two-Hearted River") in drawing out and committing to eternity observations of nature. This movie, surprisingly timeless, brilliantly arranged like a landscape painting, and very true in its characterization, does in fact look like a Tolstoyan tale had it been directed by Turgenev. The movie centers around a Japanese guide who, circa 1900, leads and teaches a group of soldiers through the near-lunar area of remote Russia. It is a telling movie, an epic as large as "Lawrence of Arabia" in scope, yet as unassuming (and unpretentious) as the best of nature films; something for which Kurosawa always had a talent for capturing. It's very quiet yet telling, the whispering voices of the group as they journey heard loud yet prominent. If those who know do not tell and those tell never actually know, than this movie should have absolutely no trouble standing all time as a "Quiet Miracle."
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful movie and profound art.
Review: I don't agree with the complaints about picture quality. Our copy had excellent picture and sound except for the first 30 seconds or so. The cogent subtitles were highly visible yellow below the wide screen picture. We have the "Delux Letterbox Edition". Maybe the bad picture quality was in earlier Kino releases. The story is intriguing. I was moved to laughter, joy, and almost to tears throughout this wonderful film. The themes of aging, friendship across cultures, loyalty, and individual and societal transformation are handled with typical Kurosawa profundity, insight, and pathos. Perhaps more than any other director, Kurosawa gets the little details right, especially regarding relationships and the way a person's motivation and behavior are determined to a large degree on their history and their quest for wholeness. Dersu Uzala often reminded me of Kurosawa's early films in this regard. The cinematography was wonderful. The Siberian wilderness was shown as a beautiful and compelling Garden of Eden, soon to be destroyed by the evils of civilization. Ironically, one of the protagonists was a surveyor, a decent and caring man whose survey was to be used to destroy the wild paradise he and Dersu traveled through. Rent it, and then buy it. If you love Kurosawa's work, just buy it.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect male bonding movie
Review: I first went to see this film more than twenty years ago with indifference because it was a "foriegn film ". This film changed forever that niave bias and opened up a whole new world of films to embrace. I have suggested it time and again to male friends that need an example of male bonding. For me it demonstrates, at moments, the best of men laughing at themselves, nurturing and loving in ways that need few or no words. I will never forget this film.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect!
Review: I have no words to describe kurosawa's movies they are just perfect, and Derzu Uzala is surely one of his best movies. The scene when they are building the hut is incredible. The characters are so well constructed and the acting is so good, that they really get into you. The character Derzu is one that will never leave me, one of the most curious characters I have ever seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Great, memorable human adventure.
Review: I just watched this film, and it is superb. The film was cast and directed to perfection (especially the two lead roles), and I think everyone should have it in their DVD collection. Without going over the fine descriptions of the storyline by other reviewers, I'll just say that it is both gripping and heart warming, as well as a great family experience. My only reservation was with the quality of the transfer. Don't get me wrong, Kino did a pretty good job of transferring the film to disk, and I think the DVD is a far better format than VHS, but I would love to see this film on a Criterion DVD. Maybe I'm spoiled, but a Criterion DVD looks like it was shot on the latest film, and transferred with utmost care to preserve every subtlty. The Kino DVD still shows the occasional hair and film bubble inherent to a well used film reel after 25+ years in a box. Contrast and color saturation are probably not up to par compared to a proper restoration, but I didn't see any real problems here. Maybe the latest disks are better than the early ones, as I cannot agree with the reviewer who panned the film as something awful. This DVD isn't bad, it's just that there are some who could have done it better. Buy it, enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent movie, excellent transfer to DVD
Review: I love this movie, always have, but want to comment on the quality of the DVD. I had read an earlier viewer comment about poor quality and was nervous about the DVD. I could not have been happier. The letterbox format was perfect and the subtitles were in an easy on the eye yellow format in the black band. The picture quality was easily better than when I first saw this film in the 70's. Much praise to Kino for preserving a masterpiece.
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Summary: It's all true
Review: I too first saw this film over 20 years ago, have recommended it countless times, and place it near the top of my own all-time best films list. I agree generally with the previous reviews in this site, but I am puzzled by Keogh's naming Solomin as the Russian explorer whose autobiography forms the basis of the story; I believe that was V K Arseniev. A translation of his work is available again in English and I recommend it as highly as the film. From it you learn such interesting tidbits as that Dersu was a blond (and if I remember correctly, even blue-eyed) Goldi. But the film is completely true to the spirit of the book, and the incidents in the film largely unchanged from Arseniev's accounts: one of the finest adaptations I know of. As with Niagara Falls, words are inadequate to describe this movie-- you have to see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for everybody.
Review: I was really looking forward to this film by Akira Kurosawa, but I was just bored to tears with it. It's about 2 hours and 20 minutes long, and it really should've been half that. I've seen films that have needed editing before, but this was ridiculous. Drawn out shot after drawn out shot, lengthy pause after lengthy pause, and minute after minute of nothing special happening. The story could've been told in about an hour to much greater effect. But even with a good editor, I think this film would've felt flat to me. The lead character, Capt. Vladimir Arseniev, is as pedestrian as they come. He has no personality ticks, no tragic flaw, no negative traits whatsoever. He's just a good guy, and that's boring. The highlight is Dersu Uzala himself, a Goldi hunter who helps Arseniev and his troops survive in the harsh Siberian wilderness. He's quite a unique character, and I really felt like I got to know him over the course of the film. Unfortunately, Kurosawa is very heavy-handed with how he represents Dersu as being "one" with the land. (I've always been partial to subtlety.) I've seen several other Kurosawa films, and his landscapes have always been striking. However, in "Dersu Uzala", Siberia looks about as exciting as winter in rural Wisconsin. If Siberia has a raw, rugged beauty about it, you wouldn't know it from this film. From what I've read here and elsewhere, I think I'm the only person who's seen this film that hasn't liked it. It won the 1976 Oscar for Best Foreign Film and director Kurosawa is one of the most well-respected directors of all time. I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from seeing "Dersu Uzala", because obviously there's something there that I missed. I guess this movie just isn't for everybody.
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