Rating: 
Summary: Of Doctors and Samurai
Review: "Red Beard" is a difficult film. Kurosawa had always sought to blend entertainment with social impact. Many of his films, such as "Yojimbo" and "The Seven Samurai" are so much fun to watch that the viewer rarely notes the message being told. With "Red Beard," the balance of message and entertainment shifts to a more heavy-handed social commentary. There is no mistaking what Kurosawa is saying.However, "Red Beard" is a great film. Kurosawa's message is important, and worth hearing. The film's story flows like honey down an empty riverbed, and at about the same pace. Patience, the film tells us. Lessons are never learned without effort. Suffer for a while, and then you will understand. At over 3 hours in length, patience is necessary. There is little action to distract from the lesson. Being the last collaboration of Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, "Red Beard" is a masterpiece of acting and direction. Mifune commands attention. His character Red Beard is a powerful physician, ruling both peasant and lord. The black and white film is powerful, making full use of the director's skill. Those who only know Kurosawa's Samurai films will have a difficult time with "Red Beard," I think. However, patience. The lesson is there. Relax. Enjoy. Learn.
Rating:
Summary: Of Doctors and Samurai
Review: "Red Beard" is a difficult film. Kurosawa had always sought to blend entertainment with social impact. Many of his films, such as "Yojimbo" and "The Seven Samurai" are so much fun to watch that the viewer rarely notes the message being told. With "Red Beard," the balance of message and entertainment shifts to a more heavy-handed social commentary. There is no mistaking what Kurosawa is saying. However, "Red Beard" is a great film. Kurosawa's message is important, and worth hearing. The film's story flows like honey down an empty riverbed, and at about the same pace. Patience, the film tells us. Lessons are never learned without effort. Suffer for a while, and then you will understand. At over 3 hours in length, patience is necessary. There is little action to distract from the lesson. Being the last collaboration of Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, "Red Beard" is a masterpiece of acting and direction. Mifune commands attention. His character Red Beard is a powerful physician, ruling both peasant and lord. The black and white film is powerful, making full use of the director's skill. Those who only know Kurosawa's Samurai films will have a difficult time with "Red Beard," I think. However, patience. The lesson is there. Relax. Enjoy. Learn.
Rating:
Summary: Pehapse the best Kurosawa film ever made.
Review: Akira Kurosawa's touching tale of a young doctor who is doing his internship at a poor country clinic. The last film Toshiro Mifune made with the famed director, and perhapse their best collaboration. Filled with pain and struggle, and joy and warmth. Definitly the one Kurosawa movie that must be seen.
Rating:
Summary: Touching last collaboration; epic on the psychological scale
Review: As Kurosawa intended, the story is a morality lesson for us and details the transformation of a vain young doctor by his internship at a clinic for the poor -- headed by Red Beard (Dr. Niide played by the great Mifune-san.) Despite the incredibly realistic set and great performance by the actors, some of the various subplots can seem too melodramatic for even the slightly cynical. However, there are many unforgetable characterizations and bone-chilling scenes (eg. the calling of the name of a dying boy, Chobo, into a well) that portray an ideal of human goodness all too absent from today's films. Mifune shows off his star power in an incredible action scene also...if you need some incentive to sit for this generally fantastic film , which took an excruciating 2 years to make (a very long production for Japanese films then and now.)
Rating:
Summary: Touching Classic
Review: As much as I'm a Mifune/Kurasawa fan I was concerned about the movie being three hours long when I saw the beginning. However after the story developed and gave us insight on the various characters I didn't want it to end. As usual the charismatic Mifune gave a powerhouse performance as Red Beard the head Doctor of the clinic who was very compassionate to his patients as well as those who surrounded him. It's just a pity that this was the last project Kurasawa and Mifune did together. Their collaboration remains sheer magic.
Rating:
Summary: Old school ER!
Review: Beautifuly composed film - Kurosawa's 1968 film is right up there with 'Rashomon' on my list of favorites. It is a very interesting and at times curious film - threaded together in a way that the western viewer is not used to - but can adapt to. Toshiro Mifune is a very subtle and interesting character actor -and maybe gives his best performance here as Red Beard. This movie at times has an almost Ozu feel about it - a tender embracing of characters in a downward spiral of events - that evokes the Ozu style (not necesarrily in a direct way). This is unmistakeably Kurosawa, however, and is the equal, if not greater than his own samurai classics.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best films ever made!
Review: Dear viewer,
Within the past few years I have become a fan of Japanese films, all beginning with THRONE OF BLOOD. Delving into this new genre, I discovered many films that are wonderful, but in my personal opinion RED BEARD is by far the best. This film shows the wonderful acting style of Toshiro Mifune, who not only puts heart, but also integrity into the role of Red Beard. To any fan of good cinema you cannot go wrong with RED BEARD!
Rating:
Summary: Akira's Best
Review: For all of you who are fans of Kurosawa and Mifune's work together, this is the absolute pinnacle of it (and the last as well.) It's a bit long, so if you aren't in the mood for an epic, try later. But if you are in for a patient and finally extremely rewarding film experience, than you can't do better. If you are interested, you won't even notice the 3hr.+ running time. If you're new to the duo, I'd recommend starting with Yojimbo. Clint fans will know! But this one is the best of Kurosawa and Mifune going back to "Drunken Angel."
Rating:
Summary: Kurosawa's many last things
Review: For those of you who don't know, Red Beard is without a doubt the last film of Kurosawa that is absolutely exceptional. Moreover, this film marks the end of many things for the director. First of all, this is the last movie where he works with Mifune. He spent nearly two years making this! It's understandable that they probably had their differences, which must have put quite a strain in their relationship. Red Beard is also Kurosawa's last black and white film. To most film fans of this genre, this is believed to also be his last film that shows so much emotion and complexity towards humans. One of the things I enjoyed most about this film was the cinematography. There are so many awesome scenes that Kurosawa films through wide lenses and long takes (Which I love). The musical score varies in emotion. This also has one of my favorite endings from a Kurosawa movie. While Seven Samurai had to be one of his best, this one was made after more than twenty years of experience from the most famous director in Japan, if not the world. In other words, Red Beard is the highest point of cinematic perfection for Akira Kurosawa.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Great film! When you think of Kurosawa and Mifune, you think "action", but (with the exception of one fight scene) this is not what this film is about. Deep storyline, great acting, and super cinematography - this one will grab ya!
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