• Kurosawa’s Birthday Month, Day 6

    THRONE OF BLOOD

    Congratulations to Friday’s winner, Dan! Dan’s caption for this screenshot from Throne of Blood was:

    The Emperor initially resisted the switch from plastic bags to cloth.

    March is Akira Kurosawa month at Criterion. On the twenty-third, the great Japanese filmmaker would have been one hundred years old. For this centennial celebration, we will be posting trivia questions and other contests all month, and giving away a different prize every weekday.

    Today’s prompt:

    What’s your favorite use of music or sound in a Kurosawa film?

    Please respond by commenting below, and we’ll choose our favorite tomorrow. You must leave a valid e-mail address to be eligible for the prize (a Rashomon DVD).

    Contests

138 comments

  • By Keely Craig
    March 08, 2010
    09:43 PM

    The silence during the battle scene in Kurosawa's Ran!
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  • By Rick
    March 08, 2010
    09:45 PM

    The piano from an open window in Stray Dog.
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  • By Juliette Faraone
    March 08, 2010
    09:46 PM

    The strings in Red Beard. Gorgeous. Always make me want to buy a cello and teach myself quick.
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  • By andrew
    March 08, 2010
    09:46 PM

    it's all about the blood splattering in Ran!!
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  • By Michael Morowitz
    March 08, 2010
    09:47 PM

    I was mesmerized by the cabaret dance number in "Stray Dog".
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  • By Jared Underbrink
    March 08, 2010
    09:47 PM

    Ikiru is my all time favorite movie, so it has to be Shimura singing while he sits on the swing.
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  • By Scott
    March 08, 2010
    09:48 PM

    The opening sequence of 'Yojimbo' when Sanjuro Kuwabatake walks into town.
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  • By John Forse
    March 08, 2010
    09:49 PM

    The spirit's singing in "Kumonosu-jō".
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  • By Chris Martin
    March 08, 2010
    09:49 PM

    As the haunting prophecy comes true during the 'Attack of the Moving Trees' in "Throne of Blood".
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  • By Jeremy Hawkins
    March 08, 2010
    09:50 PM

    While the sound of the sword in most films is only one of menace, in _Ran_, it can switch to one of compassion in a second: the shimmer of Saburo's sword being pulled out early in the film is tempered by the light cutting sounds it makes as he trims branches to shade his dozing father. A tiny detail, but one that symbolizes power can protect, not only kill.
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  • By Brett Kessler
    March 08, 2010
    09:50 PM

    The sequence in Ikiru when Takashi Shimura sits on the swing in the pouring rain.
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  • By Ben C
    March 08, 2010
    09:50 PM

    It would have to be Red Beard. The music and sound in Red Beard is easily the most memorable of all Kurosawa films. I mean the use of a 4 track set-up, with different tracks for music ambience and dialogue create a sound experience that he couldn't have touched in his previous films, not to mention the beauty of Masaru Satos score.
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  • By Lucas K
    March 08, 2010
    09:51 PM

    You can't go wrong with the Piano from Stray Dog
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  • By Jon Hillman
    March 08, 2010
    09:51 PM

    The epic composition during the final battle scene of Seven Samurai. It felt as if God and Satan themselves were dueling.
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  • By Brett Kessler
    March 08, 2010
    09:51 PM

    The sequence in Ikiru when Takashi Shimura sits on the swing in the pouring rain.
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  • By Renato D
    March 08, 2010
    09:51 PM

    The sound of the arrows trapping Toshiro Mifune in Throne Of Blood.
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  • By Jamie Tyroler
    March 08, 2010
    09:52 PM

    The sound of the rain in Rashomon.
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  • By Joe Arista
    March 08, 2010
    09:52 PM

    The guitar in Drunken Angel
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  • By CHRIS ESTES
    March 08, 2010
    09:53 PM

    I suppose that, knowing some of the background, thanks to the booklet, is the innovative sound effects used for the slices (or body hacking) in Yojimbo.
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  • By Jason
    March 08, 2010
    09:53 PM

    The use of Prelude No. 15 in D-flat major by Chopin during the Van Gogh scene in Dreams - it really evoked the drive and passion that the scene meant to capture. Just a beautifully chosen piece!
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  • By Bret Bynum
    March 08, 2010
    09:55 PM

    I've always loved the opening sequence of ‘Yojimbo’ when Sanjuro Kuwabatake walks into town. When I first heard it I knew I was about to watch a masterpiece!
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  • By Todd LaPlace
    March 08, 2010
    09:55 PM

    My favorite use of music in a Kurosawa movie is the use of the instrumental version of "It's Now or Never" in "High and Low." It's a nice reference to its American influences.
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  • By CHARLES DECKERT
    March 08, 2010
    09:56 PM

    The very lack of music throughout "High and Low", yet when it does arise, it does so effectively, as a perfect match for the wrought-iron tension that makes the film suspenseful without being forced. Perhaps the most appropriate use of music in such a film of its kind.
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  • By Tom Helberg
    March 08, 2010
    09:56 PM

    cabaret in Stray Dog, baby
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  • By Arturo Hernandez
    March 08, 2010
    09:57 PM

    The villagers singing and celebrating at the end of seven samurai as the samurai leave the village in a solemn contrast.
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  • By Zach
    March 08, 2010
    09:59 PM

    Toshiro Mifune laughing in Rashomon
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  • By Theo
    March 08, 2010
    09:59 PM

    Undoubtedly the excellent use of music in the bloody castle siege sequence in Ran. The unearthly atmosphere emanates a sense that God himself is watching the massacre; and he is laughing at us. The scene works like a hallucination that stops violently with a sudden gunshot bang. The return to reality is almost unbearable.
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  • By Lukas Strautins
    March 08, 2010
    09:59 PM

    The ghostly sounds in 'Rashomon'. Such an impact!
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  • By Martha Early
    March 08, 2010
    10:00 PM

    The opening music in the Seven Samurai is stunning and perfectly evocative. Eerie, foreboding, but so simple. It neatly sets the tone for a true masterwork.
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  • By Parham P.
    March 08, 2010
    10:00 PM

    The use of rain in his films. Kurosawa uses it in a way that seems ominous in a gloomy way as if dooming his characters from the get go.
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  • By Peter Fingerson
    March 08, 2010
    10:02 PM

    Along with the incredible visuals, the dramatic and luminous sounds of the rain in Rashomon is impeccable.
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  • By J.K. LeBel
    March 08, 2010
    10:03 PM

    The music composed by Tōru Takemitsu that plays during Taro and Jiro's ambush of the third castle in Ran is my favorite use of music/sound in any Kurosawa film--by a long shot. This perfectly shot and edited sequence is enhanced by such a haunting score that is almost impossible to forget.
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  • By Robert W.
    March 08, 2010
    10:10 PM

    From Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. The first dream, Sunshine Through The Rain, when the little boy happens upon the Fox wedding in the forest. The initial sounds of rain and the synchronization of the wedding procession with the traditional Japanese music, as the boy hides behind the tree, are just wonderful.
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  • By J. Tomblin
    March 08, 2010
    10:10 PM

    The scene in High and Low where they are attempting to follow the kidnapper through the streets of Japan. All the commotion and sounds of the establishments and other things really add a claustrophobic feel to the pursuit, where we feel for the kidnapper even though he is unaware that he is virtually surrounded.
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  • By terry pagitt
    March 08, 2010
    10:11 PM

    the sound of salt and the fox's head in Ran thumping on the wooden floor.
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  • By terry pagitt
    March 08, 2010
    10:11 PM

    the sound of salt and the fox's head in Ran thumping on the wooden floor.
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  • By J.M. Kwong
    March 08, 2010
    10:11 PM

    The sound of Washizu's primal scream at the film Throne of Blood's denouement - the sheer terror in his voice as the hail of arrows descends upon the fortress' walls captures of hopelessness of Toshiro Mifune's character.
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  • By Kim
    March 08, 2010
    10:13 PM

    My favorite is the musical score that is playing during the credits to the opening scene of Yojimbo. At first all you can see is the back of Mifune's head but the music is so powerful that it makes me really want to find out more about this character. Basically it's the perfect introductory theme.
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  • By Julia Cayer
    March 08, 2010
    10:13 PM

    The entire opening sequence of Yojimbo when Sanjuro walks into town. I love the music that is playing there, it is pure perfection.
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  • By Sean Carter
    March 08, 2010
    10:14 PM

    The "In the Town" music from Seven Samurai has been instantly recognizable to me since my first viewing of the film. It always makes me chuckle the way the song is borderline cliche, but still so fitting for its sense of location and the feel of the bustling town it conveys. My wife will pop it in while I'm finishing up a sandwich and the familiar "boop de boop boop, bopp de boop boop" bounds through the house and I call "They're already in town?"
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  • By Michael Suarez
    March 08, 2010
    10:14 PM

    Closing scene to Seven Samurai.
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  • By Eigamushi
    March 08, 2010
    10:16 PM

    Yojimbo: At the end, when the music sounds like his character, as he struts off with attitude.
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  • By Jose
    March 08, 2010
    10:17 PM

    The awesome drums that open "Seven Samurai", paired with the credits (which I don't understand but look absolutely beautiful) they pretty much set up the mood for how damn epic the movie that follows them is.
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  • By Jaysin
    March 08, 2010
    10:17 PM

    Without a hesitation, the one scene that chokes me up more for the music than in any other Kurosawa film is the music at the end of Seven Samurai, As the hill looms over the scene and we see the swords symbolizing the fallen heroes and while the villagers rejoice, the somber surviving samurai walk away. The music in this scene just sends shivers through my soul.
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  • By brandon
    March 08, 2010
    10:17 PM

    I can't think of anything creepier than the forest spirit's voice in the first act of Throne of Blood.
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  • By Danny Crocker
    March 08, 2010
    10:20 PM

    The amazing funeral procession at the close of Dreams - the first Kurosawa ending I ever saw, and the most memorable finale of them all, with the old man shaking his bells and taking up the march. Glorious, beautiful, and though admittedly sentimental and a bit saccharine, still sincere and profound. See for yourself! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0RCRqGXqkU
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  • By Matthew E. B.
    March 08, 2010
    10:22 PM

    In Ikiru, when the happy tune begins to play in the restaurant, and Watanabe sings along with such hopelessness, I can feel his mortality.
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  • By Andrew Wheeler
    March 08, 2010
    10:23 PM

    The Noh Theatre song performed by Nobunaga at the end of Kagemusha in honor of the death of Shingen
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  • By Luisa Márquez
    March 08, 2010
    10:24 PM

    The oozing sound of the bloody fountain when Lady Kaede's head gets chopped off in "Ran." Oohhh, the satisfaction...
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  • By James C
    March 08, 2010
    10:24 PM

    The massive sound of muskets firing in Ran during the battle sequences. The collective crackling sounds are stunning.
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  • By Adam Cook
    March 08, 2010
    10:25 PM

    Obviously Mifune's barks, growls and whoops and other various onomatopoeias he puts on display in Rashomon.
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  • By Jordan Cronk
    March 08, 2010
    10:26 PM

    The women wailing into the well in order to save the young child at the climax of "Red Beard".
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  • By Robert Pina
    March 08, 2010
    10:26 PM

    My favorite use of sound in the Kurosawa film, Roshomon, is the deliberate absence of it. The hair and veils of the witch/psychic flow without the apparent sound of wind--a very haunting and ethereal effect.
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  • By Pam
    March 08, 2010
    10:29 PM

    The wind chimes in Red Beard - first in Sahachi's story and then when they show up again when Yasumoto changes into the clinic uniform for the first time.
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  • By Andrew Henderson
    March 08, 2010
    10:30 PM

    The sound of birds and storms in Throne of Blood, those sounds really set a really eerie tone for the film. It's a great film to watch during a thunder storm.
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  • By Jessica Schneider
    March 08, 2010
    10:40 PM

    The scene in Ikiru when he is swinging on the swing. True pathos is conveyed and it can bring one to tears.
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  • By RAY FREEDMAN
    March 08, 2010
    10:45 PM

    In Seven Samurai, the sound of the enemies horses getting louder and louder.
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  • By Gankhuu
    March 08, 2010
    10:50 PM

    sound of rain
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  • By Christopher R
    March 08, 2010
    10:56 PM

    Favorite music - The 'theme' from The Bad Sleep Well, in specific when Nishi is whistling it. It gets stuck in your head...
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  • By Julie
    March 08, 2010
    10:57 PM

    Sanjuro - From the documentary: chicken parts were used to make the sound of the swords clashing...hilarious!
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  • By Patrick Bull
    March 08, 2010
    11:00 PM

    Every single time "Throne of Blood" starts, those thundering drums make me wide-eyed and gloriously happy to be watching a Kurosawa movie. That one second is such an ominous, overwhelming aural experience.
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  • By Mike M
    March 08, 2010
    11:01 PM

    At the end of High and Low when the kidnapper is going for the ransom, there is a radio in the background playing an instrumental version of "Now or Never." Seemed very appropriate.
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  • By Ben Friday
    March 08, 2010
    11:02 PM

    There are two which come to mind: the scene at the very tail end of Rhapsody in August, when Kane is out in the wind and rain and her umbrella suddenly flips back on itself and immediately, the rain cuts out and the music and familiar strains of children singing fill the soundtrack. Upon a first viewing, it's incredibly overwhelming from an emotional point of view and a very iconic segment of the film. Also, anytime I watch Dersu Uzala and get to the scene where Dersu and the "Capitan" have to quickly create a shelter before night falls or risk death in the bitter winds, I'm struck by the sound effects of the wind and the frenzied hacking and slicing of the wheat. Aside from being brilliantly shot with only what little natural remaining light was present, the hurried harvesting of wheat gives the scene it's dramatic urgency an intensity from the get-go, and offers a sharp contrast to the other more poignant scenes in the film of Dersu sitting around a crackling campfire and quietly singing to himself. I realize neither of these two gems, created later in Kurosawa's career, have made it to the Criterion Collection yet, but I still hold out hope that one day they both will get the treatment they deserve.
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  • By Landen Celano
    March 08, 2010
    11:04 PM

    Fumio Hayasaka's score for Ikiru always makes me a little weepy.
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  • By Marvin Ortiz
    March 08, 2010
    11:06 PM

    I see myself blindly walking into the abyss every time I watch Ran and it's all thanks to the haunting score.
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  • By Toshi Fujiwara
    March 08, 2010
    11:08 PM

    after all, the main theme of the Seven Samurai, and how the film starts not with a melody but just with drums, then then the music track goes through an evolution then finally the main theme is heard, this intelligence of musical narrative is a remarkable contribution by Fumio Hayasaka, who also was one of Kurosawa's most important collaborators. and the theme of Kikuchiyo from the same film would later be recycled by Masaru Sato in "Yojimbo"
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  • By Andy Johnson
    March 08, 2010
    11:09 PM

    Kenji Watanabe singing while on the swing at the end of Ikiru. Sort of encouraging after some of the things said about him that he at least died content. Though the song and the tone is still so heart -crushingly sad, because the viewer is still so aware of his coming death. Its the only time in recent memory I was so moved by a film.
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  • By Terry Carpenter
    March 08, 2010
    11:09 PM

    It has to be Fumio Hayasaka's score in Seven Samurai. When Mifune places the Samurai flag on the house at the funeral scene it sends shivers down my spine every time I watch it.
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  • By Danilo Balagtas
    March 08, 2010
    11:17 PM

    I liked Shinichiro Ikebe's work in 'Kagemusha,' especially the part (Chapter 9?) when the double is being presented to the soldiers while on horseback. The martial tune that dynamically evolves into an energizing symphony keeps on playing in my mind.
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  • By Michael
    March 08, 2010
    11:18 PM

    For me it is in Yojimbo when he walks into the town and sees the dog with the hand in his mouth. The close up of the dog and the music accompanying it is just perfect. It takes a graphic moment and lightens it perfectly with the music. Michael
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  • By Kevin
    March 08, 2010
    11:20 PM

    I love the sound of the rain in Seven Samurai.
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  • By Pete Bublitz
    March 08, 2010
    11:31 PM

    Already own Rashomon, but will post for the purpose of sharing: favorites are Kikuchiyo's theme, the flute played when *SPOILER*Rikichi's wife first appears*SPOILER*, the sound of the *SPOILER* fatal arrow at the end of Throne of Blood*SPOILER*,The Idiot's Grieg amid snow and Mussorgsky on ice scenes, Yojimbo's main theme and the footsteps in the tunnel from Dreams.
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  • By jay kranz
    March 08, 2010
    11:32 PM

    in Rashomon when the medium is shaking the staff and then gets in contact and has the eerie voice of the husband coming through her, very creepy stuff.
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  • By J. Burnham
    March 08, 2010
    11:35 PM

    For me, there is no greater single use of sound in Kurosawa’s films than the sound of the rain in "Rashomon." It is at once practical, in that it provides us with a logical reason why the disparate group of characters converges on the ruins of the Rashomon gate, and metaphorical, emphasizing the film’s themes in both form and content. Formally, the din of the rain creates a barrier between the refugees at the gate and the events of the trial, which they struggle to peer through that they might come to a communal understanding of the events to which they were witness. The sound also implies a haze-- the haze of a wall of rain through which the human eye strains to see-- haziness being typically associated with memory and subjective, personal perception, thereby establishing the thematic foci of the film. Furthermore, the sound of the rain is threatening in its implications of destruction. First, the sound alone perpetually threatens to overpower the conversation of the men in the ruins, destroying that which makes them capable of reasoning an answer to their dilemmas. Secondly, the precipitation from which it emanates not only heralds the potential ruining of one’s clothing and possessions, but bears the power to erode the stone and wood that compose the ruins wherein they huddle. This created in the gate’s refugees a fear of the outside world which forced them to seek shelter in the first place. Thus, the sound of the rain and all that it implies, being overwhelming to the aural senses, compromising one’s ability to verbalize their thoughts to others and tainting one’s perception of the outside world, is identical in its effect on the priest and the woodcutter to the effects of the trial, which too offended their ears and spurred in them a weariness of the outside world as they struggled to comprehend the most violent and fickle nature of man.
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  • By D-Man
    March 08, 2010
    11:40 PM

    I would have to say that Sato Masaru's solo trumpet rendition of the Seven Samurai theme played right after Kikuchiyo sticks the flag on top of the house is the best use of music (at least for me). It always gets me teary eyed. It fits the scene perfectly in that it evokes a sense of togetherness and the sound of the trumpets lifts the audience's morale as if to say "march on, brave souls! Heihachi's death was not in vain!"
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  • By Narukami
    March 08, 2010
    11:41 PM

    Kurosawa is known for letting his images speak, and never more eloquently that the battle at the castle in Ran. His silence speaks volumes as the undistracted mind focuses on the images. Few directors have the confidence in their art to let the images speak for themselves. Kurosawa is one of those very few.
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  • By D-Man
    March 08, 2010
    11:42 PM

    Oops, I meant to say Hayasaka Fumio.
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  • By Matt Kovar
    March 08, 2010
    11:43 PM

    I love all the meditative background sounds in Red Beard. From the little wooden taps of the rain gutters on the clinic grounds, to the beautiful glistening of all those bells during one of the flashback scenes. The sounds and music become a character all of their own, which of course can be said for alot of films, but I especially love how they all come together in Red Beard.
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  • By Jason Dickason
    March 08, 2010
    11:46 PM

    The Sanjuro-going-someplace theme from Yojimbo would have to be my personal favorite piece of score from a Kurosawa film, and easily one of the most influential of all movie scores. The score itself provides a necessary layer to the film. Take the opening in which the score's bouncy jazzy riffs play over the shot of the dog walking with the severed hand through the village. With a more serious sounding score, the film would have lost the immediate tongue-in-cheek light-hearted sensibility it does so well. not only does it provide the film a specific tone from the start, but it works as one of Kurosawa's best character themes, which he so often used. It's hard to imagine the scratching, leisurely strut of Sanjuro without the music bouncing with his step. Finally, I'd say there is little doubt that this score played a key influence on Morricone's Fist Full of Dollars theme. It's not only that the films are so directly related, but it's also the poppy almost beatnik elements of the music that you can distinctively hear from one score to the next. It's the fact that American made westerns up until then generally used cow poke trail songs heavy on lyrics and guitars, much like High Noon. Morricone's direction was something much more cartoony and light, and much more akin Masaru Sato's score than anything from American westerns. So in many ways the score is wonderful on it's own, but offers a deep listen into the very history of film itself.
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  • By Alex Smith
    March 08, 2010
    11:47 PM

    My favourite musical moment has to be from Ikiru, the scene in the nightclub, all in one take, past the dancer and ending on Shimura's face as he gasps.
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  • By cinephile stoned
    March 08, 2010
    11:50 PM

    The favorite usage of sound by Kirusawa is the win in Yojimbo.
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  • By Jonathan McLellan
    March 09, 2010
    12:06 AM

    Definitely the whole Ran score. It is so western, yet it fits the films so well.
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  • By Jason W Bullok
    March 09, 2010
    12:08 AM

    The appearance of the spirit woman in The Blizzard section of "Dreams" - Hauntingly beautiful!
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  • By Roman Petrov
    March 09, 2010
    12:13 AM

    In DERSU UZALA when Dersu and the Captain watch the setting sun and the rising moon. The gorgeous score complements the simplicity and the beauty of the shot. To me, it is one of the most perfectly realized moments in all of cinema, achieving a philosophical, zen like state.
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  • By Seth Just
    March 09, 2010
    12:14 AM

    The music after Lord Hidetora Ichimonji shoots the longbow in Ran. That shot of him in the window and the music that comes with it literally punched me in the face!
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  • By Joshua W
    March 09, 2010
    12:18 AM

    The moment in HIDDEN FORTRESS when Princess Yuki sings the villager's song from the Fire festival.
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  • By Kian ross
    March 09, 2010
    12:20 AM

    The song at the end of Lower Depths
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  • By james parsons
    March 09, 2010
    12:26 AM

    judging from the total stupidity of the winner of the last contest i'd say the winner is completely random so what's the point of actually trying to answer with something meaningful. although there are lots of good responses, what difference does it make when some random crap gets chosen as winner
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  • By dan kinem
    March 09, 2010
    12:29 AM

    Definitely the blood splatter in Ran. The way the blood hits the fabric may be one of the best sounds I've ever heard.
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  • By Billy
    March 09, 2010
    12:33 AM

    The sound of wind is a constant in Yojimbo. It is present in every exterior scene, adding to the dry cold that permeates the town. Even in the film's most playful moments, the wind is always there, reminding us, subtly (sometimes unconsciously), of the dreadful condition this poor town is in. However, there is a moment about 20 minutes in, when Sanjuro confronts the gang to show "his value," and he says the line "No cure for fools." As he says this, the wind cuts, not just stops, but cuts. This is Kurosawa saying "Listen, pay attention to this. This is justification for everything that happens in this movie." It's...pretty cool.
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  • By Joshua Fu
    March 09, 2010
    12:45 AM

    That scene in IKIRU when they're driving in the car and those two floozy girls are singing that song in the backseat. You know what I'm talking about?
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  • By Marc Jaffee
    March 09, 2010
    12:46 AM

    In High and Low, the barely-human moans of the junkies in the alley. Sinister, spine-tingling, heartbreaking.
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  • By Adam Goodall
    March 09, 2010
    12:51 AM

    To narrow it down to one piece of music, the Yojimbo theme. Quite possibly one of the single best compositions in cinema music. To narrow it down to one part of that piece of music, the horns. It punches through the serious, orchestral theme and injects it with a dose of fun that lets you know exactly what you're in for.
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  • By Maor Gillerman
    March 09, 2010
    12:58 AM

    The sound of Yojimbo scratching. If you can't hear it, is it in my mind?
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  • By Woody
    March 09, 2010
    12:59 AM

    The rain in Seven Samurai and Rashomon. So beautiful!
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  • By Maor Gillerman
    March 09, 2010
    01:01 AM

    The sound of Yojimbo scratching. If you can't hear it, is it in my mind?
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  • By Nathan Collins
    March 09, 2010
    01:08 AM

    The sound of the streams in "Village of the Watermills," from Dreams. If you played me that sound, I could see the rest without anything else at all. Perhaps this identifies me as not really serious about Kurosawa, but this and the film's first segment (with the fox procession) are two of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
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  • By Francisco L.
    March 09, 2010
    01:32 AM

    I found myself humming to the tune of the song, "Gondola no Uta", which Shimura sings with great sadness in Ikiru. It is ingrained in my memory. Life is brief.
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  • By Eric Vilhelmsen
    March 09, 2010
    01:34 AM

    The whole soundtrack to Yojimbo captures the macabre glee with which Sanjuro stokes the rising tensions between the rival gangs.
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  • By Ben Middleton
    March 09, 2010
    01:38 AM

    One of my favorite sounds in a Kurosawa film would be Toshiro Mifune's laugh in either The Hidden Fortress or Seven Samurai.
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  • By Rob
    March 09, 2010
    02:19 AM

    The Donzoko in The Lower Depths. Spirited, comical, hopeful. Misery loves company...and also sake. The characters' relational harmony and interdependency expressed in music. Also, it's really really funny. You could put this scene into the middle of Duck Soup and it would work. It would be slightly ajar...but it would play nonetheless.
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  • By Timo B
    March 09, 2010
    02:48 AM

    The first big battle scene in RAN. An orgy of bloodletting and slaughter in complete silence - is haunting.
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  • By Dan Sessoms
    March 09, 2010
    02:55 AM

    The mountain climbers in Dreams. The sound of metal, snow and breath combined with the slo-mo, the whole sequence is hypnotic and haunting.
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  • By Andrew
    March 09, 2010
    03:18 AM

    The final battle scenes of The Seven Samurai during which there is no music to conceal the stark tension of fully-exposed clashes and clangs.
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  • By Jay Kantor
    March 09, 2010
    03:30 AM

    Far and away it has to be the flute playing of Tsurumaru from Ran. The heavy layers of context melded with just such a beautiful sounding instrument and so quintessential of Kurosawa.
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  • By metaireau
    March 09, 2010
    03:54 AM

    The sound of snow in Red Beard, infinite delicacy.
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  • By Cameron White
    March 09, 2010
    04:03 AM

    The scene in Scandal when all the patrons join together for a chorus of Auld Lang Syne is a remarkable use of music. The postwar angst and tentative unity of Japan is evoked effortlessly.
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  • By Mikko Lamberg
    March 09, 2010
    04:15 AM

    The theme in Kagemusha because it still pisses people off by sounding like a spaghetti western soundtrack. Nobody thinks it's suitable for a Japanese history epic even though Kurosawa had used anachronistic music before in his films and nobody seems to care about that. And because of this silly criticism nobody ever seems to notice it's just a wonderful piece of music and fits the film's mood perfectly.
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  • By Benjamin B
    March 09, 2010
    04:15 AM

    I like the use of the theremin in "Ikimono no kiroku"(I Live In Fear).
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  • By James M
    March 09, 2010
    04:18 AM

    My favorite use of sound in a Kurosawa film was in Yojimbo. When Sanjuro walks into town and sees a dog walk by with a hand in its mouth. The juxtaposition of the grave image and the happy sound was absolutely fantastic.
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  • By Hasan Nadir Derin
    March 09, 2010
    04:43 AM

    Opening of Yojimbo.
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  • By MARK C
    March 09, 2010
    05:31 AM

    My favorite is the elimination of sound in Ikiru after he leaves the hospital. Then the sudden blaring of traffic when Watanabe becomes aware of his surroundings. A great way to show his state of mind.
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  • By Tom
    March 09, 2010
    06:12 AM

    The final battle in "Seven Samurai". No music, just the sounds of galloping horses, screams of fighting people and pouring rain. Brilliant.
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  • By Petr G
    March 09, 2010
    06:15 AM

    A nervous music composition High and Low in urban quarter of drug addicts, music full a dark and hell´s atmosphere
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  • By Lisa Fornillo
    March 09, 2010
    06:18 AM

    The seemingly unending rain in "Rashomon".
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  • By Mark Kawakami
    March 09, 2010
    06:45 AM

    The stunning moment from Seven Samurai as Kikuchiyo hoists Heihachi's banner onto the roof of a hut. Fumio Hayasaka's stirring score, played on a single trumpet, fires up and transforms what had just been a mournful, desperate funeral scene into a rousing moment of hope. I can't remember any other scene from any other movie where the mood changes so completely and so swiftly. Pure magic.
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  • By Adam
    March 09, 2010
    07:07 AM

    The wonderful use of music in Ikiru as the policeman tells everyone how he saw Watanabe-San singing his song as he was on the swing. It's wonderfully moving.
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  • By Eric Himle
    March 09, 2010
    08:47 AM

    The arterial slash and blood spurt at the end of Sanjuro. A PROFUSELY bloody punctuation mark at the end of a rather fun jaunt of a film. Quite a shocker for a first time view.
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  • By Dustin Meadows
    March 09, 2010
    09:39 AM

    The music and sound during the duel in Yojimbo between Sanjuro and Unosuke has always been one of my favorite as it simultaneously displays the Western influence and incorporates that genre into Kurosawa's samurai films as the sword and the gun are pitted against each other. From the sharp music stings to the lonely atmosphere created by the low wind, it is truly one of the most memorable scenes of all Kurosawa's films.
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  • By Vander
    March 09, 2010
    09:56 AM

    The opening scene of Yojimbo, fantastic!
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  • By Alexander Bucsis
    March 09, 2010
    11:15 AM

    The harsh natural symphony during Seven Samurai's climactic final battle. Replacing a traditional score, Kurosawa employs the majestic disarray of the environment to create a soundtrack every bit as grating and violent as the bloody struggle it complements––at once volatile and restrained.
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  • By Andrew
    March 09, 2010
    11:31 AM

    My favorite use of music in a Kurosawa film is Tsurumaru's flute in Ran. It is so brutally haunting when it begins. It surmises everything that is wrong with Hidetora's world and seals his fate with one final plunge into irreversible madness. It simultaneously represents a lifetime of cruelty and the devastating events of just that day.
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  • By Doug Bray
    March 09, 2010
    02:00 PM

    Kurosawa’s use of the same song twice in the Hidden Fortress, first as a light hearted celebration at the fire festival, then as a eulogy the princess sings awaiting death; she sings the whole song with not one cut or movement. Using the same song to express a moment of happiness, and one of utter despair, brilliant.
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  • By Greg Hulett
    March 09, 2010
    02:01 PM

    The intro to Yojimbo as Sanjuro walks into town. The silence in when he arrives in the streets is a great lead up to all of the confrontations that arise from his coming to the town.
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  • By Brandon Goco
    March 09, 2010
    02:19 PM

    Throne of Blood : The sound of the swishing silk cloth as Asaji (Isuzu Yamada) slowly walks away from the camera into the dark, pitch black room. All you hear is her slowly "slithering" in the dark, the camera is still and unchanging. The menacing sound of her dress is just one of those eerie reminders that sounds can just be just as horrifying as images.
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  • By Buddy Hedrick
    March 09, 2010
    02:27 PM

    I really love the hipnotic drums, with the music slowly building as more instruments get introduced in the first woodland scene in Rashomon. As the woodcutter walks through the forest with his axe on his shoulder and the light flickering through the trees, the music coupled with the fantastic camera work creates a haunting ambiance. Kurosawa allows the music and the images to lay out the whole scene as the woodcutter goes deeper and deeper into the forest, finding various remnants of clothing along the way, and culminating in the revelation of a dead man with his hands outstretched. Only here, does the music cease, with the sound of the woodcutter's scream at the awful discovery.
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  • By Marshall Muse
    March 09, 2010
    04:11 PM

    The sound of my silence after watching any Kurosawa film as I think to myself, ".....Holy sh*t. That rocked."
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  • By Dan Thompson
    March 09, 2010
    04:24 PM

    I love the sound of Kurosawa's rain. It roars and becomes a soundtrack for the final battle sequence in Seven Samurai. In Rashomon, the rain's sound shhhs us to listen as the story begins. The sound of the rain in Stray Dog gives voice to the heat and the suspense.
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  • By rotem
    March 09, 2010
    04:34 PM

    In Ikiru, after his visit to the doctor where Kanji is notified about his situation, and that he has only a few months to live, we follow him in the next scene walking in the street. Instead of adding a sad tune to the scene, or introducing us to his thoughts via voice over, all we get is silence: we hear nothing, not the people walking around him, not the cars, not the birds- absolutely total silence. But after a few seconds, the sounds bursts back in: a loud sound of cars and people all mixed together is suddenly introduced to us- because they are now a threat on Kanji who crossed the street while there is danger around him- a danger which he didn't notice because he was overwhelmed by the doctors diagnosis he got moments a go. This is a brilliant use of sound or un-use of it: In the most difficult moment of a man, what can words say? What meaning does music have? All we are left is with the nothingness of the acceptance of the upcoming death.
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  • By Philip Conklin
    March 09, 2010
    04:48 PM

    The body hacking in Sanjuro
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  • By Mark Hendrix
    March 09, 2010
    04:58 PM

    The end of Ikiru, when Watanabe sings "Life is Brief" while swinging in the playground he got built is one of the most perfect scenes in motion picture history.
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  • By Matthew Vargas
    March 09, 2010
    04:59 PM

    When the old man in Ikiru sings at the night club, the lyrics and tone completely stun everyone. It reminds them of their all but brief mortality. When the man sings on the swing during his dying moments it becomes a truly heart shattering moment. The man is happy and at peace but the song has such poignant power. It never fails to bring a tear to my eye. :)
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  • By Kevin Longrie
    March 09, 2010
    04:59 PM

    The telephone ringing in High and Low is always so menacing, as well as the "mosh mosh? MOSH MOSH?" that follows the hang up. (I apologize for my probably butchering of the Japanese language.)
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  • By Joanna
    March 09, 2010
    05:09 PM

    Kagemusha: I love the scene in the beginning where the mud-covered messenger runs down the steps by the tired soldiers while the music starts out softly and grows. The music in Kagemusha has an almost tidal quality, it builds in waves, one part breaking on the beach while the other is rolling up behind it.
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  • By Zach S
    March 09, 2010
    05:25 PM

    The way Ran switches between silence and full sound with the sound of gun shot. Takemitsu's score through out the film gives me shivers.
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  • By vikram chandran
    March 09, 2010
    05:27 PM

    The signature Kurosawa sound effect is that of the Japanese "Uguisu" or Bush Warbler, whose fluty whistle is the signature of oncoming spring. Kurosawa uses it as a sign of good fortune or hope, or a sign that seasons and the film's moods may be changing for the better. Its the signature sound in Sanjuro and Akahige and is pure, classic Kurosawa.
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  • By Spencer
    March 09, 2010
    06:04 PM

    Definitely the opening to Throne of Blood. Went from Criterion, to Toho, to gigantic Japanese typeface. Piercing, haunting stuff. My English teacher played us the film when we were reading Macbeth. Class was taken back to say the least.
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  • By Susan
    March 10, 2010
    04:21 PM

    From "Dreams", the tunnel sounds in The Tunnel - single footsteps, one soldier marching, many soldiers marching, coming closer...closer...one of the creepiest sound segments ever as I watched the film, riveted on that tunnel entrance.
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