DangerMouse

I've never seen any Evil Dead or Akira Kurosawa movies but I want to because everybody seems to like them!

What two DVDs (one Evil Dead, one Kurosawa) should I get first?

Hiro11

1. Evil Dead 2 SE is sweet.
2. Criterion Collection "Seven Samurai" is hard to argue with, get that one first. However, my personal favorite is the Criterion version of "Hidden Fortress"

Muah'dib

Seven Samurai is a classic and is easy to get into if not a little long but the longer the better if you ask me. Personally I believe my favorite Kurosawa movie is Yojimbo. I love it.

gutwrencher

easy. get the Book of the Dead, complete with stanky flesh cover. see the first film, although you cant go wrong with the others. nothing will be lost by not seeing them in order...but still. and as for Kurosawa, Seven Samurai is a great choice, but if you are at all fond of euro-westerns, pick up Sanjuro or Yojimbo. alot of inflence there. if Ran was out(masterworks), I'd say start with that.....unless you want to pick up the amazon only box set but you can get the single title soon enough.

Mourn

Evil Dead 2 is probably the best introduction to the series.

My personal favorite Kurosawa is Rashamon.

DangerMouse

Seven Sam. is best for a Kurosawa virgin?

cultshock

Nah, I think Yojimbo would be a better choice.

And although I started with the first Evil Dead waaaaay back in '84 or '85, the second one would probably be a good start for the uninitiated. The first one I showed my wife was Army of Darkness, and she thought it was the dumbest thing she ever saw. Almost grounds for divorce.

WiccanPagan

what ever happened to this thread? c'mon people.

renaldow

No one's mentioned Rashomon yet? Great movie, and great DVD.

elias

I'm also going to recommend Yojimbo & its sequel, Sanjuro for a Kurosawa virgin, assuming you're looking for samuari action.

Thor

I vote Evil Dead 2/Yojimbo as great intros.

thecrazydude

Evil Dead

emerald9999

Rashomon is amazing. It was Toshiro Mifune's first film. There is an great commentary that explains a lot of the cinematography and what Kurosawa was trying to achieve and some info about the tricks of filming in black and white. Also some historical info about the time period the film takes place in.

The Nature Boy

To develop a true love of Kurosawa, I think you HAVE to start with the Seven Samurai. But I'll second a vote for his contemporary works. Ikiru is simply awesome, and High and Low, which has the best hour of film I've ever seen to open the film.

CCGoldRush

Rashomon is no doubt an amazing film, but it's not even Mifune's first film with Kurosawa, let alone his first film. Mifune's first film was actually called To the End of the Silver Mountains in 1947--ironically, it was written by Kurosawa but not directed by him.

Mifune's first film with Kurosawa was 1948's Drunken Angel--Rashomon came along 2 years later in 1950.

Personally, IMO Kurosawa's best film was Seven Samurai (coincidentally, Seven Samurai is my #1 film of all time). The DVD looks pretty good, and the commentary is terrific.

If Ikiru was available, I'd recommend that 2nd, but since it is not, Rashomon is definitely a good #2 purchase--followed in no particular order by Ran, Hidden Fortress and Yojimbo.

kian69

Evil Dead is pretty cool, but bare in mind that it's a cult B movie, so you might not exactly love it the very first time of viewing, but gets better/cooler/funnier with each viewing.