I saw the Akira Kurosawa film a few months back and on the recommendation of a friend I decided to see “The Outrage” which was another western based on a Kurosawa film. I was pleasantly surprised to see William Shatner as the priest. Paul Newman even made a passable Mexican villain. The other supporting cast played the parts very well and the cinema photography, while not inventive, were true to the original. There were a couple of things I felt The Out rage help clarify for me that I may have just missed in the original. The ending especially made more sense to me in English. I recommend watching them both within about a month of one another to appreciate the nuances of the original Japanese.
Ink – Film – 2009
I saw the movie Ink last night and I was blown away. I’m not sure exactly what the formula was, but it really worked for me. Written and directed by Jamin Winans this is his second full length feature, the movie is clearly an indie film with a budget around $250,000. The characters remain in the same costume for the entire film, though I was surprised ho many extras they used. A full synopsis can be read at
The cinematography is a little jolting, but I think the director was trying to capture the feeling of the main character and the dissociation one feels between waking and sleep. The music is spot on lending to the dreamy state of the film. The film has a richness of characters and a universe that could be expanded, though I would hope it would center around completely different characters since the story has a very fulfilling conclusion. I am a sucker for indie films anyway, but I was literally moved to tears by this one. I highly recommend it.