Seven Samurai / Amrut Fusion Single Malt Whisky

1
00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:05,040
In 1954, director Akira Kurosawa
and star Takashi Shimura gave

2
00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,480
the world a serious war drama
that pit a small force for good

3
00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:13,320
against overwhelming odds.
In 2023 we try a whiskey that

4
00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:15,440
embodies the spirit of the team
up.

5
00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,760
The film is 7 samurai.
The whiskey is Amroot Fusion,

6
00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:23,160
and we'll review them both.
This is.

7
00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:45,150
The Film and Whiskey podcast.
Welcome to the Film and Whiskey

8
00:00:45,150 --> 00:00:48,190
Podcast, where each week we
review a classic movie and a

9
00:00:48,190 --> 00:00:50,310
glass of whiskey.
I'm Bob Book.

10
00:00:50,870 --> 00:00:53,750
I'm Brad G.
And this week we are continuing

11
00:00:53,750 --> 00:00:58,040
our Akira Kurosawa miniseries.
With perhaps his most famous

12
00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:02,240
film, 1950 Four's 7 Samurai
Brad.

13
00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,920
This is a movie that I became
aware of at a very young age

14
00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:10,240
when I first started using IMDb
and I remember seeing it in like

15
00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:13,760
the top ten at that time and
thinking to myself, what the

16
00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,320
heck is A7 Samurai?
Because I had heard of all these

17
00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:20,200
other movies, and it was
probably one of the very first

18
00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,560
foreign language films I was
ever exposed to.

19
00:01:24,130 --> 00:01:26,490
Like, I didn't get around to
seeing it until I was well into

20
00:01:26,490 --> 00:01:29,770
high school, I think.
But I I think back on it.

21
00:01:29,770 --> 00:01:33,490
And I'm like, this has always
been so highly regarded, both by

22
00:01:33,490 --> 00:01:37,250
critics and by the general
public, that I do wonder if it's

23
00:01:37,250 --> 00:01:39,930
one of those movies that, you
know, maybe a lot of people

24
00:01:39,930 --> 00:01:43,770
haven't seen it, but maybe most
people have heard of it by now

25
00:01:43,770 --> 00:01:47,610
just because it enjoys such a
stellar reputation.

26
00:01:48,330 --> 00:01:52,410
Yeah, this is one of those films
that even I, a novice in the

27
00:01:52,410 --> 00:01:57,330
world of film, had heard of like
well before we ever recorded

28
00:01:57,330 --> 00:02:00,570
this podcast.
You know, and Seven Samurai, and

29
00:02:00,570 --> 00:02:04,810
it's a famous Japanese movie and
there's there's there's Samurai

30
00:02:04,810 --> 00:02:06,970
and there's seven of them.
And that's what I knew.

31
00:02:06,970 --> 00:02:09,690
But I knew something that that's
that's saying something.

32
00:02:10,370 --> 00:02:13,370
Brad, I'm instantly reminded of
last week in our talk about

33
00:02:13,370 --> 00:02:15,530
Rashomon.
And I know that at that point

34
00:02:15,530 --> 00:02:18,250
where I asked you this in the
episode, you were just done for

35
00:02:18,250 --> 00:02:21,330
the day, like you had already
punched the clock and we're on

36
00:02:21,330 --> 00:02:24,890
your way out the door.
But I'd asked you, like, which

37
00:02:24,890 --> 00:02:27,330
movies does this remind you of
or where do you see the

38
00:02:27,330 --> 00:02:29,890
influence of this film?
And you were like, I don't see

39
00:02:29,890 --> 00:02:33,570
the influence of this film, I
think, right off the bat.

40
00:02:34,180 --> 00:02:38,300
It's pretty apparent that you
can see the branches coming off

41
00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:41,780
of Seven Samurai and touching
like all of world cinema.

42
00:02:42,100 --> 00:02:44,420
This is.
It's just from the the fact that

43
00:02:44,420 --> 00:02:48,580
it's been directly remade like
millions of times just to the

44
00:02:48,580 --> 00:02:53,780
way that the like assembling the
team motif is done in movies.

45
00:02:54,620 --> 00:02:57,580
Like, I I watching this movie
and I'm like, oh, I every movie

46
00:02:57,580 --> 00:02:59,540
finds its genesis here, it
seems.

47
00:03:00,020 --> 00:03:03,540
Yeah, yeah, I mean, you even go
into the Marvel Universe like

48
00:03:03,940 --> 00:03:06,340
Guardians of the Galaxy is a
director.

49
00:03:06,340 --> 00:03:09,460
Rip off the.
I'm pretty sure that the

50
00:03:10,220 --> 00:03:14,900
Mandalorian show ripped it off.
I did not watch.

51
00:03:14,900 --> 00:03:17,260
I watched like maybe three or
four episodes of it and was done

52
00:03:17,260 --> 00:03:21,300
because Disney sucks and just
had to get that in here.

53
00:03:21,420 --> 00:03:24,540
There you go.
But yeah, this is this is a

54
00:03:24,540 --> 00:03:27,140
movie where, you know, you can
see it all over.

55
00:03:27,180 --> 00:03:31,400
I I mean, what Dirty Dozen came
out a decade later in the mid

56
00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,120
60s, right?
Yeah, I mean the direct, the

57
00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,160
direct rip off, not rip off, but
remake of this was The

58
00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,360
Magnificent 7.
So they made it into a Western

59
00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,680
and The Dirty Dozen definitely
has elements of this as well.

60
00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:47,040
You're right, especially in the
like you know the the most of

61
00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,000
the samurai in this movie are
kind of down on their luck and

62
00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,570
needing a job.
And that's The Dirty dozen,

63
00:03:52,730 --> 00:03:54,650
right?
I think it's it's not just the

64
00:03:54,650 --> 00:03:58,410
team building, but it's like
building this ragtag team to

65
00:03:58,450 --> 00:04:01,290
right accomplish a job thing.
Yeah, I mean, you could even say

66
00:04:01,290 --> 00:04:03,450
that something like The Longest
Yard, right?

67
00:04:03,570 --> 00:04:07,130
Ragtag group of prisoners coming
together to beat the man.

68
00:04:07,290 --> 00:04:10,210
Inglorious Basterds coming
together to beat the Nazis.

69
00:04:10,330 --> 00:04:16,360
You know them Nazis Gourlo me.
All right man, before we get too

70
00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,920
far off track, which we are want
to do on this podcast, I think

71
00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:24,000
we should just dive right in
with the explainer about this

72
00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,480
movie in a segment that we call,
Brad Explains.

73
00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,880
Brad's going to give us the
movie plots with only 60 seconds

74
00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:33,640
ticking on the clock, so let's
go ahead and do your take with

75
00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:35,120
this little segment that we
call.

76
00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,120
Brad explains.
Brad Explains is the part of the

77
00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,680
podcast where Brad breaks down
the plot of the film that he has

78
00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,960
just seen, often for the first
time.

79
00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:46,840
Brad, was this your first time
with Seven Samurai?

80
00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,480
This was my absolute first time
and I watched it on my Criterion

81
00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,480
Blu-ray Criterion.
You should sponsor this episode.

82
00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,600
You absolutely should Criterion.
We are always buyable and that's

83
00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,320
just a fact.
So Brad, you popped in your

84
00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,960
Criterion Blu-ray, which you
bought sight unseen.

85
00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:06,320
I'm going to be honest with you,
man.

86
00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:11,920
After last week with Rashomon I,
I had some existential dread

87
00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:13,280
about what was going to happen
here.

88
00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:15,880
Because he like that was a 90
minute movie.

89
00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:21,440
This is a 210 minute movie and
the Whiskey Nation, just to let

90
00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:25,240
you behind the scenes a little
bit Before we recorded Bob and I

91
00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,400
got on.
Before we recorded Rashimad, we

92
00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,840
got on and we were chit chatting
and Bob was like bro, I've had

93
00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:32,880
the worst week.
Like terrible things are

94
00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:36,440
happening in my family.
I am just like this is just all

95
00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,800
these things were genuinely like
hard things going on in his life

96
00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,180
and I was like, Bob, we don't
have to record tonight because I

97
00:05:43,180 --> 00:05:49,140
got to tell you, man, I did not
like this movie so.

98
00:05:49,380 --> 00:05:52,700
So if that episode came off a
little funky, just know that it

99
00:05:52,700 --> 00:05:55,260
was my fault.
It was 100%.

100
00:05:55,700 --> 00:05:57,220
You know what?
I was going to stick up for you.

101
00:05:57,220 --> 00:05:59,180
But no, you're right.
It was your fault, friend.

102
00:05:59,860 --> 00:06:02,860
You're 100% right there.
Oh man.

103
00:06:02,940 --> 00:06:05,300
So anyway, this is your first
time with Seven Samurai.

104
00:06:05,300 --> 00:06:08,140
It's 3 1/2 hours long.
I was very concerned.

105
00:06:08,980 --> 00:06:12,060
And I won't make you tip your
hand yet, Brad, because it's

106
00:06:12,060 --> 00:06:14,340
time, first of all for you to
break down the movie.

107
00:06:14,660 --> 00:06:18,620
You get 60 seconds to explain
the plot of a 3 1/2 hour movie.

108
00:06:18,900 --> 00:06:21,860
I do not envy this task.
You're allowed to spoil the

109
00:06:21,860 --> 00:06:24,340
movie, and so Film and Whiskey
Nation.

110
00:06:24,340 --> 00:06:27,060
If you're out there and you have
not seen 7 Samurai, we are going

111
00:06:27,060 --> 00:06:29,140
to discuss the ending of the
film.

112
00:06:29,580 --> 00:06:32,780
Every death in the film and
there are some considerable

113
00:06:32,780 --> 00:06:34,540
ones.
So if you want to watch the

114
00:06:34,540 --> 00:06:37,260
movie 1st and press pause, come
back to this spot when you're

115
00:06:37,260 --> 00:06:39,110
done.
Brad, you have one minute on the

116
00:06:39,110 --> 00:06:45,150
clock and go.
This 69 year old movie is about

117
00:06:45,910 --> 00:06:48,430
69 years.
Bob, that's like, if you haven't

118
00:06:48,430 --> 00:06:50,830
watched this by now and and
you're worried about spoilers,

119
00:06:52,110 --> 00:06:54,150
you know?
That's the cutoff point.

120
00:06:54,270 --> 00:07:01,350
You know, I'm just saying yeah,
nice, nice Farmers from a small

121
00:07:01,350 --> 00:07:05,590
village in feudal Japan are
being raided by bandits.

122
00:07:05,590 --> 00:07:09,190
The bandits show up and threaten
them to come back and take all

123
00:07:09,190 --> 00:07:12,670
their barley when it's
harvested, and so they travel to

124
00:07:12,670 --> 00:07:16,590
the local large city and try to
hire some samurai to come

125
00:07:16,590 --> 00:07:19,310
protect them.
Most samurai are unwilling to do

126
00:07:19,310 --> 00:07:23,070
such a thing, to stoop to such a
level and work for food only

127
00:07:23,310 --> 00:07:27,990
rather than coin and money.
But they're able to draw the

128
00:07:28,030 --> 00:07:32,910
interest of a older samurai who
then helps recruit six other

129
00:07:32,910 --> 00:07:36,950
samurai to the cause.
The rest of the film is spent

130
00:07:37,110 --> 00:07:40,750
building the defenses of the
town, flooding fields, building

131
00:07:40,750 --> 00:07:45,430
fences, and drawing the bandits
into traps in battle after

132
00:07:45,430 --> 00:07:49,230
battle, until four of the
samurai have died honorably

133
00:07:49,230 --> 00:07:52,830
defending this village and three
live to tell their tale.

134
00:07:53,310 --> 00:07:56,350
Boom, there's seven samurai.
Nice job man.

135
00:07:56,950 --> 00:07:57,790
Thanks dude.
Was that off?

136
00:07:57,790 --> 00:08:01,990
I forgot I was off the cuff.
I forgot to mention 11 little

137
00:08:01,990 --> 00:08:07,150
detail.
The young hot samurai has sex

138
00:08:07,150 --> 00:08:09,430
with the local villager and gets
in trouble.

139
00:08:09,470 --> 00:08:10,710
He He sure does.
Yeah.

140
00:08:10,710 --> 00:08:13,270
But everybody's just kind of
like, yeah, you know boys will

141
00:08:13,270 --> 00:08:15,070
be boys 6 the night before
battle.

142
00:08:15,190 --> 00:08:16,790
Let it let it get away before
battle.

143
00:08:16,830 --> 00:08:19,030
Just, you know.
And then they're like, hey, you

144
00:08:19,030 --> 00:08:22,670
became a man and all the
villagers are like, it's a

145
00:08:22,670 --> 00:08:24,750
great, it's a great time.
The patriarchy.

146
00:08:25,150 --> 00:08:26,910
The patriarchy.
Am I right?

147
00:08:27,150 --> 00:08:29,220
Oh man.
All right, Brad, let's dive into

148
00:08:29,220 --> 00:08:31,900
Seven Samurai.
And I want to start by talking

149
00:08:31,900 --> 00:08:35,539
about the star of this movie.
Not Toshiro Mifune, who was

150
00:08:35,539 --> 00:08:39,700
first built in this movie, but
Takashi Shimura, who we saw last

151
00:08:39,700 --> 00:08:42,299
week in Rashomon as the
woodcutter.

152
00:08:42,580 --> 00:08:46,700
And I told you then that Shimura
is actually Kurosawa's most

153
00:08:46,700 --> 00:08:50,020
frequent collaborator.
I believe they made 21 movies

154
00:08:50,020 --> 00:08:52,300
together, which is just insane
to think about.

155
00:08:52,300 --> 00:08:56,230
That's so many movies.
This is one of his very best

156
00:08:56,230 --> 00:08:59,990
performances of his career, not
just in Kurosawa films, but

157
00:09:00,270 --> 00:09:03,670
we'll see him again in a couple
weeks when we look at Ikiru,

158
00:09:03,670 --> 00:09:05,470
which might be his best
performance.

159
00:09:06,030 --> 00:09:11,470
But this is if I can pinpoint
one person that I think he

160
00:09:11,470 --> 00:09:16,510
reminds me of in this movie,
it's older Denzel Washington.

161
00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,480
And I say that because Denzel
has this ability to be like 65

162
00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,760
years old or however old he is
now and like, clearly out of

163
00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,600
shape and a little over the hill
physically.

164
00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,680
And yet I can.
I can still watch him in Macbeth

165
00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:34,880
or in an Equalizer movie and I'm
like, yeah, I buy it and he's

166
00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:38,600
still absolutely a badass.
And I was going to say I

167
00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,800
literally saw the preview for
The Equalizer Three the other

168
00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:43,920
day.
And I'm like Denzel's got a

169
00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,190
little bit of a gut going on.
You know what?

170
00:09:46,190 --> 00:09:47,630
Good for him, man.
He's living his life.

171
00:09:48,350 --> 00:09:50,030
Yep.
But that's kind of what I see

172
00:09:50,030 --> 00:09:52,430
here in Takashi Shimura.
Like he, I'm not saying he's out

173
00:09:52,430 --> 00:09:56,750
of shape, but he's like, he's
not built like an action hero.

174
00:09:57,030 --> 00:10:02,590
And yet he has all of the acting
chops to pull off some really

175
00:10:02,590 --> 00:10:05,350
dramatic scenes here and be
captivating as hell.

176
00:10:05,710 --> 00:10:08,110
And then there's a moment
towards the end of the movie,

177
00:10:08,110 --> 00:10:10,990
after you've seen him kill
dozens of bandits and stuff.

178
00:10:11,470 --> 00:10:14,590
It's it's pouring rain and he's
standing in the middle of this

179
00:10:14,590 --> 00:10:17,590
village and he just picks up a
bow and arrow and you've never

180
00:10:17,590 --> 00:10:19,950
seen him fire at bow and arrow
throughout the whole movie.

181
00:10:19,950 --> 00:10:23,350
And he just starts shooting guys
with arrows and I'm like, this

182
00:10:23,350 --> 00:10:28,310
is the coolest person to ever
live like it is such an amazing

183
00:10:28,310 --> 00:10:30,430
performance.
Brad Yeah.

184
00:10:30,430 --> 00:10:32,830
And.
And he has so many moments where

185
00:10:33,470 --> 00:10:37,910
I, I don't know if I've ever
seen a a character as written or

186
00:10:37,910 --> 00:10:41,960
an actor draw it out of the
character, where he knows

187
00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,320
exactly when to get everybody to
laugh.

188
00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,000
He knows exactly when to be
serious, he knows exactly when

189
00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,120
to move between kind of those
two poles.

190
00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:53,960
And the performance is just
outstanding.

191
00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,560
I think one of the things I like
most about this movie is that,

192
00:10:57,680 --> 00:11:00,680
again, as an American, as a
person who's not super familiar

193
00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:05,040
with Japanese history, all I
know about samurai is what I've

194
00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,680
seen in movies and heard in
Legends and Tales.

195
00:11:09,110 --> 00:11:13,310
And I feel like samurai are
built up into this very stoic,

196
00:11:13,750 --> 00:11:19,030
you know, like workmen like
honorable position, and it is

197
00:11:19,030 --> 00:11:21,310
very honorable.
But I think this movie really

198
00:11:21,310 --> 00:11:24,150
pulls back the curtain and
shows, hey, sometimes samurai

199
00:11:24,150 --> 00:11:26,670
are like really crappy and
they'll cheat you out of money.

200
00:11:26,910 --> 00:11:29,830
Sometimes samurai are like
really poor and destitute and

201
00:11:29,830 --> 00:11:32,510
they're, you know, reduced to
cutting wood before they get

202
00:11:32,510 --> 00:11:36,270
recruited for this mission.
Sometimes samurai just want to

203
00:11:36,270 --> 00:11:39,970
tell a dirty joke and laugh.
And I think, like seeing these

204
00:11:39,970 --> 00:11:43,850
samurai tell a dirty joke and
laugh about it, it's, I don't

205
00:11:43,850 --> 00:11:45,890
know, man.
It's not like demythologizing

206
00:11:45,890 --> 00:11:49,930
anything, But it's it's making
these people feel so much more

207
00:11:49,930 --> 00:11:53,250
real and so much more lived in
as opposed to like what you

208
00:11:53,250 --> 00:11:56,250
would normally get in a movie,
which is this completely fake,

209
00:11:56,810 --> 00:11:59,410
almost robotic depiction of a
samurai.

210
00:12:00,090 --> 00:12:03,570
Yeah, I mean, you know, Cuso in
the movie is one of the the

211
00:12:03,570 --> 00:12:07,700
Seven Samurai.
And he is like the traditional

212
00:12:07,700 --> 00:12:11,180
samurai, right?
Like he's stoic and and calm.

213
00:12:11,380 --> 00:12:13,540
He has a few moments where he
kind of cracks up.

214
00:12:13,820 --> 00:12:17,300
But overall, he's this
incredible swordsman that like,

215
00:12:18,220 --> 00:12:21,380
even for being a little bit
older, he's like incredibly fit.

216
00:12:21,860 --> 00:12:24,460
And that's what you think of
when you think of samurai.

217
00:12:24,980 --> 00:12:29,100
The other six are kind of
ridiculous all in their own

218
00:12:29,100 --> 00:12:31,380
ways.
Like, it wouldn't surprise me if

219
00:12:31,380 --> 00:12:35,780
they did like an, A Japanese
office spinoff with these seven

220
00:12:35,780 --> 00:12:37,620
actors.
Like, like, they could have

221
00:12:37,620 --> 00:12:40,980
pulled it off, right.
Like two or three of them are

222
00:12:40,980 --> 00:12:43,900
like, you know, kind of pudgy.
Yeah.

223
00:12:44,380 --> 00:12:47,260
And it and it just works.
By the end of it, you don't

224
00:12:47,260 --> 00:12:52,380
think about them as, you know,
not being quite as good of

225
00:12:52,380 --> 00:12:55,420
samurai because of it.
You realize that they're just

226
00:12:55,420 --> 00:12:57,780
normal people and they're
they're just eating what they

227
00:12:57,780 --> 00:13:01,180
need to eat, man.
I I hate to do this.

228
00:13:01,180 --> 00:13:04,780
I hate to.
Typecast based on body frame,

229
00:13:04,780 --> 00:13:09,500
but you've mentioned the pudgy
ones and there are three members

230
00:13:09,500 --> 00:13:12,820
of the Samurai who are a little
rotund, let's let's call it.

231
00:13:12,820 --> 00:13:16,460
You know, they've they've filled
out their robes quite well and I

232
00:13:16,460 --> 00:13:18,900
want to talk about all Seven
Samurai and I think maybe let's

233
00:13:18,900 --> 00:13:20,780
just knock the three chubby ones
out of the way right now.

234
00:13:20,780 --> 00:13:22,660
Brad, that might be the best way
to go.

235
00:13:23,420 --> 00:13:25,700
The first one I want to talk
about, his character name is Hey

236
00:13:25,700 --> 00:13:27,660
Hachi.
He's played by a guy named

237
00:13:27,660 --> 00:13:31,180
Minoru Chiaki, who we just saw
again last week in Rashomon.

238
00:13:31,180 --> 00:13:32,660
He played the priest in that
movie.

239
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,600
And I actually thought we didn't
really talk about him last week.

240
00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:40,000
I thought he was excellent in
Rashomon and here he is best

241
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:43,040
known as Guy from Rashomon.
Like every time I saw him, I was

242
00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:44,280
like, it's the guy from
Rashomon.

243
00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:47,520
I really liked him.
He is the first one to die of

244
00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:51,560
the seven, which really sucks.
But it works really well in the

245
00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:55,000
context of the movie because
knowing him from Rashomon, I

246
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,040
thought he was going to hang
around longer than he did.

247
00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,040
I don't know, Brad, why don't we
just give quick thoughts on on

248
00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,840
each of the seven?
What do you remember of Hey

249
00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:05,720
Hachi?
Do you have any thoughts on him

250
00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:07,680
before we move on?
Yeah.

251
00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:09,440
I mean, Hi Hachi was pretty
good.

252
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,640
He had a few amusing moments.
I think that the few things I

253
00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:19,080
dislike about this movie, like
came out when he died, where I I

254
00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:24,920
think that as as much as I love
certain action sequences, there

255
00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:29,120
are certain other action
sequences in this film that just

256
00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:34,690
don't make any logical sense for
a world that feels so real and

257
00:14:34,690 --> 00:14:37,890
lived in and logical and like.
It all all works.

258
00:14:38,210 --> 00:14:42,690
When Hey Hachi dies, he's just
kind of tumbling into a mud pit

259
00:14:42,890 --> 00:14:47,170
and, like, it almost feels like
a slapstick comedy.

260
00:14:47,850 --> 00:14:52,650
And then he kind of, like falls
on a sword, I think, But none of

261
00:14:52,650 --> 00:14:56,370
it really makes any sense.
And I like that.

262
00:14:56,370 --> 00:14:59,450
That was the like, one of the
very few things of this movie.

263
00:14:59,450 --> 00:15:03,470
I'm going to like nitpick about,
But hey, Hachi's death felt like

264
00:15:03,470 --> 00:15:07,630
it made zero sense, other than
the story demanded that he died,

265
00:15:07,870 --> 00:15:12,710
but like what you actually saw
on camera made it feel like he

266
00:15:12,710 --> 00:15:15,470
had to die more than he actually
died.

267
00:15:15,630 --> 00:15:18,230
It kind of reminded me of in The
Great Escape.

268
00:15:18,230 --> 00:15:21,030
It was like right before the
intermission you got to have an

269
00:15:21,030 --> 00:15:24,310
incident that pulls this all
together and focuses us on how

270
00:15:24,310 --> 00:15:27,230
serious the stakes actually are.
And in The Great Escape, it's

271
00:15:27,230 --> 00:15:29,790
when the little Scottish guy
like cracks up and tries to

272
00:15:29,790 --> 00:15:31,430
escape and then he gets machine
gunned.

273
00:15:31,740 --> 00:15:35,220
On the barbed wire and like it's
it's more established in that

274
00:15:35,220 --> 00:15:37,700
movie that you you kind of see
it coming with that guy.

275
00:15:38,100 --> 00:15:41,220
But it also if you really want
to nitpick the Great Escape, it

276
00:15:41,220 --> 00:15:44,660
kind of feels like, oh we needed
an incident to put here before

277
00:15:44,660 --> 00:15:46,900
intermission.
And that's kind of what happens

278
00:15:46,900 --> 00:15:49,860
with hey Hachi.
It is really affecting because

279
00:15:49,860 --> 00:15:52,100
you don't expect any of these
guys to die based on what you've

280
00:15:52,100 --> 00:15:55,060
seen so far and then he just
gets shot in the gut and you're

281
00:15:55,060 --> 00:15:57,180
like why didn't know people
could get shot in the gut.

282
00:15:57,180 --> 00:16:00,430
This sucks like.
These guys seemed invincible, so

283
00:16:00,430 --> 00:16:03,430
it's really effective.
But I'm with you that some of

284
00:16:03,430 --> 00:16:05,750
the geography of that scene
could have been a little bit

285
00:16:05,750 --> 00:16:09,270
better done.
Let's move on to the other two,

286
00:16:09,430 --> 00:16:14,150
Portly Samurai, I said porkly
for a second.

287
00:16:15,950 --> 00:16:18,470
I want to talk about the
character named Chichi Roji, who

288
00:16:18,470 --> 00:16:21,870
is one of the three that survive
at the end of the movie.

289
00:16:22,470 --> 00:16:25,990
The problem with that is Brad.
I think he's the one I knew the

290
00:16:25,990 --> 00:16:28,800
least about.
Like in the lore of the movie,

291
00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:33,360
he he knows Takashi Shimura's
character from way back in the

292
00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,400
day, but he doesn't get
recruited until like 4th or 5th

293
00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,320
down the list of samurai.
And he kind of just hangs out in

294
00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:40,800
the background for most of the
movie.

295
00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,680
And so when he survived at the
end of the movie, I was, I

296
00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,560
thought he was actually the
third character we're going to

297
00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,200
talk about for a hot 2nd.
Yep, same here.

298
00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,080
And I got really mad because I
liked the third character so

299
00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,240
much and the third character
dies off screen.

300
00:16:57,330 --> 00:17:00,050
And it's like kind of the
crappiest way that he could have

301
00:17:00,050 --> 00:17:02,010
gone out, because that was
actually the most affecting

302
00:17:02,010 --> 00:17:05,089
death for me.
And it it goes a long way to

303
00:17:05,089 --> 00:17:07,690
tell you how little I have to
say about the second character,

304
00:17:07,930 --> 00:17:10,569
that in talking about him, I'm
just talking about the third

305
00:17:10,569 --> 00:17:14,540
character instead.
Yeah, Of of the seven Samurai,

306
00:17:14,540 --> 00:17:18,660
Shuchiroji definitely falls by
the wayside the most.

307
00:17:18,660 --> 00:17:20,940
You know and you you know it's 3
1/2 hours Bob.

308
00:17:20,940 --> 00:17:24,740
It's not enough screen time to
really share among Seven Plus.

309
00:17:25,020 --> 00:17:29,180
You can only flesh so many
characters out, you know?

310
00:17:29,180 --> 00:17:33,860
And so yeah, I think Shuchiroji
definitely falls victim to the

311
00:17:33,860 --> 00:17:38,800
fact that he looks a lot like
Garobe at who is just has a

312
00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:41,880
better smile if I'm being on.
He's just such a nice guy.

313
00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:46,400
I just love Gorebay so much and
then he gets, he gets shot off

314
00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,880
screen, they have him on a
stretcher and I I understood

315
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:51,400
what was happening in the
moment.

316
00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:55,200
But you really never get a
chance to mourn that character.

317
00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,920
And if if I can keep drawing
comparisons to other movies he

318
00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:02,760
reminds me of, like Brendan
Gleeson's character in

319
00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,450
Braveheart.
Where he's just like the big

320
00:18:05,450 --> 00:18:09,970
bearded guy that you're just
really, really like, and you got

321
00:18:10,010 --> 00:18:13,330
to send that guy off with a
little bit more, you know,

322
00:18:13,330 --> 00:18:16,530
audience attachment.
I hated that he was dispatched

323
00:18:16,530 --> 00:18:19,210
of offscreen.
Yeah, no, 100%.

324
00:18:19,210 --> 00:18:21,770
And I I love the way that he,
like joined the group.

325
00:18:22,290 --> 00:18:25,890
Like he literally just joins in
is like, hey, like, I'm just

326
00:18:25,890 --> 00:18:27,450
curious to see if this will
work.

327
00:18:27,610 --> 00:18:29,810
Like let's just let's just see
what happens, man.

328
00:18:30,730 --> 00:18:36,390
Talk about a A way of being
endearing to the audience of

329
00:18:36,390 --> 00:18:39,550
like, you know, in that way he's
almost a standin for us.

330
00:18:39,550 --> 00:18:43,750
Like, yeah, let's just see if
what Combe's plan is going to

331
00:18:43,750 --> 00:18:45,630
work, because it sounds kind of
crazy.

332
00:18:45,630 --> 00:18:49,270
And who knows if seven people
can defeat 40 bandits.

333
00:18:49,710 --> 00:18:51,910
But why not?
Let's just see what happens.

334
00:18:52,550 --> 00:18:53,830
All right.
So at this point we've talked

335
00:18:53,830 --> 00:18:57,830
about five of the seven, because
you've also talked about CUSO,

336
00:18:58,070 --> 00:19:00,350
who is the master swordsman of
the group.

337
00:19:00,810 --> 00:19:05,250
So that leaves us with Tashiro,
Mifune's character and also the

338
00:19:05,250 --> 00:19:07,330
one that Brad has dubbed the Hot
1.

339
00:19:07,730 --> 00:19:10,450
So let's talk about the hot one
for a minute.

340
00:19:10,450 --> 00:19:12,530
Man.
Katsushiro.

341
00:19:12,530 --> 00:19:16,010
He is the young samurai of the
group who's like, almost, not

342
00:19:16,010 --> 00:19:18,210
really a samurai.
Like they still treat him like

343
00:19:18,210 --> 00:19:19,650
the Padawan, You know what I
mean?

344
00:19:20,490 --> 00:19:24,250
Yeah, 100%.
And he has that young baby faced

345
00:19:24,250 --> 00:19:28,670
eagerness about him that
honestly, I really liked his

346
00:19:28,670 --> 00:19:32,630
performance a lot.
He's played by Isa Kimura and I

347
00:19:32,630 --> 00:19:35,830
think he turns in a really great
performance because he just

348
00:19:35,830 --> 00:19:41,430
gives that youthful energy
that's needed where everybody

349
00:19:41,430 --> 00:19:44,230
else kind of has a world
weariness about them.

350
00:19:44,230 --> 00:19:48,070
Even the Fune's character is,
you know, crazy.

351
00:19:48,070 --> 00:19:51,530
But he's also pretty bitter
about the world, and we need

352
00:19:51,530 --> 00:19:54,730
somebody who's just, like,
brighteyed and bushytailed and

353
00:19:54,730 --> 00:20:00,170
ready to, like, seize the day.
There is no better trope, or I

354
00:20:00,170 --> 00:20:04,170
should say there's no trope,
that I love more in like war

355
00:20:04,170 --> 00:20:09,650
movies than the idealistic kid
whose journey is learning about

356
00:20:09,650 --> 00:20:11,770
how harrowing the world actually
is.

357
00:20:11,810 --> 00:20:14,970
And, like, that's this guy.
Because at the end of the movie,

358
00:20:15,130 --> 00:20:19,010
when his mentor is or you know,
the guy he idolizes is killed on

359
00:20:19,010 --> 00:20:22,010
the battlefield.
He just throws himself down in

360
00:20:22,010 --> 00:20:25,930
the mud and starts wailing and
it is like the most emotionally

361
00:20:25,930 --> 00:20:27,850
affecting moment of the whole
film for me.

362
00:20:28,410 --> 00:20:31,650
Yeah, well, and if I can get
into the the movie itself, more

363
00:20:31,650 --> 00:20:35,370
than just the characters.
Like that moment of the film was

364
00:20:35,530 --> 00:20:39,850
just incredible.
Like the writing in that scene

365
00:20:40,250 --> 00:20:43,520
and the.
The way it illustrates the

366
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:48,320
futility of war is is beautiful
that you know at the end of the

367
00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:52,920
day he wants to bring revenge
for this man he idolized and and

368
00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:57,840
his other comrades who have
passed and and you know Combe is

369
00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:02,400
just like hey, sorry man they're
they're already all dead like

370
00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,080
like there's nothing to do.
All the enemies are dead.

371
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,720
There's nobody else to kill.
We just kind of have to live

372
00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,000
with the results and and it's
just like.

373
00:21:11,410 --> 00:21:16,050
Beautifully sad illustration of
how terrible war is.

374
00:21:16,490 --> 00:21:19,610
So you have that scene and then
you have it fades out, it fades

375
00:21:19,610 --> 00:21:22,410
back in and the townspeople are
rebuilding.

376
00:21:22,450 --> 00:21:26,210
They're replanting and they're
singing and the samurai are just

377
00:21:26,210 --> 00:21:27,930
looking on.
And you have this very sad

378
00:21:27,930 --> 00:21:32,970
commentary framed against the
four dead samurais graves where

379
00:21:32,970 --> 00:21:35,850
the three of them are just
saying, like, in the end, this

380
00:21:35,850 --> 00:21:38,250
is not our victory either.
This is their victory.

381
00:21:38,370 --> 00:21:40,490
And like, what did we even gain
from this?

382
00:21:40,490 --> 00:21:44,240
Right?
And I remember kind of clicking.

383
00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:46,320
I had to watch the end of this
movie on my phone, which is not

384
00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:49,600
ideal circumstances.
But I remember when it faded out

385
00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,960
from the battle, it had like 2
minutes and five seconds left or

386
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:55,760
something.
And I was like, how are they

387
00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,000
going to end this movie, like so
quickly?

388
00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,080
And there's a part of me that
thinks when you have a three and

389
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,520
a half hour movie, like you have
to have a good, you know,

390
00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,560
Denumont, like you got to put
some Return of the King endings

391
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,040
on this thing to pad the
runtime.

392
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:13,770
I love that not only did
Kurosawa have the balls to end

393
00:22:13,770 --> 00:22:18,850
this movie in 2 minutes, but
that it is so staggeringly,

394
00:22:18,850 --> 00:22:22,930
emotionally gut punching that
that's all he needed.

395
00:22:22,930 --> 00:22:25,530
You know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah.

396
00:22:25,530 --> 00:22:28,250
No, 100%.
Also, I just wanted you to know.

397
00:22:29,270 --> 00:22:32,830
There's this company called
Criterion, and they make Blu

398
00:22:32,830 --> 00:22:36,670
rays so that you don't have to
watch a movie on your phone.

399
00:22:36,670 --> 00:22:40,110
There you go, man.
The the way Kurosawa would be so

400
00:22:40,110 --> 00:22:44,310
excited for you to finish his,
his, his grand epic.

401
00:22:45,550 --> 00:22:47,670
All right, before we go to
break, let's round out the Seven

402
00:22:47,670 --> 00:22:51,710
Samurai and let's talk about
Toshiro Mifune, who again, I

403
00:22:51,710 --> 00:22:55,330
must reiterate the greatest star
in the history of Japanese

404
00:22:55,330 --> 00:22:58,370
cinema that Brad absolutely
dumped on last week.

405
00:22:59,050 --> 00:23:03,810
OK, so here's the thing.
I had an epiphany brought to me

406
00:23:03,810 --> 00:23:07,570
by my good friend Brandon.
So he and I are talking to

407
00:23:07,570 --> 00:23:11,530
church today.
And now at the time of this

408
00:23:11,530 --> 00:23:14,610
recording and when I was at
church, our Rashomon episode has

409
00:23:14,610 --> 00:23:17,930
not come out yet.
And so he said that he knew it

410
00:23:17,930 --> 00:23:19,610
was coming up.
So he sat down to watch

411
00:23:19,610 --> 00:23:21,250
Rashomon.
But then it was way too late and

412
00:23:21,250 --> 00:23:23,410
he fell asleep.
And I was like, yeah, Rashomon's

413
00:23:23,410 --> 00:23:26,330
not the movie to watch, like at
11:00, o'clock at night.

414
00:23:27,410 --> 00:23:30,650
He's like I was sitting there
and they started the first story

415
00:23:30,650 --> 00:23:33,730
and the lumberjack was walking
through the woods and and I was

416
00:23:33,730 --> 00:23:35,650
out.
I was like, yeah, dude.

417
00:23:36,690 --> 00:23:41,090
But he he, we were talking about
Toshira Mufune and how much

418
00:23:41,090 --> 00:23:44,210
better I liked him in Seven
Samurai.

419
00:23:44,850 --> 00:23:48,010
And Brandon said something
brilliant that I never would

420
00:23:48,010 --> 00:23:49,730
have thought of because I'm a
terrible movie critic.

421
00:23:50,590 --> 00:23:55,830
He was like, oh, because in
Rashomon his acting is all like

422
00:23:56,390 --> 00:24:01,190
like acting choices, like he is
making capital C choices.

423
00:24:01,710 --> 00:24:06,470
Whereas in Seven Samurai his his
character's back story are

424
00:24:06,470 --> 00:24:11,830
making those choices for him.
And I was like, yes, that is why

425
00:24:11,830 --> 00:24:14,470
I liked him in this movie.
That's why I hated him in

426
00:24:14,470 --> 00:24:21,600
Rashomon, because in this movie.
His role is that of the crazy

427
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:26,600
drunk, like super Bitter, has
seen the dark side of the world

428
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,320
and barely copes with it type of
role.

429
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:34,280
And in that place, his quirks
and oddities and the scratching,

430
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:39,000
his leg and the random jumping
and the ridiculousness totally

431
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,580
makes sense and it works for me.
And I'm here for Toshira Mufuna

432
00:24:43,620 --> 00:24:45,660
now.
I was not here last week.

433
00:24:46,020 --> 00:24:49,580
It it also helps that they give
him two really powerhouse

434
00:24:49,580 --> 00:24:52,260
emotional scenes.
And the first is the one where

435
00:24:52,260 --> 00:24:54,940
it's revealed that his, you
know, they all know that he's

436
00:24:54,940 --> 00:24:57,900
lying about being a samurai.
But like about midway through

437
00:24:57,900 --> 00:25:01,620
the movie he reveals that he
wants to protect these farmers

438
00:25:02,020 --> 00:25:04,980
because he was one or he was the
son of 1 and the same thing

439
00:25:04,980 --> 00:25:07,940
happened to his family.
And that is like, man, what a

440
00:25:07,940 --> 00:25:10,540
great scene.
But then it all pays off again

441
00:25:10,540 --> 00:25:14,510
at the end of the movie when one
of the villagers houses is

442
00:25:14,510 --> 00:25:18,190
getting burned down and he
rescues a baby out of this

443
00:25:18,190 --> 00:25:21,230
burning house.
And then like halfway out of the

444
00:25:21,230 --> 00:25:25,310
house he just stops and Takashi
Shimura turns around.

445
00:25:25,310 --> 00:25:26,270
He's like, what are you doing
man?

446
00:25:26,270 --> 00:25:30,990
We got to keep going And he just
screams like this is what

447
00:25:30,990 --> 00:25:33,790
happened to me.
Like he's reliving his most

448
00:25:33,790 --> 00:25:37,710
traumatic moment.
And man, oh man, if that isn't

449
00:25:37,710 --> 00:25:39,870
just some powerful acting in
that scene.

450
00:25:40,540 --> 00:25:42,860
Yeah, no, both of those scenes
are incredible.

451
00:25:42,900 --> 00:25:47,900
Like, methune gives a hell of a
performance in bringing the

452
00:25:47,900 --> 00:25:51,540
emotional core to this movie.
And I I think that's what I

453
00:25:51,540 --> 00:25:56,460
appreciate about him here, is
that he has this ability to put

454
00:25:56,460 --> 00:26:01,380
the ridiculousness to the side
when he needs to and truly just

455
00:26:01,860 --> 00:26:06,300
become the best actor on on
stage, on screen at the at that

456
00:26:06,300 --> 00:26:09,340
moment.
Dude, I'm so happy that we have

457
00:26:09,340 --> 00:26:11,820
nothing but positive things to
say about this movie so far.

458
00:26:12,340 --> 00:26:14,620
I think that I should not press
my luck any further.

459
00:26:14,820 --> 00:26:18,580
We need to just hit pause here.
Let's try this Amroot fusion.

460
00:26:18,580 --> 00:26:20,620
What do you say?
Yeah, let's get to it, man.

461
00:26:27,090 --> 00:26:28,450
All right.
So today we are trying.

462
00:26:28,450 --> 00:26:31,210
I'm root fusion.
I keep saying am root.

463
00:26:31,290 --> 00:26:33,450
I am sure that it's probably
pronounced I'm root.

464
00:26:33,690 --> 00:26:37,210
I am root, right?
This is a bit like a real first

465
00:26:37,210 --> 00:26:39,850
on the film and Whiskey podcast
because this is a whiskey that

466
00:26:39,850 --> 00:26:45,050
is made in India of all places.
Yeah, I'm very excited, man.

467
00:26:45,330 --> 00:26:48,370
I am as well.
This one is made with barley

468
00:26:48,370 --> 00:26:52,910
grown in India.
But then it's uses peted barley

469
00:26:52,910 --> 00:26:56,510
from Scotland as well, which is
where it gets its fusion name

470
00:26:56,510 --> 00:26:59,150
right.
Talk about assembling A ragtag

471
00:26:59,150 --> 00:27:01,070
team.
Man, this is this is the whiskey

472
00:27:01,070 --> 00:27:04,670
for that.
I I don't know if Scotland is

473
00:27:04,670 --> 00:27:06,870
like ragtag when it comes to
Pete.

474
00:27:07,190 --> 00:27:11,910
I I could be wrong on that, but
I think I just had like

475
00:27:11,950 --> 00:27:15,110
Braveheart on the brain when I
was watching 7 Samurai and I was

476
00:27:15,110 --> 00:27:18,750
like, that is those are ragtags.
You know.

477
00:27:18,830 --> 00:27:21,220
So we're drinking this Amrut
fusion.

478
00:27:21,220 --> 00:27:24,300
This is like Brad said it's it
is a fusion of different kinds

479
00:27:24,300 --> 00:27:26,860
of barley to make this malt
whiskey.

480
00:27:27,100 --> 00:27:30,220
It is 100 proof, which is
something we don't typically get

481
00:27:30,220 --> 00:27:33,180
in our malted whiskeys.
I'm really, really excited to

482
00:27:33,180 --> 00:27:34,660
dive in man.
I don't want to say too much

483
00:27:34,660 --> 00:27:38,460
more about it because I don't
know what Indian whiskey is

484
00:27:38,460 --> 00:27:41,020
going to taste like.
And I'm going to be really, go

485
00:27:41,020 --> 00:27:44,900
ahead, sorry, and I'm going to
be really interested to see if I

486
00:27:44,900 --> 00:27:48,970
can parse out the Scottish
influence and also what makes it

487
00:27:48,970 --> 00:27:53,090
unique from the Indian barley or
if it's really going to be so

488
00:27:53,090 --> 00:27:57,530
blended together, so fused that
it will be indistinguishable.

489
00:27:58,090 --> 00:28:01,730
So quick aside, can we have a
sidebar Bob, please?

490
00:28:03,130 --> 00:28:08,370
Quick aside on Scotch being 100
proof or higher, as you know

491
00:28:08,370 --> 00:28:12,090
we've had one or two like barrel
proof scotches, you know peeded

492
00:28:12,090 --> 00:28:15,270
whiskeys before.
Do you want to know The Dirty

493
00:28:15,270 --> 00:28:18,110
little secrets of the Scotch
industry, Bob?

494
00:28:18,270 --> 00:28:21,910
Oh, tell it to me.
They don't ship it to America.

495
00:28:23,390 --> 00:28:28,790
So one of my best friends went
out to Scotland for like a 10 to

496
00:28:28,790 --> 00:28:34,150
14 day father son trip and he
and his dad just two word like

497
00:28:34,350 --> 00:28:37,790
all of the best, you know,
places in the world I ever want

498
00:28:37,790 --> 00:28:39,590
to go to.
They went to log of woolen and

499
00:28:39,990 --> 00:28:43,030
you know all all the incredible
places, Orkney Isles.

500
00:28:44,140 --> 00:28:48,980
And he said, and I'm quoting
him, everything we drank over

501
00:28:48,980 --> 00:28:54,140
there was barrel proof.
All they have in their shops or

502
00:28:54,140 --> 00:28:56,060
sorry, over there, they call it
cask strength.

503
00:28:57,020 --> 00:29:01,940
All they have is cask strength.
He's like, it is wild how high

504
00:29:01,940 --> 00:29:05,220
the proof is on the Scotch over
there and they just don't ship

505
00:29:05,220 --> 00:29:08,740
it to America.
So that's kind of.

506
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,080
There is cask string Scotch.
They just keep it all for

507
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:14,480
themselves.
That's really funny.

508
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:16,560
Thank you for that informative
sidebar, Brad.

509
00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:17,600
Yeah.
Yep.

510
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:19,360
I thought you would appreciate
that.

511
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,160
Now let's return to India.
Let's try this en route.

512
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:24,200
Fusion.
You've already tasted it.

513
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,960
I have not.
Give us your nosing notes.

514
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:30,560
Brad bro.
This nose was incredible.

515
00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:34,240
It was super fruity, but like
really dark fruit.

516
00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,640
I got Plum and Raspberry and
Cherry.

517
00:29:38,050 --> 00:29:42,970
And it was like really nice and
creamy almost like a I I think I

518
00:29:42,970 --> 00:29:47,010
mentioned this before do you
remember the the creamsicle or

519
00:29:47,010 --> 00:29:50,610
or dreamsicle hard candies.
Yeah, yeah, they're they're like

520
00:29:50,610 --> 00:29:52,290
were there's but they're kind of
creamy.

521
00:29:52,290 --> 00:29:54,650
Yeah, you.
I remember the lifesavers, but

522
00:29:54,650 --> 00:29:58,210
they were called creamsavers.
Yes, there's a.

523
00:29:58,330 --> 00:30:02,090
They have like a Raspberry one
that this reminds me of.

524
00:30:02,170 --> 00:30:05,810
It's an incredible nose Bob.
I gave it an 8 1/2 out of 10.

525
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:09,200
It's really interesting, Brad.
There's like some floral notes

526
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:11,680
on this too that are just
underlying everything.

527
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,040
It's not quite rose petal, but
it has like a almost like a

528
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:18,480
wildflowers kind of smell to it.
But then there's a ton of

529
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:20,280
caramel, which I wasn't
expecting.

530
00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:22,960
There's a lot of vanilla.
And then there's that great

531
00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:27,080
peed, you know, Scotch malt in
this as well, like really

532
00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:31,040
complex and you don't typically
get this much fruit or floral on

533
00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:34,120
a peated Scotch whiskey.
So I have to imagine that some

534
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,000
of the Indian influence coming
out on this.

535
00:30:36,270 --> 00:30:38,790
I really, really like this.
I'm going to give it an 8.5 out

536
00:30:38,790 --> 00:30:41,670
of 10.
Yeah, when we got into the

537
00:30:41,670 --> 00:30:45,150
palette, it came down just a
tiny bit from the nose, but it's

538
00:30:45,150 --> 00:30:50,670
still an incredible, really
complex palette for me.

539
00:30:50,670 --> 00:30:54,590
I got some really nice coffee
notes the plum stuck around.

540
00:30:54,590 --> 00:30:58,550
There was some dark chocolate
like almost cacao bitterness

541
00:30:58,550 --> 00:31:01,610
there.
And underlying all of it was

542
00:31:01,610 --> 00:31:04,970
like a really nice soft honey
that you come to expect from

543
00:31:04,970 --> 00:31:08,010
barley products.
Bob, this is an incredible

544
00:31:08,010 --> 00:31:10,130
whiskey.
I I came down a tiny bit but I'm

545
00:31:10,130 --> 00:31:12,570
still sticking at an 8 out of 10
on the on the pallet.

546
00:31:12,770 --> 00:31:15,810
This has a lot of orange on it
for me, maybe and maybe not even

547
00:31:15,810 --> 00:31:17,930
like a navel orange but like a
blood orange.

548
00:31:18,810 --> 00:31:21,810
Really, really good man.
I'm having this interesting

549
00:31:21,810 --> 00:31:25,650
sensation though, where all the
flavor is concentrated in the

550
00:31:25,650 --> 00:31:29,040
front half of my mouth.
Like, I don't know, like I went

551
00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:32,480
to swallow and there's just like
not much on the back end of the

552
00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:34,600
palate here.
It doesn't mean that the flavor

553
00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:36,480
doesn't hang around, like I
think the finish is actually

554
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,640
really long lasting, but it's
almost like it's skipped over a

555
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:42,560
whole zone of my tongue.
It's like a it's a sensation I'm

556
00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:45,880
not used to having.
I really, really love the flavor

557
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:47,600
though.
I'm getting like orange, I'm

558
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,960
getting cherry.
The Pete is not overwhelming at

559
00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:52,680
all, and I feel like it's
actually one of the more

560
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,600
complimentary uses of Pete.
Like, it's just a nice little

561
00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,080
bit of smokiness underscoring
everything.

562
00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:01,720
I'm going to give this an 8 1/2
again, man.

563
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:05,200
I really like this a lot.
Yeah, and the the finish for me

564
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:09,360
was in the same same vein as the
as the nose and the taste.

565
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,320
It got a little oaky.
At the end there was almost a

566
00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:15,400
dry red wine.
Like all the fruitiness kind of

567
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:17,400
dried out a little bit and left
my mouth.

568
00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:21,920
A little bit tingly and then
there it almost got into some

569
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:25,600
herbaceousness like it.
It got a little bit minty at the

570
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:27,680
end.
But I I think this is an

571
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:31,040
incredible whiskey.
I I went back up to an 8 1/2 on

572
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:34,080
the finish.
My second sip kind of filled in

573
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:35,240
the missing zone.
Brad, I'm.

574
00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:37,560
I'm pleasant pleasantly
reporting that now.

575
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:41,040
Yeah, man, I feel like because I
had that weird missing zone of

576
00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:43,860
flavor, it's like getting filled
in with a lot of subtleties.

577
00:32:43,860 --> 00:32:46,100
Now I'm finally picking up on
some of that coffee you were

578
00:32:46,100 --> 00:32:48,420
talking about.
Those herbal notes are coming

579
00:32:48,420 --> 00:32:51,660
out and some of that great
honeyed kind of flavor as well.

580
00:32:52,020 --> 00:32:54,460
This is a more complex whiskey
than I would have given it

581
00:32:54,460 --> 00:32:57,580
credit for after just one sip,
and I'm going to give it.

582
00:32:57,740 --> 00:33:01,980
I want to give it a nine out of
10 on the finish, kind of just

583
00:33:01,980 --> 00:33:05,340
to make up for my nose and taste
score, because I think they're

584
00:33:05,660 --> 00:33:08,660
all pretty equal.
But I'll bump it up to a nine

585
00:33:08,660 --> 00:33:11,020
just so I can help improve my
final score here.

586
00:33:11,540 --> 00:33:15,100
Yeah, yeah, dude.
When we come to balance, Bob, I

587
00:33:15,100 --> 00:33:19,220
think that this whiskey has
incredible depth and complexity.

588
00:33:19,540 --> 00:33:23,020
I gave it a 9 1/2 out of 10.
On balance, yeah.

589
00:33:23,020 --> 00:33:24,740
I don't really know if I can
argue with that, man.

590
00:33:24,820 --> 00:33:26,900
Like.
Yeah, it's not good whiskey to

591
00:33:26,900 --> 00:33:30,220
whiskey, but everything about it
is incredible.

592
00:33:30,900 --> 00:33:32,540
I think I'm going to go ahead
and do the same.

593
00:33:32,860 --> 00:33:36,220
Like, it takes a lot to get a 9
1/2 or A10 for me.

594
00:33:36,220 --> 00:33:39,740
And I don't quite know if I like
if I just looked at this whiskey

595
00:33:39,860 --> 00:33:42,600
after drinking it, I don't know
if I would say that's a nine and

596
00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:47,040
a half out of 10W, but on this
particular category it's really

597
00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,000
hard to argue with that.
So I'm with you.

598
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,200
I'll give it a nine and a half
on balance.

599
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,920
Yeah.
And when we get to value, this

600
00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:56,880
is an interesting one.
It's not sold in the state of

601
00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:01,480
Ohio as far as I can tell.
In general online I'm seeing it

602
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:09,300
anywhere from 67 to like $95.
So I just called it 80 bucks and

603
00:34:09,699 --> 00:34:12,420
you know, you'll probably find
it for about $80.00 online.

604
00:34:13,300 --> 00:34:17,820
Honestly, Bob, at 80 bucks, I
still think this is not just a

605
00:34:17,820 --> 00:34:20,340
good value.
I think this is a really, really

606
00:34:20,340 --> 00:34:23,900
great value.
Like the fact that this is from

607
00:34:23,900 --> 00:34:28,580
India, a region, you know, not
typically known for its whiskey

608
00:34:28,580 --> 00:34:32,980
production, and it's, you know,
taking stuff from Scotland,

609
00:34:33,020 --> 00:34:36,659
adding it to stuff from India
and shipping it to the US.

610
00:34:37,100 --> 00:34:41,460
For less than $100, I think this
is a nine out of 10 value man,

611
00:34:41,460 --> 00:34:44,179
I'm with you.
I I got this on the last call

612
00:34:44,219 --> 00:34:46,380
racks in Ohio.
They stopped carrying it.

613
00:34:46,380 --> 00:34:48,980
Which okay?
We've we've talked to the last

614
00:34:48,980 --> 00:34:51,420
few weeks about last call
whiskeys and all of them.

615
00:34:51,420 --> 00:34:53,500
I'm like, yeah, sure.
You know it's Okay that's not

616
00:34:53,500 --> 00:34:55,219
here.
What the hell, Ohio?

617
00:34:56,060 --> 00:34:59,300
What What are you doing?
You're you're getting rid of

618
00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:01,040
this.
People aren't buying.

619
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:04,360
I mean, that's unacceptable.
I'm that's what I'm saying.

620
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,440
They need to listen to our show
and we need to rally the troops

621
00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:10,680
in Ohio.
We need to form A7 Samurai band

622
00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:15,680
to raid the OHLQ headquarters
and tell them to reinstate this

623
00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:19,040
because it is damn good.
I think I got it somewhere

624
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:20,960
between 70 and 80.
Like it really wasn't

625
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:22,400
discounted.
They were just like we need to

626
00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:25,320
get rid of it and it's
definitely worth every penny of

627
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:26,960
that.
I'm also going to give it a nine

628
00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:32,770
out of 10 and Brad that brings
me out to a 44.5 out of 50.

629
00:35:33,450 --> 00:35:34,970
Yeah, I'm right there with you,
Bob.

630
00:35:34,970 --> 00:35:38,370
I'm a 43.5 out of 50.
Well that brings us to an

631
00:35:38,370 --> 00:35:42,370
average of a 44, which is really
high for this podcast guys.

632
00:35:42,370 --> 00:35:45,370
An 88 out of 100 is insanely
high.

633
00:35:45,370 --> 00:35:49,010
We've only ever had a few get
over the 90 mark and this is

634
00:35:49,010 --> 00:35:51,730
right there with it.
One of the best whiskey we've

635
00:35:51,730 --> 00:35:55,370
had all season so far.
Yeah, And I think, honestly, one

636
00:35:55,370 --> 00:35:58,250
of the things I love about it is
that it's not, like, perfect.

637
00:35:58,830 --> 00:36:02,510
It's just really, really good.
Like, it doesn't have a standard

638
00:36:02,510 --> 00:36:06,310
to to to set itself up to.
Like whenever I drink Barrel

639
00:36:06,310 --> 00:36:09,590
Seagrass now, I'm always,
there's always that little voice

640
00:36:09,590 --> 00:36:12,350
in the back of my head that's
like is this really the best

641
00:36:12,350 --> 00:36:15,350
whiskey you've ever drank?
And like Amber Fusion doesn't

642
00:36:15,350 --> 00:36:17,430
have to live up to that.
It just has to be a damn good

643
00:36:17,430 --> 00:36:19,030
whiskey.
And I I think it'll continue to

644
00:36:19,030 --> 00:36:20,910
do that.
We've got a really interesting

645
00:36:20,910 --> 00:36:23,830
pattern going.
So a few weeks ago we did Rabbit

646
00:36:23,830 --> 00:36:28,070
Hole Bourbon and that got a 41
and then we had Quarter Horse,

647
00:36:28,070 --> 00:36:32,030
which was awful, and then we had
the shit.

648
00:36:32,110 --> 00:36:34,670
Fall, Bob, it is.
Then we had the Shivas Regal

649
00:36:34,670 --> 00:36:37,910
Mizunarra, which got a 43.
And then last week we tried that

650
00:36:37,910 --> 00:36:40,950
Glenn Rose, which we didn't like
and now we're back up in the 44

651
00:36:40,950 --> 00:36:43,110
range again.
So like, yeah, it's, you know,

652
00:36:43,110 --> 00:36:44,950
it's very much like a one for
them, one for me.

653
00:36:44,950 --> 00:36:47,670
It's a it's a real roller
coaster of a year.

654
00:36:49,470 --> 00:36:51,510
All right, man.
Well, I am very happy to report

655
00:36:51,510 --> 00:36:55,350
that we seem to like both this
movie and this whiskey, and

656
00:36:55,350 --> 00:36:57,150
those are the best episodes to
record.

657
00:36:57,150 --> 00:37:00,710
So what do you say we carry this
goodwill back into Seven

658
00:37:00,710 --> 00:37:03,310
Samurai?
Dude, I am so ready.

659
00:37:03,310 --> 00:37:09,750
Let's get back to it.
All right, everybody.

660
00:37:09,750 --> 00:37:14,070
That was AM Root Fusion and I
said it the way Bob does, I'm

661
00:37:14,070 --> 00:37:17,190
sure it's AM Root as he said,
but I'm going to say whatever I

662
00:37:17,190 --> 00:37:19,270
want.
AM Root Fusion is an incredible

663
00:37:19,270 --> 00:37:21,750
whiskey that you should purchase
if at all possible.

664
00:37:21,790 --> 00:37:23,230
You know what?
I think they're fine.

665
00:37:23,650 --> 00:37:26,810
I at least I would be fine with
having the name of my whiskey

666
00:37:26,810 --> 00:37:32,330
mispronounced when the praise is
as effusive as what we just gave

667
00:37:32,330 --> 00:37:33,170
it.
You know what I mean?

668
00:37:33,290 --> 00:37:36,890
If if somebody's talking about
the Fireman, the Fireman Weiske

669
00:37:36,890 --> 00:37:41,250
podcast, they call us the movies
and Vodka podcast is like as

670
00:37:41,330 --> 00:37:43,450
like as long as you say good
things about us, I don't care.

671
00:37:45,860 --> 00:37:48,260
Oh man.
Well, I cannot say enough good

672
00:37:48,260 --> 00:37:51,460
things about our next segment,
and neither can Canada.

673
00:37:51,540 --> 00:37:56,060
So let's get to Canada's
favorite segment, 2 Facts and a

674
00:37:56,060 --> 00:37:59,580
Falsehood.
Brad is gonna try to stumpy ball

675
00:38:01,180 --> 00:38:07,510
to all right and what is wrong?
2 Facts and A Falsehood 2 Facts

676
00:38:07,510 --> 00:38:10,550
and A Falsehood is the part of
the podcast where Brad presents

677
00:38:10,550 --> 00:38:14,310
three items to me as fact about
the making of this movie, one of

678
00:38:14,310 --> 00:38:17,230
which is a complete lie, and I
have to figure out which one

679
00:38:17,230 --> 00:38:19,230
Brad has made-up.
Brad.

680
00:38:19,230 --> 00:38:21,590
I am.
I'm under 500 on the year.

681
00:38:21,670 --> 00:38:24,190
I promised our listeners last
week that I would count it up.

682
00:38:24,190 --> 00:38:26,950
And you did it.
I can't bring myself to know how

683
00:38:26,950 --> 00:38:28,830
bad I'm doing at this point.
It's not good.

684
00:38:29,070 --> 00:38:33,310
Oh man, I also just have to
think that at some point, some

685
00:38:33,310 --> 00:38:36,790
random Canadian.
I started listening to our show

686
00:38:37,470 --> 00:38:39,870
and been like, wait, this is my
favorite segment?

687
00:38:40,310 --> 00:38:43,310
How come I didn't know?
Why wasn't I included?

688
00:38:45,310 --> 00:38:48,190
I do just love that you you just
started one like because we

689
00:38:48,190 --> 00:38:50,390
call, Brad explains America's
favorite segment.

690
00:38:50,630 --> 00:38:53,430
And then one day we came back
from break and Brad said this is

691
00:38:53,430 --> 00:38:56,990
Canada's favorite segment and
now we say it every week with no

692
00:38:56,990 --> 00:38:59,770
explanation.
Yep, Like, like most things in

693
00:38:59,770 --> 00:39:01,730
the world.
And American said, it's true.

694
00:39:01,730 --> 00:39:04,170
So here we are.
There we go.

695
00:39:04,810 --> 00:39:07,490
All right, man, hit me with your
two facts and a falsehood.

696
00:39:08,050 --> 00:39:13,890
Fact #1 Kurosawa designed a
registry of all 101 residents of

697
00:39:13,890 --> 00:39:17,330
the village, creating a family
tree to help his extras build

698
00:39:17,330 --> 00:39:19,770
their characters and
relationships to one another.

699
00:39:21,270 --> 00:39:23,550
Fact #2.
In the spirit of the samurais

700
00:39:23,550 --> 00:39:26,990
journey towards unity, Kurosawa
had the seven actors spend a

701
00:39:26,990 --> 00:39:30,510
week traveling together to
various cultural landmarks in

702
00:39:30,510 --> 00:39:33,510
Jet in Japan.
Fact #3.

703
00:39:33,510 --> 00:39:36,950
This was the first film on which
Kurosawa used multiple cameras

704
00:39:37,150 --> 00:39:39,830
so that he wouldn't interrupt
the flow of the scenes and could

705
00:39:39,830 --> 00:39:43,550
edit the film as he pleased.
In post production, he used this

706
00:39:43,550 --> 00:39:46,870
multiple camera setup, as most
directors did on every

707
00:39:46,870 --> 00:39:50,450
subsequent film.
I'm not buying that he never

708
00:39:50,450 --> 00:39:52,570
used multiple camera setups
before this.

709
00:39:52,650 --> 00:39:55,970
Like I totally he definitely did
on this movie.

710
00:39:55,970 --> 00:39:59,170
But even like in Rashomon, it
doesn't make sense that he would

711
00:39:59,330 --> 00:40:01,730
only use one camera.
Like, why would you do that?

712
00:40:01,730 --> 00:40:07,330
Kurosawa?
Oh man, that one is tricky.

713
00:40:07,330 --> 00:40:09,330
I'm going to leave three aside
for a minute.

714
00:40:10,090 --> 00:40:13,170
One and two sound kind of
similar, you know what I mean?

715
00:40:13,170 --> 00:40:16,810
Like it's the it's the like
insane level of prep kind of

716
00:40:16,810 --> 00:40:18,570
thing.
And #2 reminds me of like.

717
00:40:19,350 --> 00:40:21,830
Saving Private Ryan, where they
all had to do boot camp for a

718
00:40:21,830 --> 00:40:26,150
while, #1 sounds like the kind
of back story that like Kubrick

719
00:40:26,150 --> 00:40:28,630
or Christopher Nolan would give
to his movies that are

720
00:40:28,630 --> 00:40:31,510
unnecessary.
You know, Bob, one of my

721
00:40:31,510 --> 00:40:34,870
favorite parts of two facts in a
falsehood is as you, like, talk

722
00:40:34,870 --> 00:40:38,990
through all the options, I just
get to sit back and agree with

723
00:40:38,990 --> 00:40:39,870
you.
Yeah.

724
00:40:39,870 --> 00:40:41,990
Like, yeah, you're right.
It does sound like something.

725
00:40:41,990 --> 00:40:42,950
Yeah.
Kubrick.

726
00:40:42,950 --> 00:40:46,710
Sure.
I hate you so much, Brad.

727
00:40:50,240 --> 00:40:52,120
I have, dude.
Well done.

728
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:54,680
I have no idea which ones.
They all sound false.

729
00:40:55,120 --> 00:40:59,480
I'm going to say that.
I think you can think IMDb for

730
00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,640
that.
At the very least, I think one

731
00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:04,840
or two is the falsehood.
But three sounds the most

732
00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:06,880
ridiculous to me.
So I'm going to say three's the

733
00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:09,720
falsehood, knowing I'm probably
wrong, yeah.

734
00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:15,260
You're wrong, but.
You were hoping, you were hoping

735
00:41:15,340 --> 00:41:18,940
that that I am like flailing
around during this segment at

736
00:41:18,940 --> 00:41:20,380
this point.
You you have.

737
00:41:20,660 --> 00:41:24,300
I've got the yips, man.
Yeah, well, honestly, I'm like,

738
00:41:24,780 --> 00:41:28,980
I was really worried about doing
it for Charlie Chaplin and for

739
00:41:28,980 --> 00:41:33,390
Kurosawa because those are like.
So far outside of my wheelhouse

740
00:41:33,430 --> 00:41:35,870
in terms of movies, that I was
like, oh, Bob knows everything

741
00:41:35,870 --> 00:41:37,950
about these people compared to
me.

742
00:41:38,310 --> 00:41:40,550
And so he's going to see right
through my 2 facts and a faucet.

743
00:41:40,550 --> 00:41:45,790
And here I am, champion of the
world, so I talk all the time

744
00:41:45,790 --> 00:41:48,670
about how many books I get out
of the library to prep for these

745
00:41:48,670 --> 00:41:52,030
episodes.
And don't read, so I usually do.

746
00:41:52,150 --> 00:41:54,910
I usually at least read the
books, like the parts of the

747
00:41:54,910 --> 00:41:56,510
books that are about the movies.
We're doing.

748
00:41:57,310 --> 00:41:59,550
Kurosawa.
I have like 9 books on right now

749
00:41:59,550 --> 00:42:02,640
and between and my family had
some medical emergencies a

750
00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:05,520
couple weeks ago and then I got
really sick and then after I got

751
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,800
better I just spent a week on
the road for work.

752
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:11,920
I have 9 Kurosawa books just
taunting me from across the room

753
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:15,360
right now.
Like you idiot if you had read.

754
00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:19,520
Only opened me.
So that's kids.

755
00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:22,400
This is your reminder for all
the kids listening to my whiskey

756
00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:23,920
podcast.
Read books.

757
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,320
Read books.
Stop watching so many movies.

758
00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:29,560
Read a book.
Reading Rainbow.

759
00:42:30,720 --> 00:42:33,840
All right, well, I am really
below 500 now on the season.

760
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:36,120
And Brad, yeah, I mean, you've
earned it.

761
00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:39,920
Go ahead and gloat, man.
Yeah, I'm I'm very much so

762
00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:41,280
enjoying it.
I don't need to gloat or

763
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:43,240
anything.
I I just have that private

764
00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:45,360
satisfaction deep within my
soul.

765
00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:47,800
All right, man, where should we
go from here?

766
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:49,680
Let's talk a little bit more
about this movie.

767
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:52,920
I'm glad we got through all
Seven Samurai and their

768
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:57,480
performances, but what in
particular do you want to talk

769
00:42:57,480 --> 00:42:58,680
about for the rest of our time
here?

770
00:42:59,420 --> 00:43:02,100
I think for 20 minutes we need
to talk about their kick ass

771
00:43:02,100 --> 00:43:04,100
flag.
They have a great flag.

772
00:43:04,820 --> 00:43:10,780
It's such a good flag and when
when Mfune grabs it and sprints

773
00:43:10,780 --> 00:43:14,060
like through the village, for
some reason he can't plant it

774
00:43:14,060 --> 00:43:17,020
like on the closest house.
He has to Sprint all the way to

775
00:43:17,020 --> 00:43:21,020
the other side of the village.
But it's awesome.

776
00:43:21,140 --> 00:43:23,700
It's so cool.
It's such a great moment.

777
00:43:25,140 --> 00:43:27,060
Talk to me about the
cinematography here.

778
00:43:27,450 --> 00:43:29,650
Because I, like you, talked
about it last week in Rashomon

779
00:43:29,650 --> 00:43:31,770
and I'm with you.
It was a great film, especially

780
00:43:31,770 --> 00:43:35,850
considering that he only shot it
on one camera, which you know if

781
00:43:35,890 --> 00:43:38,410
you had opened the book you
would have known this is true.

782
00:43:39,490 --> 00:43:42,650
But you know, the multiple
camera setup gave us some really

783
00:43:42,650 --> 00:43:45,330
beautiful scenes.
And, you know, you talked last

784
00:43:45,330 --> 00:43:48,730
week about his cinematography.
I was kind of with you this

785
00:43:48,730 --> 00:43:50,930
week, though.
I think he outdid himself.

786
00:43:51,210 --> 00:43:54,530
Here's the interesting thing
about the cinematography in this

787
00:43:54,530 --> 00:43:59,100
movie is like, I think, hey, I
don't know if like the the

788
00:43:59,100 --> 00:44:02,460
quality of this movie had just
deteriorated more before they

789
00:44:02,460 --> 00:44:04,860
restored it.
This movie looks a little

790
00:44:04,860 --> 00:44:07,980
rougher still than Rashomon did.
Like Rashomon, the picture was

791
00:44:07,980 --> 00:44:11,660
so much crisper, I think, but
even just the compositions.

792
00:44:11,820 --> 00:44:13,860
You weren't watching it on your
on my phone.

793
00:44:15,780 --> 00:44:18,780
It's weird how that works.
I think even just like the

794
00:44:18,780 --> 00:44:22,820
compositions in Rashomon were so
much more interesting than they

795
00:44:22,820 --> 00:44:26,700
are, like this movie is just
much more efficient and

796
00:44:26,700 --> 00:44:28,820
tactical.
I would say with the camera,

797
00:44:28,820 --> 00:44:31,180
like there's, I mean, it's
certainly really artfully

798
00:44:31,180 --> 00:44:32,740
composed.
There's some really beautiful

799
00:44:32,740 --> 00:44:35,700
shots in this movie.
But like, the cool thing about

800
00:44:35,700 --> 00:44:40,180
the way this movie is shot is
that he spends so much time in

801
00:44:40,180 --> 00:44:43,580
the script setting up the
geography of this town.

802
00:44:43,620 --> 00:44:47,580
Like they literally walk around
the town mapping it, and you

803
00:44:47,580 --> 00:44:51,480
watch them map it, and you watch
them build the barricades and

804
00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:54,040
they shout directions at each
other all the time, and the

805
00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:56,080
camera follows the directions
they're shouting.

806
00:44:56,400 --> 00:44:59,960
It's just such a brilliant like
the editing goes with the

807
00:44:59,960 --> 00:45:02,760
cinematography so well that by
the time you get to the last

808
00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:06,200
battle it starts pouring down
rain and it is like,

809
00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:11,000
incomprehensible almost, except
for the fact that you know

810
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:12,960
exactly where you are at every
moment.

811
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:15,520
You know what I'm saying?
Like, it's not as it's not as

812
00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:21,480
beautiful to look at, but it
works maybe as well as it did in

813
00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:23,440
Rashaman for a completely
different reason.

814
00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:26,120
And I think that's that's like
partially what I wanted to talk

815
00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:30,400
about when I was I was thinking
about this film is like this

816
00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:37,560
film feels like every teenage
boys like ideal just.

817
00:45:38,310 --> 00:45:40,110
It's every.
It's what you always wanted to

818
00:45:40,110 --> 00:45:42,910
do, right?
Like build a Fort around a town,

819
00:45:42,910 --> 00:45:44,670
protect it from invading
bandits.

820
00:45:44,670 --> 00:45:48,270
Like it just captures the
imagination of any guy watching

821
00:45:48,270 --> 00:45:51,990
it, you know?
And I I just feel like the way

822
00:45:51,990 --> 00:45:56,470
he takes you to each area of the
village and the way they talk

823
00:45:56,470 --> 00:46:01,110
about the outlying homes, like
there's so much emotional

824
00:46:01,110 --> 00:46:03,870
investment in the geography of
this film.

825
00:46:04,390 --> 00:46:08,230
That by the time you hit the
battle, you really care about

826
00:46:08,230 --> 00:46:11,310
this village, it's inhabitants,
and the samurai who are

827
00:46:11,310 --> 00:46:13,950
defending it.
And I think it's because he

828
00:46:14,030 --> 00:46:18,310
takes his time setting up each
and every area of, you know,

829
00:46:18,310 --> 00:46:22,470
this little remote village.
One thing that's really struck

830
00:46:22,470 --> 00:46:25,550
me over the last two weeks, and
I mentioned it last week,

831
00:46:25,550 --> 00:46:29,670
because Rashomon comes out,
what, five years after the end

832
00:46:29,670 --> 00:46:33,270
of World War Two?
And Japan is obviously still

833
00:46:33,270 --> 00:46:38,160
reeling and rebuilding and
dealing with like catastrophic

834
00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:42,600
trauma, right.
And I'm really struck by how

835
00:46:43,680 --> 00:46:48,200
poverty is like such a huge,
huge part of both of these

836
00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:50,840
movies.
And like it's it's always in

837
00:46:50,840 --> 00:46:53,760
Kurosawa's movies, even pre war
and during the war.

838
00:46:54,480 --> 00:46:58,560
But it it carries such a deeper
meaning after the war because so

839
00:46:58,560 --> 00:47:02,880
many people are, like literally
rebuilding from rubble in Japan.

840
00:47:03,600 --> 00:47:06,120
It adds such a weight to both of
these movies.

841
00:47:06,120 --> 00:47:09,160
Like these movies work, even if
you're completely divorcing them

842
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:12,480
from the historical context,
because, like, he really does

843
00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:14,920
lean into the emotion of these
people's plight.

844
00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:19,720
But I think that linking the
poverty of the characters on

845
00:47:19,720 --> 00:47:23,720
screen and the hardships they're
facing with the hardships that

846
00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:26,520
the people of Japan have been
struggling with for a decade

847
00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:30,080
prior to this, I don't know.
I think that there's a way to

848
00:47:30,080 --> 00:47:33,440
make this movie, even though
this is very much like a guys

849
00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:36,400
being dudes movie.
There's a way to make this movie

850
00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:43,080
that is even more macho and less
emotional, but the emotions of

851
00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:45,360
this movie are what make it a
great movie.

852
00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:49,000
Yeah, no, I'm, I'm 100% with
you.

853
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:54,560
The way that the characters
interact with one another, and

854
00:47:54,560 --> 00:47:59,660
more importantly, the way.
That the emotions hit at just

855
00:47:59,660 --> 00:48:01,260
the right times.
Like I know this might sound

856
00:48:01,260 --> 00:48:06,540
crazy for 3 1/2 hour movie, but
it might flow better than almost

857
00:48:06,540 --> 00:48:08,700
any two hour movie we've ever
watched.

858
00:48:09,220 --> 00:48:12,140
Like the ups and downs of the
movie hit at just the right

859
00:48:12,140 --> 00:48:15,260
points.
The editing of the film is just

860
00:48:15,260 --> 00:48:17,380
what we need to keep us moving
along.

861
00:48:17,380 --> 00:48:21,140
I I just.
I just think that for of the two

862
00:48:21,140 --> 00:48:24,770
Curosolid movies I've seen.
I'm starting to piece together

863
00:48:24,770 --> 00:48:26,730
why people have such respect for
him.

864
00:48:27,970 --> 00:48:30,250
Yeah, man, I will say.
And we haven't really said a

865
00:48:30,250 --> 00:48:31,850
negative word about this movie
so far.

866
00:48:32,050 --> 00:48:33,970
This is not my favorite Kurosawa
movie.

867
00:48:34,050 --> 00:48:36,690
And if I'm being honest, I do
think I like Rashomon better

868
00:48:36,690 --> 00:48:40,290
than this movie.
But it's kind of, it's one of

869
00:48:40,290 --> 00:48:42,930
those movies that's kind of
impossible to deny, you know

870
00:48:42,930 --> 00:48:43,570
what I mean?
Like.

871
00:48:43,730 --> 00:48:47,290
Yeah, even more so.
I think about other epic movies.

872
00:48:47,810 --> 00:48:50,490
I think this is a better movie
than Lawrence of Arabia.

873
00:48:51,020 --> 00:48:54,020
And Lawrence of Arabia is kind
of impossible to deny on like

874
00:48:54,180 --> 00:48:58,380
pure filmmaking.
This is impossible to deny on

875
00:48:58,380 --> 00:49:01,660
the level of like pure
filmmaking and also

876
00:49:01,660 --> 00:49:04,380
entertainment value.
Like it's just a really wellmade

877
00:49:04,380 --> 00:49:05,700
movie.
Do I think it's the most

878
00:49:05,700 --> 00:49:09,460
artistic movie he's ever made?
Not by a longshot, but it's also

879
00:49:09,460 --> 00:49:13,180
a 3 1/2 hour movie.
And the sheer scope and scale of

880
00:49:13,180 --> 00:49:17,220
this thing and the fact that
like this goes without saying.

881
00:49:17,220 --> 00:49:21,090
Obviously Brad, but like, you
can feel how real and how

882
00:49:21,090 --> 00:49:24,370
tactile everything is.
Like when stuff gets set on fire

883
00:49:24,370 --> 00:49:28,170
in this movie, it's like, oh,
there's a legit burning building

884
00:49:28,170 --> 00:49:31,410
5 feet from these people.
Or or even like some of my

885
00:49:31,410 --> 00:49:36,570
favorite shots were the insert
shots of of the the main samurai

886
00:49:36,570 --> 00:49:41,250
kambe Combe of of Combe
painting.

887
00:49:41,590 --> 00:49:45,710
The X's on the circles he's made
next to the map of the village,

888
00:49:45,710 --> 00:49:49,110
that's gorgeous.
And he's just painting these X's

889
00:49:49,110 --> 00:49:51,350
to mark off each bandit that
they've killed.

890
00:49:51,750 --> 00:49:54,750
And there's something that, like
you said, it's so tactile and

891
00:49:54,750 --> 00:49:59,550
real and I don't know, it just
the world feels so beautiful and

892
00:49:59,550 --> 00:50:01,590
lived in.
And I just, I'm just a really

893
00:50:01,590 --> 00:50:03,830
big fan of it.
You know, when we watched Bridge

894
00:50:03,830 --> 00:50:08,420
on the River Kwai, we kind of
talked about and again it, it

895
00:50:08,420 --> 00:50:10,860
sounds so simplistic to say, but
in a world where everything is

896
00:50:10,860 --> 00:50:14,860
CGI now, like seeing a real
bridge get blown up is just

897
00:50:14,860 --> 00:50:17,140
like, Oh my gosh, that bridge
just got blown up.

898
00:50:19,020 --> 00:50:23,300
And and watching this village
that was clearly all built like

899
00:50:23,300 --> 00:50:26,500
they built a whole village just
to burn the village down, you

900
00:50:26,500 --> 00:50:27,300
know what I mean?
Like.

901
00:50:27,540 --> 00:50:30,780
Dude, I mean like some of the
burning down shots reminded me

902
00:50:30,780 --> 00:50:34,220
of like a Gone With the Wind
Warehouse burning down because

903
00:50:34,220 --> 00:50:37,830
it just felt so real.
All right, man, I don't really

904
00:50:37,830 --> 00:50:40,510
know how much more I have to say
about this movie, even though

905
00:50:40,510 --> 00:50:42,510
it's not my favorite Kurosawa
movie.

906
00:50:42,990 --> 00:50:45,510
Again, it's undeniable.
And I think the only thing we

907
00:50:45,510 --> 00:50:48,270
have left to do at this point,
Brad, is find a movie to pair it

908
00:50:48,270 --> 00:50:49,950
up with.
And that's what we're going to

909
00:50:49,950 --> 00:50:52,990
do in our last segment, which we
call, let's make it a double.

910
00:50:53,540 --> 00:50:56,860
Near the end of the episode.
So thanks for listening to the

911
00:50:56,860 --> 00:50:59,620
film and whiskey show.
Let's pair another film with

912
00:50:59,620 --> 00:51:01,220
this one.
Even if it's struggle, it's a

913
00:51:01,220 --> 00:51:03,580
final segment of the day.
Now let's make it a double.

914
00:51:04,020 --> 00:51:06,460
Like I said, let's make it a
double is where we pair this

915
00:51:06,460 --> 00:51:09,700
movie up with another one to
make the perfect double feature.

916
00:51:10,140 --> 00:51:13,380
Brad, I have not given one
second of thought to this, so

917
00:51:13,380 --> 00:51:16,540
I'm going to let you go first
while I desperately try to find

918
00:51:16,540 --> 00:51:18,420
a connection here.
Alright.

919
00:51:20,510 --> 00:51:24,750
I have not either.
I like 100% forgot that we even

920
00:51:24,750 --> 00:51:27,790
do this.
The first movie that popped in

921
00:51:27,790 --> 00:51:32,750
my head, I'm going to go with my
brain, said, oh crap, I have to

922
00:51:32,750 --> 00:51:35,470
come up with a movie.
What are movies about ragtag

923
00:51:35,470 --> 00:51:37,110
bands?
Sandlot.

924
00:51:37,990 --> 00:51:39,830
I'm going to pair this with
Sandlot, baby.

925
00:51:42,810 --> 00:51:44,570
You know I can't even make fun
of you because I still haven't

926
00:51:44,570 --> 00:51:45,690
thought of anything.
So like.

927
00:51:45,810 --> 00:51:47,530
That's right.
At least I came up with

928
00:51:47,530 --> 00:51:50,010
something, Bob.
I hate to do this, but the first

929
00:51:50,010 --> 00:51:51,970
thing that came to my mind is
Braveheart, because I've been

930
00:51:51,970 --> 00:51:54,650
thinking about the Scotsman.
Oh, there it is.

931
00:51:55,250 --> 00:51:56,810
Honestly.
You know, do you know what

932
00:51:56,810 --> 00:51:59,210
really did it for me?
It's the it's one of my favorite

933
00:51:59,210 --> 00:52:04,250
moments with Tashiro Mifune when
they're trying to figure out

934
00:52:04,650 --> 00:52:07,690
which segment of the bandits
have the guns.

935
00:52:08,230 --> 00:52:11,590
And so he like, runs past the
barricade and just like shows

936
00:52:11,590 --> 00:52:14,750
his ass to them and spanks
himself and then they and then

937
00:52:14,750 --> 00:52:18,470
they shoot right next to him and
he's like just runs away real

938
00:52:18,470 --> 00:52:20,870
fast.
I'm like, oh, that's Braveheart.

939
00:52:21,070 --> 00:52:23,310
Like that's them showing their
butts in Braveheart.

940
00:52:23,430 --> 00:52:29,100
And so if you are a fan of both
War and Moon and mooning, yeah,

941
00:52:29,740 --> 00:52:33,860
yeah, this is the pair for you.
That's so funny.

942
00:52:34,060 --> 00:52:38,300
Yeah, dude, Mufune is a little
bit of an exhibitionist.

943
00:52:38,980 --> 00:52:42,700
I will say he's running around
in the thong 84 most of this

944
00:52:42,740 --> 00:52:44,980
movie, yeah.
Yeah, most of the film.

945
00:52:45,340 --> 00:52:47,940
It is a good thing that he was
such a good looking man.

946
00:52:48,020 --> 00:52:51,820
Like, yeah, because you would
not excuse that from a, you

947
00:52:51,820 --> 00:52:54,420
know, one of the more rotunds,
Yeah.

948
00:52:56,720 --> 00:52:58,520
Yeah.
You notice that he has like,

949
00:52:58,800 --> 00:53:02,200
like trousers on that like kind
of hide the sagginess.

950
00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:06,680
All right, man, let's give this
movie some final scores.

951
00:53:06,800 --> 00:53:11,920
I I came into this episode
thinking like 9 out of 10.

952
00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:15,520
I was in an 8 1/2 for most of
the movie.

953
00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:17,640
And then the ending was so good
that I was like, yeah, this is

954
00:53:17,640 --> 00:53:20,760
an undeniable 9.
The more I talk about it, the

955
00:53:20,760 --> 00:53:22,640
more I kind of want to give it a
nine and a half.

956
00:53:23,200 --> 00:53:27,900
I know, dude.
Before you give your score, I

957
00:53:27,900 --> 00:53:31,060
was kind of in a similar boat,
but I was in like the 8:00 to

958
00:53:31,260 --> 00:53:35,100
8:00 to maybe 8 1/2 range.
And then the ending solidified

959
00:53:35,100 --> 00:53:37,580
it as like an 8 1/2, maybe a
nine.

960
00:53:38,260 --> 00:53:40,060
And I think I'll, I'll give my
final score.

961
00:53:40,060 --> 00:53:42,260
I think I've talked myself into
a nine out of 10.

962
00:53:42,980 --> 00:53:46,260
Like, this movie's not perfect.
There are certain parts of it

963
00:53:46,260 --> 00:53:50,540
that just haven't aged super
well, like the the way he films

964
00:53:50,540 --> 00:53:53,660
action in combat is good and
engaging, but.

965
00:53:54,100 --> 00:53:56,460
There's definitely better
techniques that have come along.

966
00:53:56,700 --> 00:54:01,380
So it's it's not a perfect
movie, but man oh man is it not

967
00:54:01,380 --> 00:54:04,940
just an incredible film, I think
I'm also at a nine, and that's

968
00:54:04,940 --> 00:54:08,460
mostly because I still think
that at the end of the day, this

969
00:54:08,460 --> 00:54:10,860
is like at least 2025 minutes
too long.

970
00:54:11,500 --> 00:54:14,540
It's so weird to say a 3 1/2
hour movie could trim 20 minutes

971
00:54:14,540 --> 00:54:17,340
because they're just still
talking about a three hour and

972
00:54:17,340 --> 00:54:19,540
10 minute movie.
But I do think there is a

973
00:54:19,540 --> 00:54:22,180
slightly tighter cut of this
movie that works just a little

974
00:54:22,180 --> 00:54:25,450
bit better and coupled with the
fact that it's just not my

975
00:54:25,450 --> 00:54:31,170
favorite Kurosawa film, but to
hear two guys talk about a 70

976
00:54:31,170 --> 00:54:33,650
year old Japanese movie and
agree that it is.

977
00:54:33,650 --> 00:54:38,530
For nine years, 69 years and
agree that it's a nine out of

978
00:54:38,530 --> 00:54:39,930
10.
I think really says something

979
00:54:39,930 --> 00:54:42,530
about the enduring legacy of
this movie.

980
00:54:43,170 --> 00:54:46,530
Also, I want you all to hear
that I just appreciated this

981
00:54:46,530 --> 00:54:49,570
movie as it was, but director
Bob book over here.

982
00:54:49,940 --> 00:54:53,380
Thinks that he can do a better
job editing than Akira Kurosawa,

983
00:54:53,740 --> 00:54:57,020
so I'm just going to leave that
out there for everybody to see.

984
00:54:57,380 --> 00:54:59,180
Bob thinks he's better than
Kurosawa.

985
00:54:59,980 --> 00:55:03,060
Brad, we're coming out to an
average of a nine on this movie.

986
00:55:03,060 --> 00:55:06,140
Before we give our little spiel
at the end, here I have a

987
00:55:06,140 --> 00:55:09,380
proposition for.
You good math there Sherlock.

988
00:55:12,860 --> 00:55:16,180
So we have 3 movies left in our
Kurosawa retrospective here,

989
00:55:16,220 --> 00:55:19,460
right?
One of them is samurai related.

990
00:55:19,460 --> 00:55:24,860
It's his 1980s film Ron.
The other two are from the 1950s

991
00:55:24,860 --> 00:55:28,180
and the 1960s respectively, and
they're set in modern day.

992
00:55:29,580 --> 00:55:33,220
Do you think we should, like,
just keep going chronologically,

993
00:55:33,620 --> 00:55:38,300
or should we kind of round out
the samurai part and then do a

994
00:55:38,300 --> 00:55:42,020
completely separate evaluation
of, like his modern day stuff?

995
00:55:43,140 --> 00:55:46,020
You know, if you had asked me
this after Rashman.

996
00:55:46,570 --> 00:55:52,210
I would have said no, I I need a
break from all the samurai.

997
00:55:53,330 --> 00:55:57,970
But here we are after Seven
Samurai and I could use at least

998
00:55:57,970 --> 00:56:01,170
one more.
So let's let's do Ran.

999
00:56:01,290 --> 00:56:07,170
I'm really excited to kind of
see the evolution of 1950s

1000
00:56:07,170 --> 00:56:12,330
Samurai Kurosawa into 1980s
Samurai Kurosawa.

1001
00:56:12,370 --> 00:56:15,370
All right, So there you have it.
Next week we're watching Ron,

1002
00:56:15,840 --> 00:56:19,000
but I want to know what you all
think of Seven Samurai.

1003
00:56:19,160 --> 00:56:22,000
Like I said, I have a sneaking
suspicion that most of our

1004
00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:25,200
listeners have at least heard of
this movie, if not watched it.

1005
00:56:25,480 --> 00:56:26,960
So reach out to us and let us
know.

1006
00:56:26,960 --> 00:56:28,880
Did you ever get around to
watching this movie?

1007
00:56:28,960 --> 00:56:31,280
What even is your level of
awareness of it?

1008
00:56:31,520 --> 00:56:34,960
You can find us on all of our
social media accounts, Facebook,

1009
00:56:35,040 --> 00:56:38,840
Twitter, Instagram, TikTok at
Film Whiskey.

1010
00:56:39,690 --> 00:56:41,650
Or you can jump onto our
Discord.

1011
00:56:41,650 --> 00:56:44,770
We are on Discord every single
day talking to you guys, the

1012
00:56:44,770 --> 00:56:46,690
fans of the Film and Whiskey
Podcast.

1013
00:56:47,010 --> 00:56:49,530
So if you want to join the
conversation, you can find a

1014
00:56:49,530 --> 00:56:52,090
link to our Discord at the end
of every single one of our show

1015
00:56:52,090 --> 00:56:54,850
notes.
Like we said, we'll be back next

1016
00:56:54,850 --> 00:56:58,970
week, jumping way forward into
the 1980s to watch Kurosawa's

1017
00:56:58,970 --> 00:57:02,890
final masterpiece, Ron.
But until then, I'm Bob Book.

1018
00:57:03,210 --> 00:57:05,530
I'm Brad G and we'll see you
next time.