Sally Kirkland, actress.
Other credits include “Supertrain”, the good “Hawaii Five-0”, “Bronk”, and an uncredited role in “Blazing Saddles”.
Tatsuya Nakadai, Japanese actor.
He did a lot of work with Akira Kurosawa, including the lead role in “Kagemusha”. He was also the lead character in “Ran”, Kurosawa’s version of “King Lear”.
Early in his career, Mr. Nakadai often worked opposite Toshiro Mifune, one of Japan’s best-known acting exports. They could not have been less alike: Mr. Mifune, untrained as an actor but with wild energy, often presented a gruff, overtly physical persona, while Mr. Nakadai took on vastly different characters and delivered subtly intricate performances.
They usually played adversaries. In “Yojimbo” (1961) and “Sanjuro” (1962), both directed by Mr. Kurosawa, and “Samurai Rebellion” (1967), directed by Mr. Kobayashi, the two meet in climatic duels, with Mr. Mifune’s character winning each time with a horizontal slash to the midsection. In “Sanjuro,” the fatal cut released a towering fountain of blood.
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I often watch foreign films, usually on my libraries Kanopy service. Japanese movies often follow a set pattern, which I tend to skip. But there are so many titles available on Kanopy that I can always find something that is very good, including many made in Japan.
The dubbing and closed captions are usually pretty good, and I don’t mind following along. But I have learned the most important part of streaming movies at home, which I never have paid for. If I don’t like a particular film, I am not committed to watching the entire thing. Usually it is a B movie that I know is a B movie going in, but try it anyway, since I am often surprised by the good job that can be done on a very low budget.
Just wanted to let you know that I am still here, just haven’t commented lately. Have a great coming weekend and stay safe.