From a filmic (is that a word?) standpoint, I enjoyed it. I liked the simplicity of the story and its telling, and that it ended with a Wise Older Man telling a Youngster about the world while cheesy music played, because it's nice to see that even Kurosawa traded in cliches. The sequences that struck me as strongest were Murakami's pursuit of the pickpocket and their subsequent conversation and the scenes between Sato and Murakami at Sato's home. Both I think allowed the characters a few moments away from the highly restrictive Japanese cultural and class guidelines that, for most of the film, really limit the depth of their interactions (and thus restrict the actors as well).

Additionally, the similarity between the early montages here and those in Man With a Movie Camera was really striking. To my mind, it's unquestionable that Kurosawa had Vertov's work in mind when he used mirrors to multiply crowds (in such obvious ways that it's clearly not meant to be hidden) and layered dissolve upon dissolve.

I also couldn't stop thinking about how much more mature and sure of themselves Kurosawa and Mifune would be 10 year later in Yojimbo.

From a curiosity standpoint, I absolutely loved the baseball scenes-- great glimpses of the Japanese game in the late 40s. (But then, I'm sort of a lapsed baseball freak, so those moments might appeal less to the rest of you.) Also, I could not believe how young Mifune looked, just a year before Rashomon. He's much lighter, I think, and when he's clean-shaven he looks almost boyish.

Jon, have you seen Yojimbo?

I actually thought Kurosawa was able to sidestep the cliche Martha mentioned, because it seemed to me that while the Wise Older Man was telling the Youngster about how things worked, the Youngster knew the Wise Older Man was, to a certain degree, full of shit. Murakami and Yusa seem to be the only characters in the film who really know the score.

It would be awfully foolish (and arrogant) of Kurosawa to turn around and tell them that they're all full of shit.

He's actually very right when it comes to Yusa. He is a piece of trash

I think the movie had invested way too much in Sato to simply dismiss him as an old fool; it seems to me that he believes what he's saying, and that Murakami is at least acknowledging that he may one day come to agree with him.

(I have no idea if that's a spoiler or not) hint at his experiences during the war, which only Murakami, and not Sato, can understand. That doesn't let him off the hook, since Murakami had similar experiences and chose differently. At the very least, though, it throws some ambiguity into Sato's speechifying at the end.

To my mind, it's unquestionable that Kurosawa had Vertov's work in mind when he used mirrors to multiply crowds (in such obvious ways that it's clearly not meant to be hidden)

Where did Kurosawa do this?

trying to get someone to offer him again.

Trying to get someone to offer him a gun? I'll have to watch this again. I didn't notice.

By the way I hate the comment of Terrence Rafferty in the essay about Simenon. I love Simenon and reading that he is a petit maître and that his books never demonstrated ''curiosity about the extremes of human behaviour'' made me quite angry; obviously this gentleman has (maybe) read a few Maigret but never any of Simenon's masterworks. And he is not French, but Belgian.

I just watched it today, I loved the movie, but I made the mistake to watch it just after viewing the gorgeous new edition of Seven Samurai and I must say that I hope they put their hand on a better copy some day. Maybe I am spoiled but I found the quality at the bottom of what Criterion has provided so far.