Red Beard

This was one of those Netflix disks that lies around for months before I watch it, and then in fits and starts. It turned out to be well worth watching, but you might be as daunted as I was. In essence this Kurosawa almost-classic is a Japanese Dr. Kildare set in the early 19th century and, clocking in at a little over three hours, might have been a miniseries. In the final collaboration between director and actor, Toshiro Mifune plays the title character, a wise old doctor who runs a village clinic for the poor, to which a hotshot young doctor has been exiled. Initially rebellious, the hothead gradually comes under the sway of the elder samurai -- er, doctor -- in caring for a variety of patients and learning their stories. Besides the length, this impeccable Criterion dvd is compromised by the film’s widescreen splendor in luscious black and white. Unless you’ve got a big HD screen, you’ll be missing much of the appeal, which is considerable. (1963, dvd.) *7-*