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Dersu Uzala

Play trailer Poster for Dersu Uzala G 1975 2h 20m Adventure Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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73% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 94% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
"Dersu Uzala" is epic in form yet intimate in scope. Set in the forests of Eastern Siberia at the turn of the century, it is a portrait of the friendship that grows between an aging hunter and a Russian surveyor. A romantic hymn to nature and the human spirit, it boasts a performance by Maxim Munzuk as the wise and wizened old man of the Taiga.

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Dersu Uzala

Critics Reviews

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Elliott Stein Film Comment Magazine 04/10/2018
4/4
The film's finest passage occurs when the hunter and the captain are stranded on a frozen lake-a harrowing, spooky-gorgeous spectacle of supernatural realism. Go to Full Review
Richard Eder New York Times 05/09/2005
The episodes in this second part go on endlessly, loosely, obviously. They lack the revelations of the winter scenes and they do little but belabor at length the points already made. They wreck the film's balance and make its achievements dull. Go to Full Review
Steven D. Greydanus Decent Films 05/31/2004
A
To Arseniev, Dersu embodies something civilized men have lost… Neither can really understand the other — which is precisely what makes their friendship so special. Go to Full Review
Don Kenny Japan Times 02/10/2023
Dersu Uzala will undoubtedly go down in film history as a fine expression of the creative style, and the deeper urges and beliefs behind that style, of a truly great director. Go to Full Review
Jesús Fernández Santos El Pais (Spain) 07/18/2019
This is a faithful portrait of man's best virtues. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 07/19/2006
C+
It's sweetly told and heartwarming, much like a Disney film, but not demanding much of the viewer. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Virgo V @vision Jan 4 Dersu Uzala is a 1975 Soviet-Japanese biographical adventure drama film directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa, his only non-Japanese-language film and his only 70mm film. The film is based on the 1923 memoir Dersu Uzala (which was named after the native trapper) by Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev, about his exploration of the Sikhote-Alin region of the Russian Far East over the course of multiple expeditions in the early 20th century. Shot almost entirely outdoors in the Russian Far East wilderness, the film explores the theme of a native of the forests who is fully integrated into his environment, leading a style of life that will inevitably be destroyed by the advance of civilization. It is also about the growth of respect and deep friendship between two men of profoundly different backgrounds, and about the difficulty of coping with the loss of capability that comes with old age. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the Golden Prize and the Prix FIPRESCI at the 9th Moscow International Film Festival and other awards. It was also a box office hit, selling more than 21 million tickets in the Soviet Union and Europe in addition to grossing $1.2 million in the United States and Canada. See more Lord V 12/11/2024 A thrilling visual and storytelling masterpiece. One of Akira Kurosawa’s underrated classics. See more Peter W 04/15/2023 Overall, this is a strong story about an unlikely and touching friendship. Performances here feel genuine, plus I enjoyed seeing the friendship grow more beautiful as the film progressed. Visually, I loved seeing the various settings and locations this film takes its audiences through, all of which kept the film highly captivating. It's a slow-paced film, but my engagement was always present due to the delightful and charming story and the gratifying finale. No wonder this film won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 1976. See more william d @acsdoug 10/12/2022 A good old fashioned "man vs. nature" tale, coupled with some poignant male camaraderie between Maxim Manzuk and Yury Solomin. I don't know why they don't make movies like this any more. They're much more interesting than the preachy/woke and superhero movies they make these days. See more William M 08/20/2022 One of Akira Kurosawa's best movies, though little known in the USA. Very much worth the effort of finding it, if you can. A simple story, well told, and great shots (filmed on location) of the Russian Far East. See more 06/11/2022 That dude from Deep Siberia is boring sometimes. 5/10 See more Read all reviews
Dersu Uzala

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Movie Info

Synopsis "Dersu Uzala" is epic in form yet intimate in scope. Set in the forests of Eastern Siberia at the turn of the century, it is a portrait of the friendship that grows between an aging hunter and a Russian surveyor. A romantic hymn to nature and the human spirit, it boasts a performance by Maxim Munzuk as the wise and wizened old man of the Taiga.
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Producer
Yoichi Matsue, Nikolai Sizov
Screenwriter
Akira Kurosawa, Yuri Nagibin
Distributor
New World Pictures
Production Co
Satra, Atelier 41
Rating
G
Genre
Adventure, Drama
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 1, 1975, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 8, 2017
Runtime
2h 20m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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