Breathtaking epic!

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2004)

I am not familiar with the genre which this movie represents, so I am not competent to comment on how well it works -- or doesn't work -- within its constraints.
However, I have a long background in appreciating samurai movies (well, that dates me!) so I relate to this movie from that perspective.
With those caveats, let me say uniquivocally that this is one of the greatest movies I've ever seen!
Each frame is exquisite, yet the human dimension is not overwhelmed by the emphasis on color and composition. I certainly was moved by the death of the lovers and by Nameless' stolid fatalism at the end.
Quite frankly, I was so in wonder at this movie that I think my mouth was open in astonishment during the entire film.
It had the emotional depth of opera, dance, and the greatest war epics like Ran. It's use of CGI may have been wanting to some aficionados of that technique, but I thought the overwhelming forces produced by these effects compared favorably to those in Lord of the Rings.
The fight scenes were perhaps too dance-like for some, but for me, they were a transporting experience.
Well, I should stop gushing. It was great!