This series of films about a masterless samurai bent on revenge while protectively raising his son features moments of pastoral silent beauty juxtaposed with quick stylized violence.
Sxip Shirey found recent success with "Woman of Constant Sorrow", and now discusses robotic bells, the pleasure of composing for circuses, and his new album A Bottle of Whiskey and a Handful of Bees.
At once a production history, a film analysis and a history of the Hermitage Museum, the Chair of the Film Studies at Aberystwyth University has written a concise and thought-provoking volume.