Akahige 1965  N/R, 185 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Red Beard
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Yoko Naito, Terumi Niki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Reiko Dan, Akemi Negishi, Kyoko Kagawa, Kamatari Fujiwara
Set in the early 19th century, this long film tells the story of Dr. Kyojio Niide, "Red Beard" (Toshiro Mifine, in his last film for Director Kurosawa), who works at a charity clinic in a poverty-stricken area. Dr. Niide takes a new intern, Noboru (Yuzo Kayama) under his wing. Noboru is arrogant and rebellious, not understanding why so much time is spent on the poor. Over time, Red Beard brings the young doctor around.
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Akira Kurosawa's Dreams 1990  PG, 120 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Akira Terao, Martin Scorsese, Chishu Ryu, Mieko Harada, Mitsuko Baisho, Chosuke Ikariya, Toshie Negishi, Mitsunori Isaki, Toshihiko Nakano, Yoshitaka Zushi, Hisashi Igawa, Masayuki Yui
Famed writer-director Akira Kurosawa put together a number of his dreams and presents a sequence of incidents exploring the relationship of human beings to their environments.
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The Bad Sleep Well 1960 N/R, 135 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Thriller
aka: The Rose in the Mud
The Worse You Are, the Better You Sleep
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Takeshi Kato, Takashi Shimura, Ko Nishimura, Tatsuya Mihashi, Kamatari Fujiwara, Kyoko Kagawa, Chishu Ryu, Seiji Miyaguchi, Koji Mitsui, Ken Mitsuda, Nobuo Nakamura, Susumu Fujita, Koji Nambara
This indictment of the Japanese approach to business emphasizes the corruption at high levels through the story of Kiochi Nishi (Toshiro Mifune) who marries his boss Iwabuchi's (Masayuki Mori) daughter, Kieko (Kyoko Kagawa), to avenge his father's suicide, which can be traced back to Iwabuchi. But, as Kiochi plots revenge against Iwabuchi, Kiochi falls in love with Kieko just as Iwabuchi realizes who Kiochi really is.
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Clickety-Clack 1970 N/R, 140 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Dodesukaden
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Junzaburo Ban, Kiyoko Tange, Michiko Hino, Imari Tsuji, Keiji Furuyama, Hisashi Igawa, Hideko Okiyama, Kunie Tanaka, Toshiyuki Tonomura, Shinsuke Minami, Yuko Kusunoki, Tappei Shimokawa, Jitsuko Yoshimura
Kurosawa tells of life in a poverty-stricken area of Tokyo through the lives of several of its inhabitants, covering the range of emotion from tragedy to humor. The title refers to the sounds that a mentally challenged, young man makes as he goes around the slums in his pretend trolley. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
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Dersu Uzala 1975 G, 137 min.
Genre: Foreign / Adventure / Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Maksim Munzuk, Yuri Solomin, Suimenkul Chokmorov, Vladimir Klemena, Svetlana Danilchenko, Alexandr Pyatkov, Dmitri Korshikov, Mikhail Bychkov, Sovetbek Dzhumadylov, B. Khorulev, Nikolai Volkov
Derzu Uzala (Maksim Munzuk) is a hunter who guards an expedition of Russian soldiers and Russian explorer Captain Vladimir Arseniev (Yuri Solomin) traveling across Siberia and teaches them methods of survival. A bond is formed between Uzala and Arseniev, who represent opposite worlds, on their trek through the treacherous land. The film won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
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Donzoko 1957 N/R, 125 min.
Genre: Foreign / Comedy
aka: The Lower Depths
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Kyoko Kagawa, Ganjiro Nakamura, Minoru Chiaki, Bokuzen Hidari, Kamatari Fujiwara, Eijiro Tono, Eiko Miyoshi, Akemi Negishi, Nijiko Kiyokawa, Haruo Tanaka
Instead of Maxim Gorky's Russia, a slum flophouse in Japan is the setting for this Japanese film adaptation of Gorky's play. The story revolves around eccentric residents of the flophouse complaining about their lots in life.
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Drunken Angel 1948  N/R, 98 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Thriller
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Reisaburo Yamamoto, Michiyo Kogure, Chieko Nakakita, Noriko Sengoku, Shizuko Kasagi, Eitaro Shindo, Masao Shimizu, Chouko Iida, Taiji Tonoyama, Yoshiko Kuga
Following World War II, Dr. Sanada (Takashi Shimura) operates a clinic in the slums of Tokyo. Sanada is an alcoholic, but when he treats young gangster Matsunaga (Toshiro Mifune) for tuberculosis, Sanada recognizes that in order to perform his duties successfully, he must get his life in order. The two men engage in a love-hate relationship as their needs cause each man to become dependent on the other.
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The Hidden Fortress 1958  N/R, 139 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action / Comedy / Adventure
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Susumu Fujita, Takashi Shimura, Eiko Miyoshi, Kichijiro Ueda, Koji Mitsui, Toshiko Higuchi, Ikio Sawamura, Tadao Nakamaru, Rinsaku Ogata
The plot for this Japanese film effort influenced George Lucas in his "Star Wars" productions. Taking place in the 1500s, this is the story of two peasants caught up in an attempt by a general and a princess to flee the area in the midst of civil war.
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High and Low 1963 N/R, 143 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Thriller
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Isao Kimura, Kenjiro Ishiyama, Takeshi Kato, Jun Tazaki, Nobuo Nakamura, Yunosuke Ito, Minoru Chiaki, Yoshio Tsuchiya
Wealthy businessman Kingo Gondo is ordered to pay a ransom to the kidnappers of his son (Kyoko Kagawa). He is ready to pay the ransom when he finds his son safe at home. In a case of mistaken identity, his chauffeur's (Yutaka Sada) son is the kidnap victim. The kidnapper calls Gondo, admits that he made a mistake, and still demands the ransom money. Now, Gondo must decide between another person's safety and his own financial security.
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I Live in Fear 1955 N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Record of a Living Being
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Eiko Miyoshi, Haruko Togo, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki, Kyoko Aoyama, Noriko Sengoku, Akemi Negishi, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Kichijiro Ueda, Eijiro Tono, Yutaka Sada, Kamatari Fujiwara, Masao Shimizu, Ken Mitsuda
Kiichi Nakajima (Toshiro Mifune) fears a nuclear holocaust in Japan and wants his family to move with him to Brazil. When they refuse, Nakajima thinks he will put more pressure on them by burning down his foundry. His ploy fails, and he is sent to a mental asylum where he stares out the window at the sun believing that Earth has been engulfed in the nuclear holocaust that he had feared. A strong statement against nuclear weapons.
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The Idiot 1951 N/R, 166 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Masayuki Mori, Toshiro Mifune, Setsuko Hara, Takashi Shimura, Yoshiko Kuga, Chieko Higashiyama, Eijiro Yanagi, Minoru Chiaki, Chiyoko Fumiya, Eiko Miyoshi, Noriko Sengoku, Mitsuyo Akashi
Akira Kurosawa was a fan of Dostoyevsky and brought his version of the story to the screen. However, the transition from Russian culture to Japanese was not entirely successful. A man returning from a war is branded an idiot due to epilepsy. Love triangles ensue with tragic results.
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Ikiru 1952 N/R, 143 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Doomed
Living
To Live
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Kyoko Seki, Miki Odagiri, Kamatari Fujiwara, Makoto Kobori, Kumeko Urabe, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Minoru Chiaki, Bokuzen Hidari, Minosuke Yamada, Nobuo Nakamura, Atsushi Watanabe, Isao Kimura
After learning that he has terminal cancer, widower Mr. Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) determines to live the "good life" by spending most of his time in bars. Finally, he decides that he wants to accomplish something worthwhile before he dies. He promotes the building of a playground in a slum neighborhood and succeeds in his goal. At his funeral, co-workers discuss how Watanabe had redeemed himself and made the world a better place–and they are now inspired to follow his example.
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Kagemusha 1980 PG, 179 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: The Shadow Warrior
The Double
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Daisuke Ryu, Masayuki Yui, Kenichi Hagiwara, Koji Shimizu, Jinpachi Nezu, Hideji Otaki, Kaori Momoi, Mitsuko Baisho, Hideo Murota, Takayuki Shiho
Set in 16th-century Japan, this is the story of a thief, Kagemusha (Tatsuya Nakadai), who resembles the warlord Shingen Takeda (also played by Nakadai). When Shingen is killed during a battle, his death is kept secret, and Kagemusha turns over a new leaf when he transforms himself into the dead clan leader. A visually beautiful movie.
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Madadayo 1993 N/R, 134 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Not Yet
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Tatsuo Matsumura, Kyoko Kagawa, Hisashi Igawa, Joji Tokoro, Masayuki Yui, Akira Terao, Asei Kobayashi, Takeshi Kusaka
This movie, directed by the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, is the tale of Professor Hyakken Uehida (Tatsuo Matsumura) who retired after World War II but was so revered by his students that they supported him throughout his long life.
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 Ran 1985 R, 165 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action / Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Hisashi Igawa, Peter, Masayuki Yui, Kazuo Kato, Norio Matsui, Toshiya Ito, Mansai Nomura, Kanji Kodama, Takashi Watanabe
Based on Shakespeare's "King Lear," this epic film, set in feudal Japan, is about tragedy in family relationships that have gone berserk. The Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to divide his kingdom among his sons (Akira Terao, Jimpachi Nezu, and Daisuke Ryu). Greed and lust for power rise to the fore, and the older sons manage to get their youngest brother banished from the kingdom. After accomplishing that goal, the two remaining brothers battle each other for control of the kingdom. Akira Kurosawa received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
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Rashomon 1950 N/R, 88 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura, Machiko Kyo, Minoru Chiaki, Kichijiro Ueda, Fumiko Honma, Daisuke Kato
This great philosophical story is built around a murder. Told in flashbacks, the key is the constructive memories of those who were part of the incident. At the end, it is impossible to tell who told the true story because each person saw it from only one point of view. The film was presented an Honorary Academy Award (for 1951) as Best Foreign Film.
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Rhapsody in August 1991 PG, 98 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Sachiko Murase, Richard Gere, Tomoko Otakara, Hisashi Igawa, Mitsunori Isaki, Narumi Kayashima, Toshie Negishi, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Choichiro Kawarazaki, Mieko Suzuki
Japanese-American Clark (Richard Gere) travels to visit and apologize to his Aunt Kane (Sachiko Murase) for the U.S. bombing of Nagasaki during World War II. Kane was a survivor of the catastrophe, and the film explores the bombing through her grandchildren's reaction to the conversation between nephew Clark and Aunt Kane.
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Sanjuro 1962 N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura, Keiju Kobayashi, Yuzo Kayama, Reiko Dan, Akihiko Hirata, Kamatari Fujiwara, Takako Irie, Yunosuke Ito
This follow-on to 1961's "Yojimbo" is more lighthearted than that film but still has plenty of action. Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune), the clever samurai drifter, takes on the task of educating a group of naive young men in the ways of the samurai while fending off attacks. Another good film from Akira Kurosawa.
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Scandal 1950 N/R, 104 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Shirley Yamaguchi, Yoko Katsuragi, Noriko Sengoku, Eitaro Ozawa, Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Masao Shimizu, Ichiro Shimizu, Fumiko Okamura, Tanie Kitabayashi, Sugisaku Aoyama
A young painter (Toshiro Mifune), who had met a popular singer (Shirley Yamaguchi) at a resort, sues a tabloid for printing a story linking him with the singer. His case takes a hit when his lawyer (Takashi Shimura) accepts a bribe from the magazine in order to get money to treat his ill daughter.
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 The Seven Samurai 1954 N/R, 208 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action / Adventure / Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Isao Kimura, Yoshio Inaba, Kamatari Fujiwara, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki, Daisuke Kato, Kokuten Kodo, Bokuzen Hidari, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki, Yoshio Kosugi, Jiro Kumagai
This story takes place in 16th-century Japan where local citizens are suffering from the havoc raised by bandits. To the rescue comes a group of expert warriors–seven unemployed samurai. This classic film was remade in Hollywood as the "Magnificent Seven."
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Stray Dog 1949 N/R, 122 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Isao Kimura, Keiko Awaji, Reisaburo Yamamoto, Noriko Sengoku, Fumiko Honma, Reikichi Kawamura, Eiko Miyoshi, Eijiro Tono
Set in Tokyo during an oppressive heat wave, this story revolves around the search for rookie Detective Murakami's (Toshiro Mifune) stolen gun. It appears that his gun is being used to shoot down victims whose bodies are found around Tokyo.
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Throne of Blood 1957 N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Action / Fantasy / Thriller
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki, Takamaru Sasaki, Takashi Shimura, Akira Kubo, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Chieko Naniwa, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Isao Kimura, Kokuten Kodo, Kichijiro Ueda, Eiko Miyoshi, Nakajiro Tomita, Yu Fujiki
Shakespeare's "Macbeth" is transplanted into 16th-century Japan during a civil war in this excellent film from director Akira Kurosawa. The story begins when Washizu (Toshiro Mifune) and Miki (Minoru Chiaki) are lost in a forest where they encounter a ghostly woman who predicts that Washizu will rise in power. Later, Washizu listens to the goading of his wife, Asaji (Isuzu Yamada), and becomes involved in a plot to kill the ruler. The evil deed is done, but now Washizu must deal with his guilt and ultimate downfall.
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 Yojimbo 1961 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
aka: The Bodyguard
Yojimbo the Bodyguard
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Eijiro Tono, Seizaburo Kawazu, Isuzu Yamada, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Kyu Sazanka, Takashi Shimura, Daisuke Kato, Ikio Sawamura, Kamatari Fujiwara
This classic Akira Kurosawa film was influenced by U.S. Westerns and stars the great Toshiro Mifune in another excellent performance as a samurai drifter who enters a small town in mid-1800s' Japan and is caught between two warring gangs. Rousing battle scenes.
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| 1. Akahige (1965)
aka: Red Beard
2. Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990)
3. The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
aka: The Rose in the Mud
aka: The Worse You Are, the Better You Sleep
4. Clickety-Clack (1970)
aka: Dodesukaden
5. Dersu Uzala (1975)
6. Donzoko (1957)
aka: The Lower Depths
7. Drunken Angel (1948)
8. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
9. High and Low (1963)
10. I Live in Fear (1955)
aka: Record of a Living Being
11. The Idiot (1951)
12. Ikiru (1952)
aka: Doomed
aka: Living
aka: To Live
13. Kagemusha (1980)
aka: The Shadow Warrior
aka: The Double
14. Madadayo (1993)
aka: Not Yet
15. Ran (1985)
16. Rashomon (1950)
17. Rhapsody in August (1991)
18. Sanjuro (1962)
19. Scandal (1950)
20. The Seven Samurai (1954)
21. Stray Dog (1949)
22. Throne of Blood (1957)
23. Yojimbo (1961)
aka: The Bodyguard
aka: Yojimbo the Bodyguard
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