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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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The Sword of Doom 1966 N/R, 120 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Kihachi Okamoto
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Michiyo Aratama, Ichiro Nakaya, Yoko Naito, Tadao Nakamaru, Ko Nishimura, Kei Sato, Kamatari Fujiwara, Ryosuke Kagawa, Kunie Tanaka
After samurai Ryunosuke (Tatsuya Nakadai) is asked by an opponent's wife to throw a match with her husband, he kills the husband in competition and then is pursued by the slain man's brother.
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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. The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
aka: The Rose in the Mud
aka: The Worse You Are, the Better You Sleep
3. Donzoko (1957)
aka: The Lower Depths
4. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
5. I Live in Fear (1955)
aka: Record of a Living Being
6. Ikiru (1952)
aka: Doomed
aka: Living
aka: To Live
7. Sanjuro (1962)
8. The Seven Samurai (1954)
9. The Sword of Doom (1966)
10. Yojimbo (1961)
aka: The Bodyguard
aka: Yojimbo the Bodyguard
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