This 1950 film by Akira Kurosawa is more than a classic: it's a cinematic archetype that has served as a template for many a film since. An episode (rape and murder) in a forest is reported by four witnesses, each from their own point of view. - Who is telling the truth? What is truth?
Unanimously hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the motion picture. The story is set in the 1600s, when the residents of a small Japanese village are seeking protection by seven ronin against repeated attacks by a band of marauding thieves.
Acknowledged as a primary influence on George Lucas' Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa's inimitably deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action and humanist compassion on an epic scale.
In order to rid a village of corruption, masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage.
Akira Kurosawa's sequel to Yojimbo is more lighthearted and less cynical, a rousing adventure with Toshiro Mifune reprising his role as the scruffy mercenary who becomes an unlikely big brother to a troupe of nine naive samurai.
Toshiro Mifune stars as a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a ruthless kidnapper in Akira Kurosawa's exemplary film noir.
Toshiro Mifune, in his last role for Kurosawa, gives a powerhouse performance as the dignified yet empathic doctor who guides his pupil to maturity, teaching the embittered intern to appreciate the lives of his destitute patients.
Against a backdrop of the treacherous mountains, rivers and icy plains of the Siberian wilderness, acclaimed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa stages an extraordinary adventure of comradeship and survival.
Kurosawa's stunning interpretation of Shakespeare's King Lear.
As familial tensions rise and betrayal sends Lord Hidetora into the throes of escalating madness, Ran (Japanese for "chaos" or "rebellion") reaches a fever pitch through epic battles and a fortress assault that is simply one of the most amazing sequences on film.
Based on the literary works of Japanese author Hyakken Uchida, the film presents Uchida as its central character, and begins in war-torn Tokyo with the sensei's retirement from teaching in 1943. He is considered "solid gold" by his legacy of former students, who support their beloved teacher as he focuses on writing and throw annual birthday parties in his honor. Each year they ask "Maadha kai?" ("Are you ready?"), to which the aging professor responds, "Madadayo!" ("Not yet!"), acknowledging that he will die someday, but only when he's ready.
The definitive documentary on the life and work of Japanese film master Akira Kurosawa
NOT YET RELEASED on DVD
NOT YET RELEASED on DVD
