Akira Kurosawa

Considered by some to be Akira Kurosawa's greatest achievement, Ikirupresents the director at his most compassionate, affirming life through an exploration of a man's death. Takashi Shimura portrays Kanji Watanabe, an aging bureaucrat with stomach cancer forced to strip the veneer off his existence and find meaning in his final days. Told in two parts, Ikiru offers Watanabe's quest in the present, and then through a series of flashbacks. The result...

Acclaimed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa tells a vivid story of life, loss and renewal through a series of eight dreams—from a young boy's dream of a wedding procession of fox spirits, through dreams of himself as an artist to dreams of a nuclear-poisoned future to a final dream of an old man at peace in a beautiful village.

The story of an ordinary man, reduced by years of oppressive office routine to a shadow existence, who at the eleventh hour makes a supreme effort to turn his dull life into something wonderful.

In the 16th century, Lord Hidetora decides to retire and share his territory between his three sons, Taro, Jiro and Saburo. The latter foreseeing difficulties, opposes his decision. He is consequently disinherited. However, the father soon discovers that, mocking his authority, his first two sons begin to fight. Jiro treacherously kills Taro and then Saburo before realising that it is in fact Taro's widow who is responsible for this confusion since...

Based on Dostoyevsky's fable of a holy fool, this story which takes place in Hokkaido in the winter is about a man who returns home after a stay in an asylum. He is being drawn toward Christianity; his antagonist is an anarchist.

Dr. Sanada is an alcoholic, in part due to the despair that constantly assails him as he tries to keep the inhabitants of a post-World War II Tokyo slum as healthy as possible. Food and medical supplies are scarce, the neighborhood is around an open sewer, and the only place to buy medicines is the black market-- controlled by the Yakuza. Matsunaga, a young yakuza with a violent temper, seeks Sanada's help to remove a bullet from his hand, but Matsunaga's...

"Akira Kurosawa's brilliantly conceived retelling of Shakespeare's 'King Lear' magically mixes Japanese history, Shakespeare's plot and Kurosawa's own feelings about loyalty in the epic masterpiece, 'Ran.' Set in 16th century Japan, 'Ran' relates the tale of how an aging ruler, Lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai), announces his intention to divide his land equally among his three sons. Hidetora's decision to step down unleashes a power struggle among...

A young Japanese businessman dying of cancer wants to give something back to society before his death, so he decides to build a playground for children.

Sanshiro Sugata: Akira Kurosawa's effortless debut is based on a novel by Tsuneo Tomita about the rivalry between judo and jujitsu. The most beautiful: This portrait of female volunteer workers at an optics plant during world War II, shot on location at the Nippon Kogaku factory, was created with a patriotic agenda. Sahshiro Sugata, part two: This sequel is a hugely entertaining adventure, reuniting most of the major players from the original and...

Tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire seven out-of-work warriors to protect them from invading bandits.