Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明) was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He displayed a bold, dynamic style, strongly influenced by Western cinema yet distinct from it; he was involved with all aspects of film production. Kurosawa entered the Japanese film industry in 1936, following a brief stint as a painter. After years of working on numerous films as an assistant director and scriptwriter, he made his debut as a director during World War II with the popular action film Sanshiro Sugata (1943). After the war, the critically acclaimed Drunken Angel (1948), in which Kurosawa cast the then little-known actor Toshiro Mifune in a starring role, cemented the director's reputation as one of the most important young filmmakers in Japan. The two men would go on to collaborate on another fifteen films. Rashomon (1950), which premiered in Tokyo, became the surprise winner of the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film Festival. The commercial and critical success of that film opened up Western film markets for the first time to the products of the Japanese film industry, which in turn led to international recognition for other Japanese filmmakers. Kurosawa directed approximately one film per year throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, including a number of highly regarded (and often adapted) films, such as Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Throne of Blood (1957), Yojimbo (1961) and High and Low (1963). After the 1960s he became much less prolific; even so, his later work—including two of his final films, Kagemusha (1980) and Ran (1985)—continued to receive great acclaim. In 1990, he accepted the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Posthumously, he was named Asian of the Century in the Arts, Literature, and Culture category by AsianWeek magazine and CNN, cited there as being among the five people who most prominently contributed to the improvement of Asia in the 20th century. His career has been honored by many retrospectives, critical studies and biographies in both print and video, and by releases in many consumer media.

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Living

2022

Original Film Writer

The Magnificent Seven

2016

Original Film Writer

At the Gate of the Ghost

2011

Original Story

The Last Princess

2008

Original Story

Seven Samurai

2008

Original Film Writer

Tsubaki Sanjuro

2007

Writer

Ikiru

2007

Screenplay

High and Low

2007

Original Film Writer

Image: Kurosawa's Continuity

2005

Concept Artist, Original Story

Samurai 7

2004

Original Concept

The Sea Is Watching

2002

Screenplay

Kaze no Yojimbo

2001

Original Film Writer

Dora-heita

2000

Screenplay

After the Rain

2000

Writer

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

1999

Thanks

Last Man Standing

1996

Original Film Writer

Madadayo

1993

Director, Storyboard Artist, Editor, Screenplay

Rhapsody in August

1991

Director, Editor, Screenplay

Dreams

1990

Director, Screenplay, Storyboard Artist

Runaway Train

1985

Original Film Writer, Story

Ran

1985

Screenplay, Editor, Director, Storyboard Artist

Kagemusha

1980

Screenplay, Producer, Executive Producer, Director, Storyboard Artist, Editor

Dersu Uzala

1975

Director, Screenplay

Stray Dog

1973

Original Story

The Magnificent Seven Ride!

1972

Original Concept

Song of the Horse

1971

Director

Dodes'ka-den

1970

Screenplay, Director, Executive Producer

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo

1970

Original Concept

Guns of the Magnificent Seven

1969

Original Concept

The Last Day of Hsianyang

1968

Original Film Writer

Return of the Seven

1966

Original Concept

Sanshiro Sugata

1965

Writer, Producer

Red Beard

1965

Director, Screenplay, Editor

The Outrage

1964

Original Story

A Fistful of Dollars

1964

Original Story

Jakoman and Tetsu

1964

Screenplay

Legacy of the 500,000

1963

Editor

High and Low

1963

Director, Screenplay, Associate Producer, Editor

The Fencing Master

1962

Screenplay

Sanjuro

1962

Director, Screenplay, Editor

Yojimbo

1961

Director, Editor, Screenplay, Producer