Known For
Directing
Born
Mar 23, 1910
Died
Sep 06, 1998
Place of Birth
Shinagawa, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Credits
143 titles
Akira Kurosawa
Biography
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.
Known For
Filmography
Highest 2 Lowest
Original Film Writer
Searching For Kurosawa
The Draft!
Thanks
Living
Original Film Writer
Morceaux de Cannes
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die
Self (archive footage)
The Magnificent Seven
Original Film Writer
What Is Cinema?
Self
The World of Kazuo Miyagawa
Self
At the Gate of the Ghost
Original Story
Kurosawa's Way
Self (archive footage)
The Last Princess
Original Story
Tsubaki Sanjuro
Writer
Ikiru
Screenplay
High and Low
Original Film Writer
Samurai 7
Original Concept
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'High and Low'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Ikiru'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Seven Samurai'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Yojimbo'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Red Beard'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Kagemusha'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Sanjuro'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'The Bad Sleep Well'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'The Lower Depths'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Ran'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Dodes'ka-den'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Drunken Angel'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Throne of Blood'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'The Hidden Fortress'
Self
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Stray Dog'
Self
The Sea Is Watching
Screenplay
Kurosawa
Self
Dora-heita
Screenplay
A Message from Akira Kurosawa: For Beautiful Movies
Self
After the Rain
Title Designer
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Thanks
Kurosawa: The Last Emperor
Last Man Standing
Original Film Writer
In Love With and Living Within Movies - Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki
Self
Madadayo
Director
Image: Kurosawa's Continuity: 'Kagemusha'
Concept Artist
Akira Kurosawa: My Life in Cinema
Self
Image: Kurosawa's Continuity: 'Ran'
Original Story
Rhapsody in August
Director
Making of 'Dreams'
Self
Dreams
Director
Runaway Train
Original Film Writer
Ran
Screenplay
A. K.
Self