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Akira Kurosawa

Writer, Director, Editor, Producer, Actor

March 23, 1910 — September 6, 1998 (88 years)
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.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Seven Samurai
    Seven Samurai1954
  • Rashomon
    Rashomon1950
  • Ran
    Ran1985
  • The Magnificent Seven
    The Magnificent Seven1960
  • High and Low
    High and Low1963
  • Throne of Blood
    Throne of Blood1957
  • The Hidden Fortress
    The Hidden Fortress1958
  • Stray Dog
    Stray Dog1949
  • Drunken Angel
    Drunken Angel1948
  • Battle Beyond the Stars
    Battle Beyond the Stars1980
  • Sanshiro Sugata
    Sanshiro Sugata1943
  • Scandal
    Scandal1950
  • The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
    The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail1945
  • No Regrets for Our Youth
    No Regrets for Our Youth1946
  • The Quiet Duel
    The Quiet Duel1949
  • One Wonderful Sunday
    One Wonderful Sunday1947
  • Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two
    Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two1945
  • The Most Beautiful
    The Most Beautiful1944
  • At the Gate of the Ghost
    At the Gate of the Ghost2011
  • The Last Day of Hsianyang
    The Last Day of Hsianyang1968

Known For

  • Seven Samurai
    Seven Samurai1954
  • Rashomon
    Rashomon1950
  • Ran
    Ran1985
  • Yojimbo
    Yojimbo1961
  • Ikiru
    Ikiru1952
  • The Hidden Fortress
    The Hidden Fortress1958
  • High and Low
    High and Low1963
  • Kagemusha
    Kagemusha1980
  • Throne of Blood
    Throne of Blood1957
  • The Magnificent Seven
    The Magnificent Seven2016
  • Red Beard
    Red Beard1965
  • Sanjuro
    Sanjuro1962
  • Living
    Living2022
  • Dersu Uzala
    Dersu Uzala1975
  • Highest 2 Lowest
    Highest 2 Lowest2025
  • Dreams
    Dreams1990
  • The Magnificent Seven
    The Magnificent Seven1960
  • Last Man Standing
    Last Man Standing1996
  • Stray Dog
    Stray Dog1949
  • The Bad Sleep Well
    The Bad Sleep Well1960

Filmography

2025
Highest 2 Lowest · as Original Film Writer
2022
Living · as Original Film Writer
2016
The Magnificent Seven · as Original Film Writer
2007
Tsubaki Sanjûrô
2002
The Sea Is Watching · as Screenplay
2000
I Went To · as Screenplay
1996
Last Man Standing · as Original Film Writer
1993
Madadayo · as Screenplay
1991
Rhapsody in August · as Screenplay
1990
Dreams
1985
Runaway Train · as Original Film Writer
1985
Ran · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1980
Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior · as Screenplay
1975
Dersu Uzala · as Screenplay
1970
Dodes'ka-den · as Screenplay
1970
Song of the Horse
1968
The Last Day of Hsianyang · as Original Film WriterOn Plex
1965
Sanshiro Sugata
1965
Red Beard · as Screenplay
1964
Jakoman and Tetsu · as Screenplay
1963
High and Low · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1962
Fencing Master · as Screenplay
1962
Sanjuro · as Screenplay
1961
Yojimbo · as Screenplay
1960
The Magnificent Seven · as Original Film WriterOn Plex
1960
The Bad Sleep Well
1959
Sengoku gunto-den
1958
The Hidden Fortress · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1957
Nichiro senso shori no hishi: Tekichu odan sanbyaku-ri · as Screenplay
1957
The Lower Depths · as Screenplay
1957
Throne of Blood · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1955
Soman kokkyô 2-gô sakusen: Kieta chûtai · as Screenplay
1955
Sanshiro Sugata
1954
Seven Samurai · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1953
My Wonderful Yellow Car · as Screenplay
1952
Ikiru · as Screenplay
1952
Sword for Hire · as Screenplay
1952
Vendetta of a Samurai
1951
The Idiot · as Screenplay
1951
Beyond Love and Hate · as Screenplay
1950
Rashomon · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1950
Scandal · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1950
Desertion at Dawn · as Screenplay
1949
Stray DogOn Plex
1949
Jakoman and Tetsu
1949
The Quiet DuelOn Plex
1948
The Portrait · as Screenplay
1948
Drunken AngelOn Plex
1947
Snow Trail · as Screenplay
1947
One Wonderful Sunday · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1946
No Regrets for Our YouthOn Plex
1945
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's TailOn Plex
1945
Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1944
The Most BeautifulOn Plex
1943
Sanshiro Sugata · as ScreenplayOn Plex
1942
Tsubasa no gaika
1941
Uma