Akira Kurosawa
2) Dreams: Yume
Language
日本語
Appears on list
Description
Eight episodes exploring many aspects of humankind and man's need to harmonize with nature. Based on Akira Kurosawa's actual dreams.
Language
日本語
Description
A grand-scale adventure as only Akira Kurosawa could make one. A general charged with guarding his defeated clan's princess as the two smuggle royal treasure across hostile territory. Accompanying them are a pair of bumbling, conniving peasants who may or may not be their friends. This rip-roaring ride is among the director₂s most beloved films and was a primary influence on George Lucas₂s Star Wars. Delivers Kurosawa₂s trademark deft blend...
7) Living
Language
English
Description
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.
8) Rashomon
Language
日本語
Appears on list
Description
A riveting psychological thriller that investigates the nature of truth and the meaning of justice, widely considered one of the greatest films ever made. Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife. This eloquent masterwork and international sensation revolutionized film language and introduced Japanese cinema, and a commanding new star.
10) Yōjinbō
Language
日本語
Appears on list
Description
A wandering Samurai-for-hire eventually finds a dramatic solution to the problems of a town with two warring clans.
11) Kumonosujō
Language
日本語
Appears on list
Description
A vivid, visceral Macbeth adaptation, directed by Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai), sets Shakespeare's definitive tale of ambition and duplicity in a ghostly, fog-enshrouded landscape in feudal Japan. The film fuses classical Western tragedy with formal elements taken from Noh Theater to create an unforgettable cinematic experience.
12) High and Low
Language
日本語
Appears on list
Description
A complex crime thriller in which a wealthy Japanese shoe manufacturer's chauffeur's son is kidnapped in mistake for his own, and he faces a moral dilemma.
14) Idiot
Language
日本語
Appears on list
Description
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.
15) Sanjūrō
Language
日本語
Appears on list
Description
A group of young men set out to clean up the corruption in their town. They are joined by a scruffy, cynical samurai who doesn't fit their concept of how a warrior should look and act.
16) Drunken angel
Language
日本語
Appears on these lists
Description
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...
17) Red Beard
Language
日本語
Description
A vain young doctor learns a valuable lesson from the dedicated director of a clinic for destitute patients.
18) Stray dog
Language
日本語
Appears on list
Description
A bad day gets worse for rookie detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo's sweltering streets for the thief, whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, the cop and the criminal's lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami's own dark side --
20) Dersu Uzala
Language
Russian
Appears on list
Description
The tale of an eccentric Mongolian frontiersman who is taken on as a guide by a Soviet surveying crew. At first perceived a naive and comical relic of an uncivilized age, he quickly proves himself otherwise with displays of ingenuity and bravery.