Akira Kurosawa Films 101: ‘Seven Samurai’ (1954)
Today’s Kurosawa 101 focuses on what’s generally regarded as the greatest Japanese film ever made and perhaps the greatest in world film: Seven Samurai.
Film Feature
Widescreen, Big Ideas: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa
When Akira Kurosawa made the conversion to a wider screen, he did so by making six consecutive films in widescreen, with a degree of success as resounding as it was influential.
Akira Kurosawa Films 101: 1950 – 1952
Today’s Kurosawa 101 explores two of the greatest films in Kurosawa’s catalog, Rashomon — the film that made Kurosawa and Japanese cinema known throughout the world — and Ikiru — perhaps the greatest film ever made about impending death.
West By East By West: The Influence of Akira Kurosawa on the West and Vice Versa
Through his influences and achievements, Kurosawa became one of the first true international filmmakers, inspiring several generations of filmmakers who would explore notions of genre and identity in film.
‘I Care a Lot’ and the Art of Portraying Awful People
In good films and shows with villains as leads, the protagonists’ ethically questionable actions are at least understandable, and perhaps even defensible. Not so in J Blakeson’s ‘I Care a Lot’.
Akira Kurosawa Films 101: 1949 – 1950
Today’s Kurosawa 101 films include the director’s only effort at bringing a contemporary Japanese stage play to the screen (the rarely seen The Quiet Duel), a police procedural that was the finest Kurosawa film to date (Stray Dog), and a scree against tabloid journalism that resulted in one of the weakest films he would ever direct (Scandal).
Textbook on Film: The Political As Personal in the Films of Kurosawa
Kurosawa’s films often act as deliberate examinations of historical periods, exploring difficult realities that existed and the ordeals of the individuals.
Akira Kurosawa Films 101: 1946 – 1948
Day Two of Akira Kurosawa 101 examines three of his films that address the nature of life in Japan immediately at the end of WWII and the American Occupation.
A Giant Shadow: The Continuing Influence of Akira Kurosawa on World Cinema
It’s impossible to imagine a world without Akira Kurosawa’s films. He’s one of the greatest directors in movie history, having made many first-tier masterpieces.
Akira Kurosawa Films 101: 1943-1945
Over the next two weeks, we will discuss every film that Akira Kurosawa directed, from the obscure to the most celebrated, from Scandal and The Most Beautiful to Seven Samurai and Ran.
Uncensored ‘Native Son’ (1951) Is True to Richard Wright’s Work
Compared to the two film versions of Native Son in more recent times, the 1951 version more acutely captures the race-driven existential dread at the heart of Richard Wright's masterwork.