Films of Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)

Central Library RIS Dept

"It is quite enough if a human being has but
one thing where he is strong."

So said Akira Kurosawa, the reowned Japanese film director who died at the age of 88 on 6 September 1998. Donald Richie offers what has been considered an "uncomparable study" of Kurosawa's films in the expanded edition of The films of Akira Kurosawa, 1996 (PN1998.3 Kur.R). You may also enjoy Something like an autobiography, 1983 (PN1998 Aki) by the master himself.

Best of all, the Central Library Media Resources Department offers all library members a chance to savour the craft and poetry of Kurosawa's films which come with English subtitles.

Akira Kurosawa's dreams. 1990. 114 min. col.
PN1997 Aki    CVC7439
Cast: Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baisho, Meiko Harada, Chishu Ryu.

The bad sleep well = Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru. 1960. 152 min. b&w.
PN1997 Bad    CVC4511
Keiko, the daughter of the president of a government housing corporation marries her father's secretary, Koichi. A police inquiry into bribery in the corporation starts with Koichi on a vendatta against the murderers of his own father, who had committed 'suicide' 5 years ago. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori.

The bodyguard = Yojimbo. 1987 (Made in 1960). 110 min. b&w.
PN1997 Yoj    CVC4550, CLD179
Set in 1860 near the end of the Tokugawa Dynasty. A samurai, once a dedicated warrior in the employ of royalty, now finds himself with no master to serve other than his own will to survive, and no devices other than his wit and sword. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Eijiro Tono.

Dodeskaden. 1970. 140 min. col.
PN1997 Dod    CLD371
About the lives of slum dwellers in a village who endure their pathethic circumstances by having their own fantasies. Cast: Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Junzaburo Ban, Kiyoko Tange.

Dersu Uzala. 1975. 135 min. col.
PN1997 Der    CVC7985
Shows the relationship between a Russian explorer-soldier and a Siberian native who helped him in the wilderness. When Dersu's eyesight is failing, his friend invites him to live with him in the city. Dersu cannot cope with city living and leaves, only to be murdered. Cast: Yuri Salomin, Maxim Munzak.

Drunken angel = Yoidore tenshi. Made in 1948. 102 min. b&w.
PN1997 Dru    CVC2436
Story of a doctor in a poor quarter of a Japanese city controlled by gangsters. The doctor tries to bring a spiritual and moral recovery to the people of the area. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Reizaburu Yamamoto.

The lower depths = Donzoko. 1962 (Made in 1957). 125 min. b&w.
PN1997 Don    CVC5492
Adaptation of Gorki's play The Lower Depths, set in the Japanese Edo period. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Kyoko Kagawa, Ganjiro Nakamura.

The hidden fortress = Kakushi toride no san-akunin. 1986 (Made in 1958). 139 min. b&w.
PN1997 Kak    CVC7984, CLD278
A princess must escape across enemy lines with the royal treasure guarded only by a loyal general and two greedy peasants. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki.

The men who tread on the tiger's tail = Tora no o fumu otokotachi. 1985 (Made in 1945). 60 min. b&w.
PN1997 Men    CVC2344-7
Twelfth-century Japan is the setting for this struggle of power between two brothers, one a reigning shogun, the other on the run. Cast: Denjiro Okochi, Suho Nishina, Susumu Fujita.

Ran. 1985. 160 min. col.
PN1997 Ran    CVC2932
Based on the Shakespearean play King Lear, where an aging warlord decides to split his kingdom between his three sons. Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu.

Rashomon. 1986 (Made in 1950). 83 min. b&w.
PN1997 Ras    CVC4548, CLD180
A priest, a firewood cutter and a man wandering by sit under a gate in a downpour discussing four fairly different versions of how a man was murdered and his wife raped by a bandit. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori.
Rashomon was awarded the Grand Prize at the 1951 Venice Film Festival and won Japan its first international film accolade.

Sanjuro. 1995 (Made in 1962). 94 min. col.
PN1997 San    CLD279
Sanjuro, a samurai, is roped in by the Chamberlain's nephew and his young samurai friends to rescue the Chamberlain, his wife and daughter. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yuzo Kayama.

Red beard = Akahige. 1991 (Made in 1965). 185 min. b&w.
PN1997 Red    CLD178
A vain young doctor learns a valuable lesson from the dedicated director of a clinic for destitute patients. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Tsutoma Yamazaki.

Rhapsody in August = Hachigatsu no Kyohshikyoku. 1994 (Made in 1991). 98 min. col.
PN1997 Rha    CVC9933
A visit from her grandchildren and the discovery of a half-American relative caused an elderly woman to relive her memories of the atomic bomb that fell on Nagasaki. Cast: Sachiko Murase, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Richard Gere, Tomoko Ontakara, Mie Suzuki, Mitsunori Isaki.

The seven samurai = Shichinin no samurai. 1987 (Made in 1954). 197 min. b&w.
PN1997 Sev    CVC4508-1&2, CLD76
A 16th-century Japanese village hires professional warriors to fend off bandits. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inoba, Isao Kimura, Seiji Miyaguchi.

The shadow warrior = Kagemusha. Made in 1980. 153 min. col.
PN1997 Kag    CVC4006, CLD177
In 16th-century Japan, a powerful warlord is dying. In order to prevent his enemies from attacking, a double is found to replace him. The man chosen is a petty criminal who must somehow transform himself into a great leader. Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Jinpochi Nezu.

Stray dog = Nora inu. 1949. 122 min. b&w.
PN1997 Str CVC4506
A young detective loses his pistol and goes on its trail, with one clue leading to another and from one person to the next. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Ko Kimura, Keiko Awaji.

Throne of blood = Kumonosu-jo. Made in 1957. 105 min. b&w.
PN1997 Thr    CVC7060
Follows the Shakespearean play MacBeth closely, telling the story of the rise and fall of General Washizu. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki.

To live! = Ikiru. Made in 1952. 134 min. b&w.
PN1997 Iki    CVC8051
A middle aged bureaucrat learns that he has cancer and tries to find meaning in his life by exploring pleasure, his family, and a young woman. None of these satisfies him so he dedicates himself to getting a park built that the system had previously blocked. Cast: Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Kyoto Seki.