History Creator / AkiraKurosawa

* ''Madadayo'' (1993)
* ''Film/AfterTheRain'' - This film was written by Kurosawa and he planned on directing it, but his 1998 death put a stop to that. It was directed by his friend Takashi Koizumi, and many Kurosawa fans consider ''After the Rain'' to be as much a Kurosawa film as it is Koizumi's... Which may be accurate, considering that Kurosawa's pre-production methods were as meticulous as Hitchcock's or Kubrick's. Another one of his scripts that he planned on eventually directing, ''The Sea is Watching,'' was made by another director in 2002.

He made films that were very influential on many American and European film directors. They include Creator/GeorgeLucas (the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series was heavily influenced by ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''), John Sturges (''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]'' is a direct remake of ''Seven Samurai'') and Creator/SergioLeone (''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' is a direct remake of ''Yojimbo''). His "Big Four" films (''Rashomon,'' ''Ikiru,'' ''Seven Samurai,'' and ''Ran'') are routinely included in lists of the best films of all time. Excepting ''Ikiru,'' all of his films from 1948's ''Film/DrunkenAngel'' to 1965's ''Film/RedBeard'' featured the actor Creator/ToshiroMifune. In 1965, the two had a falling out during the production of ''Red Beard'' and did not speak or see each other until a brief, tearful reunion in 1993. There were rumors that they [[WhatCouldHaveBeen would have collaborated on Kurosawa's next film]] after his upcoming project ''Film/AfterTheRain,'' but they [[AuthorExistenceFailure both died within a year of each other,]] with Kurosawa dying before ''After the Rain'' began filming. There was another chance in 1975, as the Soviet producers originally wanted Mifune in the title role of ''Film/DersuUzala,'' but it was prevented largely by Mifune's schedule. After 1965, there were only a few times where one spoke ill of the other, but otherwise they thought of each other -- and their films together -- with high regard.

* ''One Wonderful Sunday'' (1947)

The other actor most identified with Kurosawa is Takashi Shimura. Shimura appeared in Kurosawa's first film, 1943's ''Sanshiro Sugata'' and appeared in every one of Kurosawa's films from ''Sanshiro Sugata'' to 1965's ''Red Beard'' except for ''The Lower Depths.'' Unlike Mifune, however, Kurosawa and Shimura never had a falling out and remained friends until Shimura's death in 1982. Kurosawa wrote a small role for his friend in 1980's ''Film/{{Kagemusha}},'' which was cut from the Western release of the film (but has since been added back on Creator/TheCriterionCollection DVD).

He was a notorious PrimaDonnaDirector, to the point where he earned the nickname "Tenno" or "The Emperor". Kurosawa's personality and demeanor made him unpopular in the Japanese film industry, and his films were often divisive within Japan. Japanese critics often slammed Kurosawa for being "too Western" and they were not wrong. Kurosawa often drew inspiration from Creator/WilliamShakespeare and Creator/FyodorDostoevsky and he often admitted to being influenced by directors like Creator/FrankCapra and especially Creator/JohnFord (Kurosawa took his love for Ford to the extent of dressing like him on the set) and a number of his films adapted American pulp fiction (''Yojimbo'' inspired by ''Literature/TheGlassKey'', ''High and Low'' adapted from Ed [=McBain=]). Kurosawa also differed from earlier Japanese film-makers (like Creator/KenjiMizoguchi and Creator/YasujiroOzu) for being [[RatedMForManly quite macho]] and having very few prominent female roles compared to his predecessors and the general women-centric nature of Japanese cinema. Kurosawa also tended to write his own dialogues as he became more successful and rely less on screenwriters and Japanese critics often noted sardonically that his films improved in subtitles noting that to a Japanese audience, his movies often came off as sentimental, hokey, and as per Creator/YukioMishima having the maturity of a ten-year old.

* ''The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail'' (1945, not released until 1952) - This and the preceding two were propaganda movies that Kurosawa and Shimura were forced to write, direct and star in (respectively) during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII despite the fact that both were pacifists. They didn't get wide release in America until Creator/TheCriterionCollection box set ''[=AK100=]'' in 2009, mostly because after the war, Kurosawa saw them as an OldShame (although they all remained in his filmography unlike ''Those Who Make Tomorrow'').

* ''Sanshiro Sugata Part II'' (1945)

* ''Uma'' (1941) - Assistant director, editor, co-screenwriter. Sometimes included in Kurosawa's filmography because he took over most of the production from director Kajiro Yamamoto. Once thought to be lost, still hard to find.
* ''Sanshiro Sugata'' (1943) - Kurosawa's official debut as a director.

* ''Film/TheMostBeautiful'' (1944)

* ''Uma'' (1941) - Kurosawa's final production as an assistant director, and he also co-wrote and co-edited the film. Sometimes included in Kurosawa's filmography because he took over most of the production from his mentor and friend Kajiro Yamamoto. Often thought by some to be lost, it actually still exists in a presentable form and was shown in UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates in theaters in the 1980's. It's just awfully difficult to find.
* ''Sanshiro Sugata'' (1943)

* ''The Most Beautiful'' (1944)

* DrivenToSuicide: He went into such a [[DespairEventHorizon depression]] after ''Dodes'ka-den'' failed at the box office that he tried to take his own life several times. It didn't help when one evening a drunken Kôji Mitsui called him a coward for not making another film; it's rumored that in his final moments Mitsui blamed himself for the suicide attempt.

* ''The Idiot'' (1951)

* PrimaDonnaDirector: He was a notorious perfectionist when making his films and would fly into a rage whenever someone got something wrong, such as when he yelled at Yoshio Inaba for forgetting his lines while making ''Seven Samurai''.

** He was going to co-direct ''Film/ToraToraTora'' with Creator/DavidLean. Lean pulled out early in production. Kurosawa continued on for a while, until he was told that the Japanese section had been shortened to 90 minutes (the script Kurosawa had written was four hours long). Despite this, Kurosawa ''did'' begin production, but was replaced by Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda after three weeks. His experiences with ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' and the failure of his next film ''Dodesukaden'' led to his CreatorBreakdown in 1971.

* DespairEventHorizon: He went into such a depression after ''Dodes'ka-den'' failed at the box office that he tried to take his own life several times. It didn't help when one evening a drunken Kôji Mitsui called him a coward for not making another film; it's rumored that in his final moments Mitsui blamed himself for the suicide attempt.

He made films that were very influential on many American and European film directors. They include Creator/GeorgeLucas (the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series was heavily influenced by ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''), John Sturges (''Film/TheMagnificentSeven'' is a direct remake of ''Seven Samurai'') and Creator/SergioLeone (''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' is a direct remake of ''Yojimbo''). His "Big Four" films (''Rashomon,'' ''Ikiru,'' ''Seven Samurai,'' and ''Ran'') are routinely included in lists of the best films of all time. Excepting ''Ikiru,'' all of his films from 1948's ''Film/DrunkenAngel'' to 1965's ''Film/RedBeard'' featured the actor Creator/ToshiroMifune. In 1965, the two had a falling out during the production of ''Red Beard'' and did not speak or see each other until a brief, tearful reunion in 1993. There were rumors that they [[WhatCouldHaveBeen would have collaborated on Kurosawa's next film]] after his upcoming project ''Film/AfterTheRain,'' but they [[AuthorExistenceFailure both died within a year of each other,]] with Kurosawa dying before ''After the Rain'' began filming. There was another chance in 1975, as the Soviet producers originally wanted Mifune in the title role of ''Film/DersuUzala,'' but it was prevented largely by Mifune's schedule. After 1965, there were only a few times where one spoke ill of the other, but otherwise they thought of each other -- and their films together -- with high regard.

He was a notorious PrimaDonnaDirector, to the point where he earned the nickname "Tenno" or "The Emperor". Kurosawa's personality and demeanor made him unpopular in the Japanese film industry, and his films were often divisive within Japan. Japanese critics often slammed Kurosawa for being "too Western" and they were not wrong. Kurosawa often drew inspiration from Creator/WilliamShakespeare and Creator/FyodorDostoevsky and he often admitted to being influenced by directors like Creator/FrankCapra and especially Creator/JohnFord (Kurosawa took his love for Ford to the extent of dressing like him on the set) and a number of his films adapted American pulp fiction (''Yojimbo'' was based on ''Literature/RedHarvest'', ''High and Low'' adapted from Ed [=McBain=]). Kurosawa also differed from earlier Japanese film-makers (like Creator/KenjiMizoguchi and Creator/YasujiroOzu) for being [[RatedMForManly quite macho]] and having very few prominent female roles compared to his predecessors and the general women-centric nature of Japanese cinema. Kurosawa also tended to write his own dialogues as he became more successful and rely less on screenwriters and Japanese critics often noted sardonically that his films improved in subtitles noting that to a Japanese audience, his movies often came off as sentimental, hokey, and as per Creator/YukioMishima having the maturity of a ten-year old.

* ''Film/TheLowerDepths1957'' - An adaptation of Creator/MaximGorky 's social satire, transported to Edo-era Japan.

* DespairEventHorizon: He went into such a depression after ''Dodes'ka-den'' failed at the box office that he tried to take his own life several times. It didn't help when one evening a drunken Kôji Mitsui called him a coward for not making another film; to his final moments Mitsui blamed himself for the suicide attempt.

* DespairEventHorizon: He went into such a depression after ''Dodes'ka-den'' failed at the box office that he tried to take his own life several times. It didn't help when one evening a drunken Kôji Mitsui tried to convince him to make another film; to his final moments Mitsui blamed himself for the suicide attempt.

* ''Film/TheLowerDepths1957'' (1957) - An adaptation of Creator/MaximGorky 's social satire, transported to Edo-era Japan.

* ''Theatre/TheLowerDepths'' (1957) - An adaptation of Creator/MaximGorky 's social satire, transported to Edo-era Japan.

He made films that were very influential on many American and European film directors. They include Creator/GeorgeLucas (the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series was heavily influenced by ''Film/TheHiddenFortress''), John Sturges (''Film/TheMagnificentSeven'' is a direct remake of ''Seven Samurai'') and Creator/SergioLeone (''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' is a direct remake of ''Yojimbo''). His "Big Four" films (''Rashomon,'' ''Ikiru,'' ''Seven Samurai,'' and ''Ran'') are routinely included in lists of the best films of all time. Excepting ''Ikiru,'' all of his films from 1948's ''Drunken Angel'' to 1965's ''Film/RedBeard'' featured the actor Creator/ToshiroMifune. In 1965, the two had a falling out during the production of ''Red Beard'' and did not speak or see each other until a brief, tearful reunion in 1993. There were rumors that they [[WhatCouldHaveBeen would have collaborated on Kurosawa's next film]] after his upcoming project ''Film/AfterTheRain,'' but they [[AuthorExistenceFailure both died within a year of each other,]] with Kurosawa dying before ''After the Rain'' began filming. There was another chance in 1975, as the Soviet producers originally wanted Mifune in the title role of ''Film/DersuUzala,'' but it was prevented largely by Mifune's schedule. After 1965, there were only a few times where one spoke ill of the other, but otherwise they thought of each other -- and their films together -- with high regard.

* ''Drunken Angel'' (1948)

* ''I Live in Fear'' (1955)