Akira Kurosawais arguably the most acclaimed and widely recognized Japanese filmmaker in cinema history. He received a single nomination for Best Director and an Honorary Oscar from the Academy Awards, though unusually, nothing he made ever won Best Picture. He’s been admired and recognized for his excellent filmography in other ways at least, including by the users of the film-related social media app, Letterboxd.
The best Kurosawa films continue to feel timeless, and there’s no indication that they’re going to become dated anytime soon. His movies tend to have very high average ratings from the site’s users, with 14 of his 32 feature films having a rating of 4/5 or higher.The following currently sit as Kurosawa’s highest-rated on Letterboxd, and serve to represent the high points in a career that was filled with groundbreaking, exciting, and varied films.He was a master filmmaker, and anyone who wants to learn more about cinema - especially films from Japan - ought to watch as many great Akira Kurosawa movies as they can.
20’Dodes’ka-den' (1970)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.7/5
There’s atragic story behind the making ofDodes’ka-den, as it was a box office failure upon release and caused Akira Kurosawa great financial problems that had severe consequences on the filmmaker’s personal life. Thankfully, the director bounced back and though he worked less frequently throughout the 1970s onwards, he still managed to make some very compelling late-career films.
And, honestly,Dodes’ka-den canjust about be counted among those; if it’s not quite great, then it is at least very good, and underrated overall. It follows various downtrodden people living in a slum outside Tokyo, showing their perseverance through difficult times and the way they try to find meaning, and reasons to keep going.It’s sad and down-to-earth, and perhaps not as exciting as some of the more approachable Kurosawa movies, but it’s a well-made drama and a more than worthy watch for fans of the filmmaker.
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19’I Live in Fear' (1955)
Tackling post-World War II fears of atomic war in a psychologically intense way,I Live in Fearis one of Kurosawa’s bleaker movies, more so for how far it goes showing one man’s emotional deterioration more than anything more conventionally disturbing, like on-screen violence. It’s about a man wanting to take his family from Japan to go live in Brazil, as he fears nuclear war destroying the country is imminent.
I Live in Fearcertainly taps into the uniquely uneasy feeling that many would’ve felt in the aftermath of the Second World War, what with the knowledge of what these new weapons were capable of doing to entire cities like Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It’s also one of many solid films Kurosawa made with two of his favorite actors: bothTakashi ShimuraandToshiro Mifune.
Watch on Criterion
18’One Wonderful Sunday' (1947)
Akira Kurosawa was versatile enough that he even tried his hand at the romance genre, as is demonstrated byOne Wonderful Sunday, itself one of his earlier and more underrated efforts. It follows an engaged young couple with very different personalities trying to have a pleasant day together despite only having a small amount of money to spend on such a day off: the titular Sunday (duh).
One Wonderful Sundayis defined by how grounded it aims to feel, and because the premise is about as simple as things can get; really, it’s just a day in the life of two people and the rather ordinary time they spend together. But it’s a kind of simplicity that’s done well, and feels charmingly natural, makingOne Wonderful Sundayan admittedly somewhat slow but also ultimately rewarding viewing experience.
17’Madadayo' (1993)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.8/5
Kurosawa’s final film wasMadadayo, and with it, he cemented his legacy as a filmmaker whosedirectorial career had spanned half a century(given his feature debut was in 1943). It was loosely based on a real person – an author namedHyakken Uchida– and the various events of his life throughout the course of the 20th century, many shown in flashbacks as he looks back on his life from old age.
In that way, it’s easy todraw parallels between Hyakken Uchida and Kurosawa himself, who was 83 years of age whenMadadayowas released, and ended up passing away five years later. It’s not an explosive or monumental film for a director to conclude his body of work with, but it is a good one (and again, feels a little underrated), and does at least partly work as a final film, given how it looks to the past and feels introspective, both from the narrative itself and the subtext.
16’Drunken Angel' (1948)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.9/5
Even though it was released before the yakuza genre truly defined itself and came into being,Drunken Angelfeels like a deconstructive take on that kind of film, being more drama-focused than action-centered. It’s mostly about a doctor treating a young, wounded yakuza member, and trying to dissuade him from continuing to live that kind of lifestyle due to the dangers inherent with it.
Drunken Angelis another Kurosawa movie that’s unafraid to move slowly, and one more early film of his that stars both Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura.It works in a quiet and understated sort of way, and stands as one ofthe best movies from the 1940sthat Kurosawa directed… even though it’s also fair to say that it wasn’t until the 1950s and beyond that the filmmaker really hit his stride and achieved even greater greatness.
15’Stray Dog' (1949)
Stray Dogis often regarded as the most film noirtype of movie that Akira Kurosawa ever made, and that’s a fair assessment. It’s one of the director’s best crime movies (and certainly not his only one), and follows a young detective’s desperate attempts to retrieve a stolen pistol, with each step of his journey taking him into progressively darker waters.
It milks a great deal of suspense and intrigue from its simple premise, and naturally gets more complex and involved as it goes along.Stray Dogalso does a remarkably good job at capturing a tense, heated atmosphere, with the sweltering weather its characters experience being shown viscerally on screen.
Letterboxd Rating: 4.0/5
Just over a decade afterStray Dog, Akira Kurosawa returned to the crime genre withThe Bad Sleep Well, which is a veryloose reimagining or modern update ofShakespeare’sHamlet. It’s about an ambitious worker seeking revenge for his father’s death, all done by inching his way closer to his boss, who he believes is culpable for the death.
It unfolds in quite a methodical and deliberately-paced fashion, butthe precise filmmaking by Kurosawa and the performances of its huge cast keep it compelling. It also helps that it mostly borrows the basic premise and themes fromHamletwithout directly retelling the story, meaning it stays gripping, even for those who know the ins and outs of the original text.
13’Sanjuro' (1962)
Letterboxd Rating: 4.1/5
A sequel to a 1961 movie (more on that later) that’s not quite as much of a classic - but is still very good - isSanjuro. The titular character is a ronin, and in this film, he finds himself allied with a group of warriors who want to eliminate the villainous individuals within their clan.
It’s a surprisingly funny movie at times, even though it deals with serious themes, deconstructing the samurai mythos while also having a solid amount of gritty sword-fighting action. It’s another winning samurai movie from Kurosawa, who wasone of the best in all Japanese cinema when it came to tackling movies within this genre.
12’The Hidden Fortress' (1958)
The Hidden Fortressis a movie that’s said to have had quite an influence on American filmmaker/producerGeorge Lucas. It’s a samurai/adventure movie that served asone of the influences onStar Wars, with its epic plot being about two peasants unknowingly stumbling into a large-scale conflict when they meet a warrior and princess in hiding.
In no way did Lucas plagiarize the film, as there are too many differences, but parts of the narrative and some of the characters are certainly comparable to those that audiences later saw in a galaxy far, far away. And when viewed on its own,The Hidden Fortressis also just a compelling and entertaining action/adventure movie andstands as one of the most accessible of all Akira Kurosawa movies.
The Hidden Fortress
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
11’Dreams' (1990)
Dreamsended up being one of Akira Kurosawa’s final films, and it stands out from many of his other films, which tended to be historical dramas, contemporary crime films, or samurai movies. Instead,Dreamsis an anthology film, with each sequence being based on various dreams that the famed director had throughout his life.
As you might expect, some of these are light-hearted, some are fantastical, and others are quite unsettling.Dreamsis a movie packed with unique imagery and a genuinely dreamy atmosphereand provides an interesting look into the mind of one of the 20th century’s greatest filmmakers. As such, it certainly earns its Letterboxd rating.
