Kurosawa is a master. Not only did he do wonders for Japanese cinema on an international stage (using Ford's westerns as an influence in order to appeal to American audiences), his films are some of the greatest ever made.

Although Seven Samurai (1954) is considered his best by many (and it is indeed fantastic), Rashomon was his first to hit the world market when it won the Palme d'Or in 1951. His acceptance speech said (I'm paraphrasing) he was pleased to have won, but he would have been more pleased to have won by showing something of contemporary Japan.

A year later he did that with Ikiru (1952), a chaarcter study of a small-time bank clerk condemned to death by cancer, and who builds a park for children. It's supposedly one of Spielberg's favourite films.

Throne of Blood (1957) is the best cinematic version you'll see of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Far better than Polanski's, and I hear greater than Welles'. An inspired performance from long-time collaborator Toshiro Mifune, and the atmospheric cinematography is a gem.

It's ironic that Kurosawa should be noted for his 50s' samurai epics, because my personal favourite (and arguably his most pictorial perfect) is Ran (1985), which he made when he was well into his 70s. Filmed on location at Mount Fuji, the sets are awesome; a just rendition of King Lear.

Similar to Ran is Kagemusha (1980), another colourful epic set during the shogun days.

One of his last films, Rhapsody in August (1990) has a performance by Richard Gere; gentle, and passably entertaining, but expectedly not up to his best works.

Thanks for reading,
Mick