Akira Kurosawa

Kurosawa Akira

  • Name: Kurosawa Akira
  • Native name: 黒澤明
  • Also Known as: 黒沢明
  • Nationality: Japanese
  • Gender: Male
  • Born: March 23, 1910
  • Died: September 6, 1998
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, he directed 30 films in a career spanning 57 years.

Kurosawa entered the Japanese film industry in 1936, following a brief stint as a painter. After years of working on numerous films as an assistant director and scriptwriter, he made his debut as a director during World War II with the popular action film Sanshiro Sugata (a.k.a. Judo Saga). After the war, the critically acclaimed Drunken Angel (1948), in which Kurosawa cast then-unknown actor Toshiro Mifune in a starring role, cemented the director's reputation as one of the most important young filmmakers in Japan. The two men would go on to collaborate on another 15 films.

Rashomon, which premiered in Tokyo, became the surprise winner of the Golden Lion at the 1952 Venice Film Festival. The commercial and critical success of that film opened up Western film markets for the first time to the products of the Japanese film industry, which in turn led to international recognition for other Japanese filmmakers. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Kurosawa directed approximately a film a year, including a number of highly regarded (and often adapted) films, such as Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961). After the 1960s, he became much less prolific, though his later work—including his final two epics, Kagemusha (1980) and Ran (1985)—continued to win awards though more often abroad than in Japan.

In 1990, he accepted the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Posthumously, he was named "Asian of the Century" in the "Arts, Literature, and Culture" category by AsianWeek magazine and CNN, cited there as being among the five people who most prominently contributed to the improvement of Asia in the past century. His career has been honored by many retrospectives, critical studies and biographies in both print and video, and by releases in many consumer media formats. Edit Biography
Screenwriter
Year Title Type Rating
2002 The Sea Is Watching
Movie
7.4
2000 Dora-heita
Movie
6.5
1999 After the Rain
Movie
7.4
1965 Sugata Sanshiro
Movie
7.6
1959 Sengoku Gunto Den
Movie
6.0
1957 Nichiro Senso Shori no Hishi: Tekichu Odan Sanbyakuri
Movie
4.0
1955 Tomorrow I'll Be a Fire-Tree
Movie
0.0
1955 Soman Kokkyo 2 Gosakusen Kieta Chutai
Movie
0.0
1953 My Wonderful Yellow Car
Movie
6.0
1952 Sword for Hire
Movie
7.4
1952 Vendetta of Samurai
Movie
6.8
1951 Kemono no Yado
Movie
0.0
1951 Beyond Love and Hate
Movie
2.0
1950 Fencing Master
Movie
7.6
1950 ‎Jiruba no Tetsu
Movie
0.0
1950 Escape at Dawn
Movie
0.0
1949 Jakoman to Tetsu
Movie
4.0
1949 Lady from Hell
Movie
0.0
1948 The Portrait
Movie
7.6
1947 Snow Trail
Movie
7.7
1947 Four Love Stories
Movie
0.0
1945 The Admirable Ishin Tasuke
Movie
0.0
1944 Dohyo Matsuri
Movie
0.0
1942 A Triumph of Wings
Movie
2.0
1942 Seishun no Kiryu
Movie
0.0
Director
Year Title Type Rating
1946 Those Who Make Tomorrow
Movie
0.0
Screenwriter & Director
Year Title Type Rating
1993 Madadayo
Movie
7.6
1991 Rhapsody in August
Movie
7.6
1990 Dreams
Movie
7.9
1985 Ran
Movie
8.2
1980 Kagemusha
Movie
7.8
1975 Dersu Uzala
Movie
7.9
1970 Dodesukaden
Movie
7.5
1965 Red Beard
Movie
8.1
1963 High and Low
Movie
8.1
1962 Sanjuro
Movie
8.1
1961 Yojimbo
Movie
8.2
1960 The Bad Sleep Well
Movie
7.9
1958 The Hidden Fortress
Movie
7.9
1957 The Lower Depths
Movie
7.2
1957 Throne of Blood
Movie
7.9
1955 I Live in Fear
Movie
7.4
1954 Seven Samurai
Movie
8.6
1952 Ikiru
Movie
8.2
1952 The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
Movie
7.1
1951 The Idiot
Movie
7.6
1950 Rashomon
Movie
8.1
1950 Scandal
Movie
7.2
1949 Stray Dog
Movie
7.8
1949 The Quiet Duel
Movie
7.6
1948 Drunken Angel
Movie
7.8
1947 One Wonderful Sunday
Movie
7.5
1946 No Regrets for Our Youth
Movie
7.7
1945 Sanshiro Sugata Part II
Movie
6.9
1944 The Most Beautiful
Movie
6.2
1943 Sanshiro Sugata
Movie
7.4
Producer
Year Title Type Rating
1949 Spring Flirtation
Movie
0.0
Editor
Year Title Type Rating
1963 Gojuman-nin no isan
Movie
9.0
1941 Uma
Movie
0.0
Assistant Director
Year Title Type Rating
1940 Roppa’s Honeymoon
Movie
6.0
1939 Chushingura: Kohen
Movie
0.0
1939 Enoken no Gatchiri Jidai
Movie
0.0
1938 Enoken no Bikkuri Jinsei
Movie
0.0
1938 Tsuzurikata Kyoshitsu
Movie
7.0
1938 The Loves of a Kabuki Actor
Movie
0.0
1938 Chinetsu
Movie
0.0
1937 Sengoku Gunto Den Dai Ichibu: Toraokami
Movie
0.0
1937 Utsukushiki Taka
Movie
0.0
1937 Enoken no Chakkiri Kinta: Kohen ~ Kaeri wa Kowai no Maki ~ Mateba Biyori no Maki
Movie
0.0
1937 Enoken no Chakkiri Kinta Zen Mamayo Sandogasa Ikiwa Yoiyoi
Movie
0.0
1937 Avalanche
Movie
6.8
1937 Nihon Josei Dokuhon
Movie
0.0
1937 Otto no Teiso : Aki Futatabi
Movie
0.0
1937 Otto no Teiso: Haru Kitareba
Movie
0.0
1937 Sengoku Gunto Den Dai Nibu: Akatsuki no Zenshin
Movie
0.0
1936 Tokyo Rhapsody
Movie
6.0
1936 Zoku Enoken no Senban Choja
Movie
0.0
1936 Enoken's Ten Millions
Movie
0.0
1936 Shojo Hanazono
Movie
0.0
Movie
Year Title Role Rating
2000 A message from Akira Kurosawa
Japanese Movie, 2000,
Himself (Main Role)
Himself
Main Role
8.5
TV Show
Year Title # Role Rating
1991 Kitano Fan Club
Japanese TV Show, 1991, 232 eps
[Panelist] (Regular Member)
232
[Panelist]
Regular Member
0.0
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Kurosawa Akira

Akira Kurosawa
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Details

  • First Name: Akira
  • Family Name: Kurosawa
  • Native name: 黒澤明
  • Also Known as: 黒沢明
  • Nationality: Japanese
  • Gender: Male
  • Born: March 23, 1910
  • Died: September 6, 1998

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