Sanjuro (1962)
Kurosawa’s 1962 Yojimbo sequel. Mifune returns as the ronin. The final-fountain-of-blood draw became foundational anime image.
Akira Kurosawa
This archive collects the films directed by Akira Kurosawa reviewed at Master of Worlds — 8 titles spanning “High and Low (1963)”, “Ran (1985)”, “Rashomon (1950)”, “Sanjuro (1962)”, “Seven Samurai (1954)”, “The Hidden Fortress (1958)”, “Throne of Blood (1957)”, and “Yojimbo (1961)”. Together they form a substantial cross-section of the work, and the reviews approach them as storytelling first. The questions stay consistent across the collection — what the direction asks of the audience, how it serves the structure of each film, and what holds up on a second or third viewing. Seeing one name across this many films makes the craft legible in a way a single title cannot: the recurring instincts, the range, the choices that mark the work. The collection is curated rather than exhaustive, built from films reviewed in depth at Master of Worlds, and it grows as further titles are added.
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Kurosawa’s 1958 medieval adventure. Mifune as general, two bumbling peasants. Lucas cited as Star Wars influence.
Yojimbo (1961)
Kurosawa’s 1961 samurai-noir. Mifune as the masterless ronin who plays two factions against each other. Direct source for Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing.
Ran (1985)
Kurosawa’s 1985 King Lear in feudal Japan. Three-hour battle epic with armies of 1,400 extras. The film he spent ten years preparing.
Throne of Blood (1957)
Kurosawa’s 1957 Macbeth set in feudal Japan. Mifune as Washizu. The arrow finale is among the most committed practical-effects sequences ever filmed.
High and Low (1963)
Kurosawa’s 1963 kidnapping procedural. Mifune as the shoe executive. First hour in one room, then the film cracks open. Adapted from an Ed McBain novel.
Seven Samurai (1954)
Kurosawa’s 1954 samurai epic. Three hours twenty-seven minutes. The film every assembled-team movie since 1960 has copied.
Rashomon (1950)
Kurosawa’s 1950 film that gave English the word for unreliable narrative. Four versions of one crime, each true, each false.