Films with: Kurosawa, Akira

Akahige Red Beard /

A vain young doctor learns a valuable lesson from the dedicated director of a clinic for destitute patients.

DVD 1564

Bas-fonds The lower depths /

Les bas-fonds (93 min.): A Baron, forced by circumstances, gives up his life of luxury and to takes up residence in the slums of Paris. The Baron observes the frustrated romance between Wasska Pepel and Natacha, the thwarted dreams of an actor, and the oppressive cruelties of landlord Kostileff. Donzoko (125 min.): Sutekichi, a vulgar, comical thief takes up residence in a slum flophouse inhabited by many eccentric, destitute people. Osugi, the cruel landlady, and her sister, Okayo, both desire him, and fight each other over him. Set in Edo-period Japan.

DVD 3354

Dersu Uzala

Tells of the friendship between Vladimir Arsenyev, a well-known Soviet explorer, and his guide, Dersu Uzala. It is the story of a man's unity with nature and of the struggle for survival in the wilderness.

DVD 2373

Dodesuka-den

This film follows the lives of the people who live in a slum, built in a garbage dump. A mentally disabled boy is obsessed with streetcars, driving an imaginary streetcar around, chanting "Dodes'ka-den! Dodes'ka-den!"--Mimicking the sound of the wheels. Some of the neighbors are a young woman living with her lecherous uncle; a pair of friends who get drunk and swap wives; a possibly mentally ill beggar and his son who live in a deserted car; and a man with five children who knows he is not the father of any, but treats them as if they were his own. Although they may dream of better times, these people are trapped--both physically and psychologically--doomed to live a life of disappointment (or worse), but many find ways to carry on.

DVD 10412

Hakuchi Idiot /

Based on Dostoyevsky's fable of a holy fool, this story which takes place in Hokkaido in the winter is about a man who returns home after a stay in an asylum. He is being drawn toward Christianity, his antagonist is an anarchist.

DVD 6386

Ichiban utsukushiku Most beautiful /

Presents the story of a group of girls who work in a precision-optical-instruments factory, making lenses, binoculars, etc., during wartime in Japan. This was filmed in a real factory with real workers which gives the movie a documentary flavor.

DVD 1183

Ichiban utsukushiku the Most beautiful /

Presents the story of a group of girls who work in a precision-optical-instruments factory, making lenses, binoculars, etc., during wartime in Japan. This was filmed in a real factory with real workers which gives the movie a documentary flavor.

DVD 8601

Ikimono no kiroku I live in fear /

An elderly and wealthy industrialist is driven to madness over fears of a nuclear attack. In a futile attempt to save his family he pressures them to leave Japan and move to the rain forest in Brazil where he believes they will be safe. His family, complacent and cynical, is outraged and move to have him declared insane.

DVD 6375

Ikiru To live /

Discovering that he is in the terminal stages of cancer, a clerk spends his last months in search of the meaning to life. After his pursuit of pleasure has failed, he finds self-realization in bringing about the building of a children's playground in the slums and dies quiety fulfilled.

DVD 3353

Kagemusha

Reconstructing the splendor of feudal Japan and the pageantry of war, Kurosawa creates a soaring historical epic about a peasant impersonating a nobleman in battle. Kagemusha is presented in its original 180 min. uncut Japanese version, not the shortened "international version" presented by 20th Century Fox. In 16th century feudal Japan, a thief is saved from execution to train as a double for one of the warlords, Shingen. Three warlords, Shingen, Nobunaga, and Ieyasu, battle for total power over Japan. When Shingen receives a mortal wound, the double must take his place to hold the Takeda clan together.

DVD 5115

Kakushi toride no san akunin Hidden fortress /

A princess must escape across enemy lines with the royal treasure, guarded only by a loyal general and two greedy peasants.

DVD 1562

Kumonosu-jō Throne of blood /

Adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, set in feudal Japan. Tells the story of a Samurai lord who kills his master and usurps his power in fulfillment of a witch's prophecy.

DVD 2210

Madadayo

Set in postwar Japan, the film follows the last two decades in the life of Hyakken Uchida, a free spirited writer and teacher, highlighted by his relationship with his students who venerate him in his old age.

DVD 1399

Nora inu Stray dog /

A bad day gets worse for rookie detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo's sweltering streets for the thief, whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, the cop and the criminal's lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami's own dark side.

DVD 3410

Ran

In 16th century Japan, an aging ruler attempts to divide his kingdom among his three sons, who turn against each other and betray their father, triggering events that ultimately shatter the kingdom, destroy the family, and drive their father insane.

DVD 708

Ran

An aging warlord decides to split his kingdom between his three sons, who will live in three separate castles. The two eldest sons are quite happy, but the youngest thinks his father has gone mad, and predicts that it won't be long until the two older brothers are fighting with each other.

DVD 4690

Rashōmon

Set in the Middle Ages, the nature of truth and subjective reality are probed in a series of flashbacks from four viewpoints to present the case history of a man's murder and the rape of his wife by a bandit.

DVD 1684

Seven samurai

Tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire seven out-of-work warriors to protect them from invading bandits.

DVD 6

Shizukanaru kettō Quiet duel /

"During a life-saving operation, army surgeon Fujisaki (Mifune) contaminates himself with syphilis, a disease virtually incurable in 1940s Japan. After the war, he returns to work at the hospital maintained by his obstetrician father (Shimura), but agonizes over the disease that threatens to destroy his impending marriage, while simultaneously trying to save other patients' lives -- including the man from whom he contracted the disease"--Container.

DVD 2527

Shūbun Sukyandaru /

Portrayal of a sensitive young artist who is dragged through the mud by a tabloid entertainment magazine after an innocent encounter with a pop singer and decides to sue.

DVD 6388

Subarashiki nichiyōbi One wonderful Sunday /

A young factory worker and his fiancee spend their weekly holiday together. It is a Sunday in spring and they have just thirty-five yen, but together they overcome several near disasters.

DVD 6389

Sugata Sanshirō sen-kyūhyaku-yonjūsannen sangatsu sakuhin = Sanshiro Sugata (Judo saga) /

A thrilling martial arts tale about the rivalry between judo and jujitsu.

DVD 8555

Tengoku to jigoku [High and low] /

A complex crime thriller in which a wealthy shoe manufacturer's chauffeur's son is kidnapped in mistake for his own, and he faces a moral dilemma -- should he pay the ransom anyway and risk losing his position?

DVD 747

Tora no o o fumu otokotachi 1945-nen 9-gatsu seisaku = The men who tread on the tiger's tail /

Derives from Noh and Kabuki plays depicting a famous twelfth-century incident in which the lord Yoshitsune and a small group of samurai cross enemy territory disguised as monks and must persuade border guards to let them through.

DVD 8603

Tsubaki Sanjūrō Sanjuro /

A skilled but slovenly ronin comes to the aid of a group of naive young warriors fighting their corrupt clan leaders and manages to keep them out of trouble and alive in spite of their high ideals.

DVD 701

Waga seishun ni kuinashi No regrets for our youth /

A story of feminist self-discovery set in pre-war Japan. A woman breaks conventions by striking out on her own and being self-sufficient.

DVD 6387

Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru The Bad sleep well /

A young executive hunts down his father's killer. A tale about corruption in the boardrooms of postwar corporate Japan as seen through the rising executive eyes.

DVD 4704

Yoidore tenshi Drunken angel /

Dr. Sanada is an alcoholic, in part due to the despair that constantly assails him as he tries to keep the inhabitants of a post-World War II Tokyo slum as healthy as possible. Food and medical supplies are scarce, the neighborhood is around an open sewer, and the only place to buy medicines is the black market-- controlled by the Yakuza. Matsunaga, a young yakuza with a violent temper, seeks Sanada's help to remove a bullet from his hand, but Matsunaga's cough catches the doctor's attention. What follows is a wrestling match for Matsunaga's life. Will he follow Sanada's instructions and make the smart, healthy decision, or will he let the fabled yakuza code of honor destroy him?

DVD 10286

Yojimbo The bodyguard /

In the year 1860, a wandering samurai-for-hire turns the war between two clans fighting for control of a small town to his own advantage. A satire on greed, violence, paranoia and human weakness. Includes theatrical trailer.

DVD 654

Yume Dreams /

Eight episodes exploring many aspects of humankind including the cost of war, the perils of nuclear power and man's need to harmonize with nature. Based on Akira Kurosawa's actual dreams.

DVD 1817

Zoku Sugata Sanshirō 1945-nen seisaku = Sanshiro Sugata, part 2 /

Story of a handsome bumptious young man who wishes to learn judo as a path to philosophical knowledge, rather than a mere set of self-defense techniques.

DVD 8602