Born in 1910 to a family descended from samurais, Akira Kurosawa initially intended to be a painter, but was taken along another path when he saw an ad in a newspaper for assistant director positions at Photo Chemical Laboratory film studios (later to become Toho Studios). He applied and was accepted, soon working with director Kajiro Yamamoto, under whose guidance he flourished. Kurosawa began by writing highly original screenplays such as WRESTLING RING FESTIVAL and THE STORY OF A BAD HORSE. After various attempts at directing his own feature, it finally came to pass in Yokohama in 1942 with SANSHIRO SUGATA. “After the tests were done and we were ready to shoot, with the cameras rolling I gave the call for action, ‘Yoi, staato!’ (‘Ready, start!’) The whole crew turned to stare at me. Apparently my voice sounded a little peculiar. I had done plenty of second-unit directing for Yama-san, but, no matter how much experience you have, when you finally reach the point of directing your own first film you are in a state of extreme tension. But from the second shot my tension disappeared; everything just felt exciting, and all I wanted to do was hurry on.” – Akira Kurosawa, Something Like an Autobiography.
And hurry on he did with such initial films as THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, SANSHIRO SUGATA PART II, NO REGRETS FOR OUR YOUTH and DRUNKEN ANGEL (the latter being the first of his fruitful collaborations with powerhouse actor Toshiro Mifune and dynamic composer Hayasaka Fumio), and his superb STRAY DOG. Since bursting upon the international film scene in 1950 with his 11th-century period film RASHOMON, winner of the Grand Prix at the Venice International Film Festival and the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar, Kurosawa was placed firmly into the top ranks of world filmmakers. His films accomplish what only the masters manage to do, a seamless marriage of compelling entertainment with challenging, brilliant and unique aesthetic expression. The influence of the culture of the West on his films is considerable, and in turn Kurosawa’s influence on the films of the West and, indeed, world cinema is vast and incalculable. When he died in 1998, cinema lost one of its greatest visionaries.
With a new 4K version of RAN arriving soon in theaters, we’ve gathered some of Kurosawa’s most popular and fascinating works for your enjoyment. His highly influential THE SEVEN SAMURAI, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS and the action-packed chanbaraYOJIMBO helped inspire THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, STAR WARS and A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, respectively. His “Macbeth” adaptation,THRONE OF BLOOD, remains among the finest screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. Dark crime dramas THE BAD SLEEP WELL and HIGH AND LOW pack punches that still leave audiences reeling. And in RED BEARDand IKIRU, Kurosawa tells moving tales of compassion and hope amidst illness and death.
About the <a href="http://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/spotlight_media_productions/entertainment_and_media_mogul_adrienne_papp_honored_for_her_international_writing_0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Author </a>of This Article: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriennepapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Adrienne Papp</a> is a recognized journalist, economist and feature writer, who has written for many publications including <a href="http://adriennepapp.com/pdf/violetfull.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Savoir</a>; <a href="http://westsidetoday.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Westside Today Publications</a> ; such as <a href="http://westsidetoday.com/2008/09/02/90210-is-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Beverly Hills 90210</a>; <a href="http://www.westsidetoday.com/malibu-beach/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Malibu Beach</a>; <a href="http://smmirror.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Santa Monica S</a>u<a href="http://smmirror.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">n</a>; <a href="http://www.beverlyhillstimesmagazine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Beverly Hills Times</a>; <a href="http://westsidetoday.com/2008/06/03/brentwood-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brentwood News</a>; <a href="http://westsidetoday.com/2014/09/22/bel-air-film-festival-announces-line/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bel-Air View</a><a href="https://spotlightmediaproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/pic-62.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> ; </a><a href="http://www.celebritysociety.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Celebrity Society</a> ; <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=www.celebstaff.com,+Adrienne+Papp&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Celeb Staff </a>; <a href="http://www.itmagazine.net/home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">It Magazine</a>; <a href="http://www.chictoday.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chic Today</a>; <a href="http://www.la2day.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LA2DAY</a>; <a href="http://www.westsidetoday.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">West Side Today</a> among many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles / New York-based publicity company, <a href="http://atlanticpublicity.biz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Atlantic Publicity</a> and publishing house, <a href="http://atlanticunitedpublicity.com/Articles.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Atlantic Publisher</a>. Adrienne writes about world trends, <a href="http://westsidetoday.com/2010/05/26/what-is-the-meaning-of-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Quantum Physics</a>, entertainment and interviews celebrities, world leaders, inventors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. She also owns <a href="http://www.atlanticpublicity.biz/atlanticunitedfilm/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Atlantic United Films</a> that produces and finances true stories made for theatrical release or the silver screen. <a href="https://spotlightmediaproductions.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Spotlight News Magazine</a> is owned by <a href="http://atlanticpublicity.biz/default.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Atlantic Publicity</a> that just opened a new extension to it : <a href="http://www.publicitylosangeles.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PublicityLosAngeles</a>. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2045364/externalsites?ref_=nmbio_sa_3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Adrienne Papp</a><a href="https://spotlightmediaproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/pic-62.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> is a member of the </a><a href="http://www.satelliteawards.org/" target="_blank" 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She was knighted and became a Dame in 2010. Her official name is Lady Adrienne Papp and Dame Adrienne Papp. Voting Member of The International Press Academy and The Oscars: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is the Managing Editorial Director of The Beverly Hills Times Magazine, and Hollywood Weekly. She has a Master of Science in Economics majoring Logistics; an MBA Degree; An International Law, Trade and Finance Postgraduate: Marketing and Advertising Postgraduate from NYU and UCLA. Guest Professor at Oxford University; Director and Producer of TV and Airline On Camera Editorials; <a href="http://www.adriennepappenterprises.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Adrienne Papp Enterprises </a>
