Directed by Akira Kurosawa • 1957 • Japan
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Kyoko Kagawa
One of Akira Kurosawa’s darkest, most uncompromising films, this by turns bleak and blackly comic adaptation of Maxim Gorky’s social-realist play transplants the story to nineteenth-century Japan, where the residents of a squalid boardinghouse navigate love, tragedy, and the conflict between their illusions and harsh reality. Making maximal use of the theatrical, claustrophobic setting and a powerhouse ensemble cast headed by Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada, Kurosawa channels Japan’s postwar disillusionment into a howl of existential angst.
Up Next in Starring Toshiro Mifune
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The Hidden Fortress
Directed by Akira Kurosawa • 1958 • Japan
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru ChiakiA grand-scale adventure as only Akira Kurosawa could make one, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS stars the inimitable Toshiro Mifune as a general charged with guarding his defeated clan’s princess (a fierce Misa Ueha...
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Muhomatsu, the Rickshaw Man
Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki • 1958 • Japan
Matsugoro is a poor rickshaw driver whose animated spirit and optimistic demeanor make him a favorite of the town. Matsu helps an injured boy, Toshio, and is hired by the boy's parents, Kotaro and Yoshioko, to transport the boy to and from doctor appoin...
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The Bad Sleep Well
Directed by Akira Kurosawa • 1960 • Japan
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Tatsuya MihashiA young executive hunts down his father’s killer in director Akira Kurosawa’s scathing THE BAD SLEEP WELL. Continuing his legendary collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune, Kurosawa combines element...
