I watched all six of the older samurai-movies Akira Kurosawa directed in the fifties and sixties.
Rashomon (1950). The laughing and crying soon became irritating, but the story device of three different versions was great, and in the end you were left to decide for yourself what actually happened.
Seven Samurai (1954). You would never believe it’s 3,5 hours long, it’s edited so well. And the final battle in the rain is something I can’t understand how they did in the fifties in Japan with what budget and technology was available at the time.
Throne of Blood (1957). Kurosawa does Macbeth with samurais. Might be my favorite of these six.
The Hidden Fortess (1958). The first one where Kurosawa had wide screen aspect ratio to play with, and he mastered it right away. This film had a big impact on George Lucas, and there’s a lot he stole for the first Star Wars from this.
Yojimbo (1961). Leone remade this almost beat by beat as Fistful of Dollars, and Kurosawa sued and won. It’s better too. Toshiro Mifune who’s in all of these films is the best in this.
Sanjuro (1962). Mifune plays the same ronin as he did in Yojimbo, this is basically the New Adventures of the Nameless Samurai. Still great.
I’ve Ran (1985) bought also, there’s a 4K restauration available in AppleTv, can’t wait to see what Kurosawa did with color. And King Lear.
