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Akira Kurosawa
[1910-1998]
| short profile |
World-renowned writer-producer-director of Japan,
award-winning master of the cinema arts.
Akira Kurosawa
profile
h e r e
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Akira Kurosawa received three Oscar Awards for "Rashômon" [1950] {Best Foreign-Language Film, 1952}, for "Derzu Uzala" [1975] {Best Foreign-Language Film, 1976}, and for Lifetime Achievement (1990) |
He also received
13 Mainichi Film Concours Awards, 1948-1999
four Kinema Junpo Awards, 1949, 1953 & 1966 (two)
four awards at the Venice Film Festival, 1951-1965
three awards from the Berlin International Film Festival, 1954 & 1959 (two)
three David di Donatello Awards, 1977, 1981 & 1986
aPalme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, 1980
France's César Award, 1981
two BAFTA Awards, 1981 & 1987
a Career Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, 1982
the French Legion of Honor, 1984
the Directors Guild of America Golden Jubilee Special Award, 1986
the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award, 1992
the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Japanese Academy, 1999
the Japanese Academy Award for Best Screenplay, 2001
– and many other awards
L i n k s
browse Kurosawa on DVD at Amazon
Kurosawa books catalog at Amazon.com
Akira Kurosawa credits at Internet Movie Database
Kurosawa films fansite
DK's Kurosawa fansite
British Film Institute Kurosawa webpage
Akira Kurosawa Database: English | Japanese
AF's Kurosawa fansite
Cinema of Japan Page at Magic Lantern
Books On Akira Kurosawa
 | "Waiting On The Weather: Making Movies With Akira Kurosawa" [2006] by Teruyo Nogami, Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter, Foreword by Donald Richie The author was Kurosawa's assistant from 1950 until his death in 1998 Stone Bridge Press 7¾x5½ hardcover [9/2006] for $18,21 |
 | "Art By Film Directors" [2004] by Karl French
includes chapters on Charlie Chaplin, Jean Cocteau, Sergei Eisenstein, Federico Fellini, Terry Gilliam, Peter Greenaway, Alfred Hitchcock, Dennis Hopper, John Huston, Takeshi Kitano, Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa, Fritz Lang, Alan Parker, Gordon Parks, Satyajit Ray, Martin Scorsese, Josef von Sternberg, Wim Wenders, and others Mitchell Beazley 11½x9½ hardcover [11/2004] for $30.40 |
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"The Emperor and The Wolf: The Lives & Films of Akira Kurosawa & Toshiro Mifune" [2002] by Stuart Galbraith IV Faber & Faber 8¾x5½ pb [2/2003] for $14.00 Faber & Faber 9.4x6½ hardcover [2/2002] for $28.00 |
 | "Kurosawa: Film Studies & Japanese Cinema" [2000] by Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto Duke Univ Press 9x6 pb [5/2000] for $24.95 Duke Univ Press 9.4x6.4 hardcover [5/2000] for $89.95 |
 | "The Films of Akira Kurosawa" [rev 1999] by Donald Richie & Joan Mellen Univ CA Press 10x9¾ 3rd edition pb [1/99] for $19.77 |
 | "The Warrior's Camera" [1991] by Stephen Prince Princeton Univ Press 9¼x6 pb [10/99] for $16.95 Princeton Univ Press pb [2/91] out of print/used Princeton Univ Press hardcover [2/91] out of print/used |
 | "Filming Shakespeare's Plays: The Adaptations of Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Peter Brook & Akira Kurosawa" [1988] by Anthony Davies Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 pb [6/90] out of print/used Cambridge Univ Press hardcover [9/88] out of print/used Magic Lantern's Orson Welles [1915-85] Page Magic Lantern's 'Shakespeare On Film' Festival Page |
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"Something Like An Autobiography" [1982] by Akira Kurosawa Translated by Audie E. Bock Random House 8x5¼ pb [6/83] for $10.50 Knopf hardcover [5/82] out of print/used |
Collections & Documentaries
"A.K. 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa" [2009] 
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Criterion b&w/color DVD set [12/2009] 25 disks for $284.99
contains 25 feature films (3 in color): "The Bad Sleep Well" [1960] starring Toshiro Mifune; "Dodes'ka-Den" [1970 color]; "Drunken Angel" [1948] starring Toshiro Mifune & Takashi Shimura; "The Hidden Fortress" [1958] starring Toshiro Mifune; "High and Low" [1963] starring Toshiro Mifune; "I Live In Fear" |
| [1955] aka 'Record of A Living Being' starring Toshiro Mifune; "The Idiot" [1951]; "Ikiru" [1952] starring Takashi Shimura; "Kagemusha" [1980 color] starring Tatsuya Nakadai; "The Lower Depths" [1957] starring Toshiro Mifune; "Madadayo" [1993 color] starring Tatsuo Matsmura; "The Men Who Tread On The Tiger's Tail" [1945]; "The Most Beautiful" [1944]; "No Regrets For Our Youth" [1946] starring Setsuko Hara; "One Wonderful Sunday" [1947]; Oscar-winning "Rashomon" [1950] starring Toshiro Mifune; "Red Beard" [1965] starring Toshiro Mifune; "Sanjuro" [1962] starring Toshiro Mifune; "Sanshiro Sugata" [1943 debut] starring Susumu Fujita; "Sanshiro Sugata Part 2" [1945]; "Scandal" [1950] starring Toshiro Mifune & Takashi Shimura; "Seven Samurai" [1954] starring Toshiro Mifune & Takashi Shimura; "Stray Dog" [1949 noir] starring Toshiro Mifune & Takashi Shimura; "Throne of Blood" [1957] starring Toshiro Mifune & Isuzu Yamada; and "Yojimbo" [1961] starring Toshiro Mifune; extras include 96-page booklet |
 | "Postwar Kurosawa" DVD box set [2008]
Eclipse-Criterion b&w DVD set [1/2008] 5 disks for $48.99 includes "No Regrets for Our Youth" [1946] starring Setsuko Hara; "One Wonderful Sunday" [1947] starring Chieko Nakakita & Isao Numasaki; "Scandal" [1950] starring Toshirô Mifune, Shirley Yamaguchi, Yôko Katsuragi & Takashi Shimura; "The Idiot" [1951] starring Masayuki Mori, Toshirô Mifune, Setsuko Hara, Yoshiko Kuga & Takashi Shimura; and "I Live in Fear" [1955] starring Toshirô Mifune & Takashi Shimura |
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Four Samurai Classics Box Set [2002] Home Vision widescreen DVD [10/2002] 4 disks for $74.96 includes "Seven Samurai" [1954], "The Hidden Fortress" [1958], "Yojimbo" [1961], "Sanjuro" [1962] detail film information below |
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Kurosawa DVD Collection (Individually Numbered Limited Edition) [2002] contains "Ran" [1985], "Madadayo" [1993], the 100-minute documentary "Kurosawa" [2001] plus posters, photos & other artifacts letterbox & widescreen DVD plus artifacts [9/2002] 3 disks for $99.89 detail documentary information immediately below |
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"Kurosawa" [N.H.K./P.B.S. documentary 2001] Directed by Adam Low, with director Nagisa Oshima Wellspring letterbox DVD [4/2002] for $31.48 Wellspring color widescreen VHS [4/2002] for $24.98 full credits from IMDb P.B.S. program webpages |
"Kurosawa: The Last Emperor" [documentary 1999]
Directed by Alex Cox: video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb
Early Kurosawa [1999]
includes "No Regrets For Our Youth" [1946], "One Wonderful Sunday" [1947],
and "Sanshiro Sugata" [1955]
Home Vision b&w VHS no longer available from Amazon or B&N
Kurosawa Noir [1998]
includes "Stray Dog" [1949], "The Bad Sleep Well" [1960], and "High & Low" [1963]
Home Vision b&w VHS no longer available at Amazon or B&N
"A.K." [color documentary 1985] Directed by Chris Marker
video/DVD not available;
full credits from IMDb
"Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful To Create My Life In Cinema" [Toho tv docu episode]
A 50-minute documentary on the making of 'Seven Samurai'
| Their collaborations include "Drunken Angel" [1948], "Stray Dog" [1949], "The Quiet Duel" [1949], "Scandal" [1950], "Rashômon" [1950], "The Idiot" [1951], "Seven Samurai" [1954], "I Live In Fear" [1955], "Throne of Blood" [1957], "The Lower Depths" [1957], "Hidden Fortress" [1958], "Saga of The Vagabonds" [1959], "The Bad Sleep Well" [1960], "Yojimbo" [1961], "Sanjuro" [1962], "High and Low" [1963], & "Akahige" [1965] |
Kurosawa's Modern-Era Films
"No Regrets For Our Youth" [1946]
full credits from IMDb
"One Wonderful Sunday" [1947]
full credits from IMDb
"Drunken Angel" aka 'Yoidore tenshi'
[Japan April 1948; US release Jan 1960]
 | In a post-WWII slum, a doctor diagnoses TB in a young yakuza just before the former gang boss gets out of prison. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Takashi Shimura, Toshirô Mifune, Michiyo Kogure, Chieko Nakakita, Noriko Sengoku, Eitarô Shindô & Reisaburo Yamamoto
Home Vision b&w VHS [6/2000] for $19.95 full credits from IMDb |
"Stray Dog" aka 'Nora inu'
[Japan Oct 1949; US release Aug 1963]
 | Japanese film noir: A young Tokyo police detective loses his pistol to a pickpocket.
Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura & Keiko Awaji Criterion b&w DVD [5/2004] for $35.99 Home Vision b&w VHS [6/2000] for $28.45 full credits from IMDb |
"The Quiet Duel" aka 'Shizukanaru ketto'
[Japan March 1949; US release Nov 1979]
 | A young doctor returns home after the war, having contracted syphillis while operating on a patient. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Miki Sanjo, Kenjiro Uemura, Chieko Nakakita & Noriko Sengoku
Brentwood b&w DVD [9/2006] for $18.98 full credits from IMDb |
"Scandal" aka 'Shubun'
[Japan April 1950; US release July 1964]
 | The chance encounter of a young painter and a famous singer is blown out of proportion by national tabloids. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Shirley Yamaguchi, Yôko Katsuragi & Takashi Shimura
Home Vision b&w VHS [6/2000] for $19.95 full credits from IMDb |
"The Idiot" aka 'Hakuchi'
[Japan May 1951; US release April 1963]
 | Following treatment for a mental breakdown, a young man becomes involved with two women, one of whom comes to love him. She in turn is loved by the violent Akama (played by Mifune). Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; based on Dostoyevsky's novel; starring Setsuko Hara, Masayuki Mori, Toshirô Mifune, Yoshiko Kuga & Takashi Shimura New Yorker Films b&w VHS [3/2001] for $19.95 full credits from IMDb |
"Ikiru" aka "Doomed"
[Toho Japan Oct 1952; U.S.A. March 1956]
 | When a city bureaucrat learns that he is dying of cancer, he searches for some meaning in his life Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Takashi Shimura & Miki Odagiri; won Kinema Jumpo Award for Best Film; won Mainichi Film Concours awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay & Best Sound; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (5/2005) Criterion Collection subtitled b&w Blu-ray [11/2015] for $26.11 Criterion Collection subtitled b&w DVD [11/2015] 2 disks for $17.97 Criterion Collection subtitled b&w DVD [6/2010] 2 disks - out of prodn/used Homevision subtitled b&w VHS [6/2000] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"I Live In Fear"
aka 'Record of A Living Being' or 'Ikimono no kiroku'
[Japan Nov 1955; US release Jan 1967]
 | Mifune plays an industrialist riven with fear of the atomic bomb; his family wants him ruled incompetent for his irrational behavior. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune & Takashi Shimura
Home Vision b&w VHS [6/2000] for $19.95 full credits from IMDb |
"The Bad Sleep Well"
aka 'Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru'
[Toho Japan Sept 1960; US release Jan 1963]
 | A young man in post-war Japan attempts to expose the corrupt corporate executives responsible for his father's death. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kamatari Fujiwara, Takeshi Katô, Kô Nishimura, Kyôko Kagawa, Takashi Shimura & Tatsuya Mihashi
Criterion widescreen b&w DVD [1/2006] for $26.99 Homevision b&w VHS [9/2001] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"High and Low" aka 'Tengoku to jigoku'
[Japan March 1963; US release Nov 1963]
 | A corporate executive learns that his son has been kidnapped for a huge ransom, and then that the kidnapper has mistakenly taken the son of his chauffeur. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; based on Ed McBain's 1959 novel "King's Ransom"; starring Toshirô Mifune, Kenjiro Ishiyama, Susumu Fujita, Kyôko Kagawa, Takeshi Kato, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yutaka Sada, Tsutomu Yamazaki & Takashi Shimura
Home Vision letterbox b&w DVD [10/98] for $35.99 Home Vision widescreen b&w VHS [6/2000] for $28.45 full credits from IMDb |
"Do-desu-ka-den" aka "Clickety-Clack "
[Toho Japan Oct 1970; U.S.A. June 1971]
 | Co-writer/director Akira Kurosawa first color film, with a rich pallette. The tale is simple but involving, and was perhaps the inspiration for Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" [1989]. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; based on stories by Shugoro Yamamoto; starring Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai & Junzaburo Ban; Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film Home Vision color VHS [11/95] with English subtitles for $29.95 full credits from IMDb |
| | "Dersu Uzala" [U.S.S.R. 1975]
Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; based on the novel by Vladimir Arseniev; won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (a film of Russia) full credits from IMDb |
"Runaway Train" [Cannon Nov 1985] /tt0089941/
filmed in Alaska & Montana; directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy; based on a screenplay by Akira Kurosawa;
starring Jon Voight, Eric Roberts & Rebecca De Mornay
"Dreams" aka "Yume"
[Toho Japan May 1990, U.S.A. August 1990]
 | Eight beautiful segments based on dreams of Kurosawa; short films are "Sunshine Through The Rain"; "The Peach Orchard"; "The Blizzard"; "The Tunnel"; "Crows" starring Martin Scorsese as Vincent van Gogh; "Mount Fuji In Red"; "The Weeping Demon"; and "Village of The Watermills" Co-written & co-directed by Akira Kurosawa & Ishirô Honda Warner subtitled, semi-widescreen color DVD [3/2003] for $14.99 Warner subtitled color VHS [3/91] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 |
"Madadayo" [1993]
full credits from IMDb
Kurosawa's Historical-Era Films
"Sanshiro Sugata" aka "Judo Saga I"
[Toho Japan March 1943, U.S.A. April 1974]
Written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; based on a novel by Tsuneo Tomita
full credits from IMDb
"Zoku Sanshiro Sugata" aka "Judo Saga II"
[Toho Japan May 1945]
Written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; based on a novel by Tsuneo Tomita
full credits from IMDb
"Rashômon"
[Japan Aug 1950; US release Dec 1951]
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What is truth? After a killing in the woods, police interrogate four people and obtain four conflicting versions of the events. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; based on stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura & Minoru Chiaki; won Honorary Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Film (1952)
Home Vision b&w VHS [5/94] for $29.95 Home Vision b&w DVD [3/2002] for $29.96 full credits from IMDb • official movie site |
"Seven Samurai" aka 'Shichinin no samurai'
[Japan April 1954; US release Nov 1956]
 | Poor farmers hire a samurai to defend their village from bandits. He brings along six others, who defend the village against 40 attackers in a climactic, epic battle. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Minoru Chiaki, Daisuke Katô, Seiji Miyaguchi & Isao Kimura
Criterion Collection b&w Blu-ray [10/2010] 2 disks for $36.49 Criterion Collection remastered b&w DVD [9/2006] 3 disks for $36.99 Home Vision b&w DVD [3/99] for $31.99 Home Vision b&w VHS [7/93] 2 tapes / out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
more details (synopses, remakes & sequels, books, posters, links) on
Magic Lantern's "Seven Samurai" & "Magnificent Seven" Movies Page
"Sanshiro Sugata" [1955]
Directed by Shigeo Tanaka; remake of 1943 version, script by Akira Kurosawa from a novel by Tsuneo Tomita
full credits from IMDb
"Throne of Blood"
aka 'Kumonosu jo' and "Spider's Web Castle"
[Toho Japan Jan 1957; US release Nov 1961]
 | Based on Wm. Shakespeare's Macbeth. After a great military victory, two noble warriors are promoted by the emperor. Washizu's wife plots with him to take over the throne.
Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki & Takashi Shimura
Home Vision b&w DVD [5/2003] for $29.66 Home Vision b&w VHS [2/99] for $29.95 full credits from IMDb Japanese color 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 |
"The Lower Depths" aka 'Donzoko'
[Japan Sept 1957; US release Feb 1962]
 | A den of beggars and thieves in ancient Japan includes two sisters in love with a thieving yakuza. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa, based on Maxim Gorky's stageplay; starring Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Kamatari Fujiwara & Kyôko Kagawa Home Vision b&w VHS [4/98] for $29.95 full credits from IMDb |
"Hidden Fortress"
aka 'Kakushi toride no san akunin'
[Japan Dec 1958; US release Jan 1962]
 | Well-known to be one of the inspirations for the 'Star Wars Saga'. Gen. Makabe escorts a princess and a cache of gold thru enemy territory, assisted by two silly peasants. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Susumu Fujita, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara & Takashi Shimura
Home Vision widescreen b&w VHS [2/99] for $29.95 Home Vision widescreen b&w DVD [5/2001] for $25.49 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
color remake "The Last Princess"
aka 'Kakushi toride no san akunin' [Toho/Dentsu/NTV May 2008]
 | Charmless remake that proves the rule: Don't mess with a classic. The dymanic of the characters is altered, Kurosawa's humor is absent, the film is mostly about the violence.
Directed by Shinji Higuchi; starring pop idol Jun Matsumoto, Daisuke Miyagawa, Kippei Shiina, Masami Nagasawa & Hiroshi Abe
color DVD [2008] out of prodn/scarce color DVD [2008] out of prodn/scarce full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia • official movie site {in Japanese} |
"Saga of The Vagabonds"
aka 'Sengoku-gunto-den' [Japan 1959; US release Oct 1964]
Directed by Toshio Sugie; co-written by Akira Kurosawa;
starring Koji Tsuruta, Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara & Takashi Shimura
video not available;
full credits from IMDb
"Yojimbo" ('The Bodyguard')
[Japan April 1961; US release Oct 1962]
 | Based on Dashiell Hammett's "Red Harvest"; A wandering samurai plays off two gangs against each other. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tono, Seizaburô Kawazu, Kyu Sazanka, Kamatari Fujiwara, Takashi Shimura & Tatsuya Nakadai; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (10/2005)
Home Vision widescreem b&w VHS [9/94] for $29.95 Home Vision widescreem b&w DVD [9/99] for $25.49 full credits from IMDb remade as a Western: "A Fistful of Dollars" [1964] movie & sequels on VHS & DVD • full credits from IMDb remade as "Last Man Standing" [1996] on VHS & DVD • full credits from IMDb |
"Sanjuro" aka 'Tsubaki Sanjûrô'
[Japan Jan 1962; US release May 1963]
 | A sequel to "Yojimbo"; a group of determined, idealistic young men enlist a scruffy, cynical samurai to clean up their town. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; based on a novel by Shugoro Yamamoto; starring Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura & Kamatari Fujiwara
Home Vision widescreen b&w VHS [3/95] for $29.95 Home Vision letterbox b&w DVD [9/99] for $26.96 full credits from IMDb |
"Akahige" aka 'Red Beard'
[Japan April 1965; US release Dec 1968]
 | An earnest exploration of duty, honor and compassion. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; based on the novel 'Akahige Shinryodan' by Sugoro Yamamoto; starring Toshirô Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Kyôko Kagawa, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Terumi Niki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Yoshitaka Zushi & Takashi Shimura
Home Vision widescreen b&w DVD [7/2002] for $35.99 Home Vision widescreen b&w VHS [2/99] for $29.95 full credits from IMDb |
"Kagemusha" [Toho Japan 4/1980, Fox USA 10/1980]
Directed by Akira Kurosawa; Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film,
won 2 of 4 BAFTA noms, won Reader's Choice & 5 other Mainichi Film Concours Awards; at end of 2011,
holds #82 box office ranking, at $4,000,000 worldwide gross •
full credits at IMDb
"Kagemusha" Criterion Collection [Blu-ray] /B002AFX52S/
"Ran" ('Chaos') [Japan 1985]
  | Based on Wm. Shakespeare's King Lear. An aging warlord decides to split his kingdom between his three sons, who will live in three separate castles. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada & Yoshiko Miyazaki; nominated for Best Director, Best Cinematography & Best Art Direction Oscars, won Oscar for Best Costumes; won BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film; at end of 2011, holds #79 box office ranking, at $4,069,653 worldwide gross
LionsGate widescreen color Blu-ray w/subtitles [2/2010] for $26.99 Criterion color DVD w/subtitles [11/2005] 2 discs - out of prodn/used Fox Lorber color DVD w/subtitles [4/2003] out of prodn/used Fox Lorber color DVD w/subtitles [8/98] out of prodn/many used Fox Lorber letterbox VHS w/subtitles [3/98] out of prodn/many used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia "Ran" art book [1986] by Akira Kurosawa |
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