Akira Kurosawa’s favourite Japanese director
Few would disagree with the opinion that Akira Kurosawa is Japan’s greatest-ever filmmaker, with the director behind such classics as Seven Samurai, Ikiru and Ran having had an indelible influence on the shape of contemporary cinema. Sure, the likes of Yasujirō Ozu, Hayao Miyazaki and even Hirokazu Koreeda might feel a little hard done by, but we think they would even admit that Kurosawa is the master.
Rising to prominence in the 1940s, Kurosawa quickly established himself as a revered industry director, helming early greats No Regrets for My Youth, One Wonderful Sunday and Drunken Angel shortly before his first major hit, 1950s Rashomon. In the decade that followed, the filmmaker would thrive, releasing classic after classic in the form of 1952’s Ikiru, 1954’s Seven Samurai and 1957’s Throne of Blood.
His influence on world cinema allowed Western filmmakers such as John Ford and John Sturges to sit up and take note, with the latter going on to make a Hollywood remake of Seven Samurai in the form of 1960’s The Magnificent Seven. Another filmmaker who took inspiration from his words was Martin Scorsese, who was moved by the Japanese artist’s words during an Oscar acceptance speech.
Speaking about the life-changing advice in the speech, Scorsese recalled: “Kurosawa, when he got his Oscar, when George Lucas and Steven Spielberg gave it to him, he said, ‘I’m only now beginning to see the possibility of what cinema could be, and it’s too late’”.
Yet, even though the likes of Ford, Sturges and Scorsese regarded him as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, let alone the best in the history of Japanese cinema, Kurosawa himself was a little more humble. In the book Akira Kurosawa: Interviews, the director revealed: “Of all Japanese directors, I like [Kenji] Mizoguchi best, and after him, [Keisuke] Kinoshita. It might even be nostalgia-after all I am Japanese, and those two create a film which is purely Japanese”.
Continuing, he became critical of Western attitudes towards Japanese cinema, stating: “People abroad seem to like Japanese films, but I wouldn’t count on it. Most Japanese films lack any real depth – all Japanese culture has this thinness. Even the poorest programmers from abroad often have depths we just don’t approach”.
In regards to the director he calls his all-time favourite, Mizoguchi thrived in a similar time to Kurosawa, though found his peak far later in his career, having joined the industry in the 1920s. Whilst Kurosawa shone in the 1950s, so too did Mizoguchi, releasing such greats as The Life of Oharu, Ugetsu and Sansho Dayu, among many other classics.
Elsewhere, Kurosawa also mentioned Keisuke Kinoshita, a director who also impressed in the 1950s with such films as The Ballad of Narayama and Twenty-Four Eyes.
Take a look at the trailer for Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu below.
