Hayao Miyazaki’s favourite Akira Kurosawa movie
Transforming Japanese cinema generations apart, the films of Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki couldn’t be more different, despite their seismic impact on the trajectory of national cinema. Working in entirely separate artistic mediums of film, Kurosawa dedicated his craft to moody tales of drifting samurai, whilst Miyazaki, and the movies of Studio Ghibli, explore fantasy tales that extract the magic from mundane life.
Indeed, despite their differences, the pair have transformed Japanese cinema, with Kurosawa bringing national cinema to the attention of the world in the 1940s and 1950s, making such classics as Stray Dog, Rashomon and Ikiru. Then, in 1956, his seminal movie Seven Samurai would seize the attention of Hollywood, claiming two Oscar nominations at the time for ‘Best Art Direction’ and ‘Best Costume Design’.
Given visibility in Hollywood, the films of Kurosawa began to be considered as contemporary classics, with Seven Samurai inspiring such western filmmakers as John Ford, Sam Peckinpah and John Sturges, who remade the movie as The Magnificent Seven in 1960. Starring the likes of Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson, the film was considered so great by Kurosawa that he reportedly gifted Sturges a sword for his efforts.
Ever since then, Kurosawa’s name has been a popular one on lists of the greatest filmmakers of all time, with the great Hayao Miyazaki also being a great admirer of his work. Indeed, the praise was reciprocated too, with the pair even meeting in 1993, shortly after Miyazaki had released Porco Rosso and Kurosawa had completed his final film, Madadayo, starring Tatsuo Matsumura.
Shooting the breeze, at one point, the Ikiru director said something that flattered Miyazaki, proclaiming his love for the cat-turned-bus in 1988’s My Neighbour Totoro. Loving the peculiar vehicle as a spectacular example of all that he could not achieve in the mere realm of live-action filmmaking, Kurosawa was reportedly envious of his creative freedom at Studio Ghibli.
Meanwhile, Miyazaki praised him for Seven Samurai, his favourite of Kurosawa’s masterworks, adoring the film for its atmospheric cinematography and sympathetic approach towards its lead characters.
Starring such iconic Japanese stars as Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura and Keiko Tsushima, Seven Samurai told the story of a group of veteran samurai who gather to protect a village from insidious bandits. A classic of 20th century cinema; without the film and the work of Kurosawa, modern cinema may not have looked the same, even having a considerable influence in the delivery of George Lucas’ Star Wars universe.
Take a look at the trailer for Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai below.
