Steven Seagal’s favourite Akira Kurosawa movie: “He has the morals that I do”
Over the last few decades, the action genre has become an incredibly popular source of pure thrill and escapism, leading to studios pumping out what seems like a never-ending supply of these films. And with that come actors whom audiences grow accustomed to and sometimes love more than the genre itself. Hence, it’s not uncommon for actors to transcend the craft and become synonymous with certain genres, particularly when viewers flock to the cinema just to see them in a certain type of role.
Like every era since the 1980s, when the genre started gaining some serious traction, modern cinema too has names such as Jason Statham, Tom Cruise, and Dwayne Johnson who tick all the conventional boxes of typecasting. Towards the late ’80s and early ’90s, almost every A-list actor you could think of tested the waters of the action flick, with very few managing to match the iconography that Steven Seagal managed to create for himself.
Not known for his stellar emotive performances, it’s hard to dispute that Seagal was and still is pretty exciting to watch. His most notable works, such as Under Siege, Out For Justice, and Above the Law, are famous not necessarily because they’re groundbreaking films or for his award-winning acting chops. Seagal’s main attribute that has taken him and his films to extraordinary heights is his martial arts skills, offering a level of authenticity that puts scores of others on the back foot, playing catch-up.
By dedicating himself to learning Eastern martial arts at an expert level, it’s no surprise to see his love for the discipline inform his picks for his favourite films, with one specific name appearing more than once in his personal top five. A celebrated master of the historical drama, Akira Kurosawa’s films often explore the intricate philosophy of the Samurai, a group and way of life that helped shape the modern martial arts scene. Like many, Seagal has tremendous respect for the legendary filmmaker in general, but sees a reflection of himself in one of his films more than others.
Speaking to Rotten Tomatoes, Seagal mentioned the 1961 film Yojimbo as one of his top picks: “I also related to [Yojimbo] too because he’s a Samurai who doesn’t really have to give a f…—forgive my French—but he doesn’t really care. He has the morals that I do in the sense that… Kurosawa is brilliant. He doesn’t really come out and let the audience know what Yojimbo’s doing. You almost wonder if he’s immoral because he’s killing all these folks, and you’re not sure why until the end. At the end of the second act, you’ll see. You realise that both sides are evil, the whole town is evil. He wants to kind of annihilate all of them [laughing].”
Responding to a question regarding the film’s focus on morality, he continued, “Well Kurosawa wants you to believe that, but certainly, he wants you, in my opinion, to think that Yojimbo is immoral until the end of the second act, and then you’ll see that he, in fact, is just a great Samurai, with real ethics, you know? That’s the way I take it.”
Apart from Yojimbo, Seagal also spoke highly about Seven Samurai and Red Beard, noting that these three films are his all-time favourites. He even referred to Kurosawa as his friend, suggesting that the respect runs deep, beyond his work to who the director was as a person. Or maybe, all the action films have really taken a toll on his perception of reality. Either way, he’s bang on the money about his appreciation of Kurosawa.
