Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in film history.
Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese jidaigeki film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth from Medieval Scotland to feudal Japan, with stylistic elements drawn from Noh drama. The film stars Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada in the lead roles, modelled on the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo. He also portrayed Miyamoto Musashi in Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy and one earlier Inagaki film, Lord Toranaga in the NBC television miniseries Shōgun, and Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in three different films.
Kazuo Miyagawa was a Japanese cinematographer.
Takashi Shimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1934 and 1981. He appeared in 21 of Akira Kurosawa's 30 films, including as a lead actor in Drunken Angel (1948), Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952) and Seven Samurai (1954). He played Professor Kyohei Yamane in Ishirō Honda's original Godzilla (1954). For his contributions to the arts, the Japanese government decorated Shimura with the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1974 and the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette in 1980.
Kamatari Fujiwara was a Japanese actor.
Kaoru Yachigusa was a Japanese actress from Osaka Prefecture. From 1947 to 1957 she was a member of the Takarazuka Revue. After leaving the Revue, she was active in film, television, and narration.
Masaru Sato was a Japanese composer of film scores. Following the 1955 death of Fumio Hayasaka, whom Sato studied under, Sato was the composer of Akira Kurosawa's films for the next 10 years. He was nominated for Best Music at the 15th Japan Academy Prize in 1992. In 1999, the Japanese government decorated Sato with the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette for his contributions to the arts.
Fumio Hayasaka was a Japanese composer of classical music and film scores.
Snow Trail is a 1947 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Senkichi Taniguchi from Akira Kurosawa's screenplay. It was the first film role for Toshirō Mifune, later to become one of Japan's most famous actors. Mifune and the other main actor in the film, Takashi Shimura, later became long-term collaborators of film director Akira Kurosawa.
Stuart Eugene Galbraith IV is an American film historian, film critic, essayist, and audio commentator.
Kajirō Yamamoto was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor who was known for his war films and comedies and as the mentor of Akira Kurosawa. The combined list of his efforts as a director for documentaries, silent, and sound films includes over 90 film titles during his lifetime.
Vendetta of a Samurai is a 1952 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Kazuo Mori made for Toho and starring Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. The script was written by Akira Kurosawa.
Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi, also known as Key of Keys, is a 1965 Japanese comedy-spy film directed by Senkichi Taniguchi. It is the fourth installment of five films in the Kokusai himitsu keisatsu series, a parody of James Bond-style spy movies.
Sōjirō Motoki was a Japanese filmmaker who served primarily as a film producer, but also as a writer and director. He was most famous for producing several films for Akira Kurosawa, including Seven Samurai, Ikiru and Throne of Blood. He also produced films for other directors, including Mikio Naruse, for whom he produced Spring Awakens and Battle of Roses, and Kazuo Mori, for whom he produced Vendetta for a Samurai. As a writer, he provided the story for Kei Kumai's 1968 film The Sands of Kurobe, starring Kurosawa favorite Toshiro Mifune.
Yoko Mizuki was a Japanese screenwriter. Born in Tokyo, she later graduated from Bunka Gakuin and began writing screenplays to support her family after her father died. Mizuki was active in the 1950s era of the Japanese studio system and is notable for her work with directors Tadashi Imai and Mikio Naruse. Her work had received several Best Screenplay Awards from Kinema Junpo and has been described in the book Women Screenwriters: An International Guide as "One of the most important and accomplished Japanese female screenwriters of all time".
Jakoman and Tetsu is a screenplay by Akira Kurosawa and Senkichi Taniguchi that was based on the novel Nishin gyogyo by Keizo Kajino. It has been adapted into film twice.
Jakoman and Tetsu, also known as One-Eyed Captain and Tetsu is a 1964 Japanese film directed by Kinji Fukasaku based on an earlier screenplay by Akira Kurosawa and Senkichi Taniguchi that was based on the novel Nishin gyogyo by Keizo Kajino. The screenplay had previously been filmed by director Senkichi Taniguchi in 1949.
Chieko Nakakita was a Japanese actress. She appeared in the early films of Akira Kurosawa and later starred in many films by Mikio Naruse.
