Akira Kurosawa: The Greatest Filmmaker EVER

 

Akira Kurosawa is by far my favorite filmmaker, with Stanley Kubrick a distance second. 

Kurosawa made a crime drama in 1963 called 'High and Low', which is being reimagined by Spike Lee and Denzel Washington with shooting scheduled to start next month. 'High and Low' was based upon a novel called King's Ransom by Ed McBain, which Kurosawa turned into a classic film which starred Toshiro Mifune as a wealthy man in ruin after paying the ransom for a kidnapping. 

Spike Lee, like so many other filmmakers, has voiced his admiration for Kurosawa, saying "my 1986 comedy 'She's Gotta Have It' was highly influenced by Kurosawa's film 'Rashomon'."

Kurosawa's works have been remade over and over and used as the foundation for many outright classic films and franchises, and even film genres over the last seven decades. For example, in 2022, the 'Living', which starred Bill Nighy (who received an Oscar nomination his performance) was based upon Kurosawa's 1952 film 'Ikiru' - a story about a terminally ill government bureaucrat on a search to find the meaning of his life. 

The Spike Lee/Densel Washington's 'High and Low' remake will be released theatrically before being streamed on Apple+. Densel's latest film, 'Equalizer 3', grossed just shy of $200 million globally but he is adamant that there will be no Equalizer 4 for him. The word is there may be a prequel to the Equalizer franchise based upon how Robert McCall began the equalizer. At the moment, Densel is working on the sequel 'Gladiator 2', in which he co-stars - this to be released in 2025. 

Lee and Washington agree on remake of 'High and Low.'

Note on Akira Kurosawa (1910 - 1988)

Kurosawa directed 30 films and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in cinematic history. From his first acclaimed film, 'Drunken Angel' (1948) to his last 'Ran' in (1985) each can be viewed as a masterpiece in its own way.

The 'Seven Samuri' was the foundation for the classic Western 'The Magnificent Seven' and 'A Fistful of Dollars' was based entirely on Kurosawa's 'Yojimbo' (the bodyguard) which Sergio Leone only made minor changes to the original. While 'The Hidden Fortress' was the basis for the Star Wars saga, as George Lucas has openly attested to. 

In fact, many past and present filmmakers have stated they were highly influenced and revered Kurosawa, including Lucas, Spielberg, Coppola, Bergman, Fellini, Polanski, Lumet, Kubrick, Altman, and the list goes on. 

Akira Kurosawa is the goat (greatest-of-all-time) filmmaker, and you should seek out his works to view and enjoy. My favorite is 'Dreams'. 

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.