Red Beard Aka Akahige (1965) Akira Kurosawa, Toshirô Mifune, Yûzô Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki

An in depth look at the making of Kurosawa's films. The series was produced by Kurosawa’s long-time aide Teruyo Nogami and features interviews

Years before Akira Kurosawa changed the face of cinema with such iconic works as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Yojimbo, he made his start in the Japanese film industry with four popular and exceptional works, created as World War II raged. All gripping dramas, those rare first films - Sanshiro Sugata; The Most Beautiful; Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two; and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail - are collected here and include a two-part martial arts saga, a portrait of female volunteers helping the war effort, and a kabuki-derived tale of deception. These captivating films are a glorious introduction to a peerless career.

An in-depth look at the making of Kurosawa's films. In this episode, the discussion centres on Seven Samurai.

A riveting psychological thriller that investigates the nature of truth and the meaning of justice, Rashomon is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made. Four people give different accounts of a man’s murder and the rape of his wife, which director Akira Kurosawa presents with striking imagery and an ingenious use of flashbacks. This eloquent masterwork and international sensation revolutionized film language and introduced Japanese cinema—and a commanding new star by the name of Toshiro Mifune—to the Western world.

John Blackthorne, a 17th Century English navigator shipwrecked off the coast of Japan, becomes an eyewitness to a deadly struggle involving Toranaga, a feuding warlord intent on becoming Shōgun - the supreme military dictator. Irresistibly drawn into the turmoil, Blackthorne finds himself vying to become the first-ever gai-jin (foreigner) to be made a samurai warrior.