|
|
 |
     
A giant of 20th-century cinema, Akira Kurosawa holds a unique place among the world's most distinguished filmmakers as the only non-Westerner. Yet, surprisingly little is known of Japan's greatest filmmaker outside of his native country, and only a few of his films are familiar to American audiences. Now, with the personal endorsement and participation of his children, Hisao and Kazuko, GREAT PERFORMANCES presents a definitive two-hour profile, exploring Kurosawa's work in its entirety, on Thursday, March 21, 2002 on PBS (check local listings). Narrated by Sam Shepard, the program features film excerpts; archival footage never before seen in the West; interviews with actors, including Clint Eastwood and James Coburn; and re-creations from his book SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, examining the personal circumstances that produced one of the world's greatest cinema artists.
Stephen Prince, film historian and author of THE WARRIOR'S CAMERA: THE CINEMA OF AKIRA KUROSAWA, offers his recommendations for the seven must-see films by Akira Kurosawa in the Multimedia Presentation. Also, read his responses to your questions about Kurosawa's films in Ask the Expert. An essay by Peter Grilli, president of the Japan Society of Boston, provides additional background on the filmmaker and his films. In Dialogue, we feature video and text excerpts of interviews with those who knew and worked with Akira Kurosawa. And finally, our Kurosawa filmography has been expanded to include excerpts about his first 11 films from his autobiography, SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Special funding for KUROSAWA was provided by Sony ES, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, and the Irene Diamond Fund.
Top banner photos: A scene from Akira Kurosawa's RED BEARD (Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, and Terumi Niki), and a production still from DRUNKEN ANGEL (Michiyo Kogure and Toshiro Mifune). Photos courtesy of Photofest. |
|
 |
 |
Akira Kurosawa during an interview
with the BBC. |
 |
 |
|
Lord Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu) leads his
army in RAN. Photo: Studio Canal Image. |
|
 |
|
This program is available on DVD. |
|
 |
