"Director: Akira Kurosawa"

• The Idiot | DVD | (14/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Akira Kurosawa's The Idiot is his only adaptation of a Fyodor Dostoevsky novel and was a cherished project on which it is claimed he expended more effort than on any other film. A darkly ambitious exploration of the depths of human emotion it combines the talents of two of the greatest Japanese actors of their generation - Toshiro Mifune and Setsuko Hara. The Idiot is perhaps the most comprehensive of all of Kurosawa's works a tone which is heightened b

• I Live In Fear | DVD | (28/03/2005) from £11.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (66.72%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When a wealthy foundry owner and bullying patriarch decides to move his entire family from Tokyo to Brazil to escape the nuclear holocaust which he fears is imminent his family tries to have him declared mentally incompetent... Made at the height of the Cold War when the superpowers were engaged in series of nuclear tests this blazing attack on complacency was one of the director's most deeply-felt but least commercially successful films. Nonetheless it deserves to be more widely

• Madadayo | DVD | (24/09/2007) from £8.79   |  Saving you £11.20 (127.42%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The main story of the film is based on the life of a Japanese academic and author Hyakken Uchida (1889-1971). The film opens with him resigning as a professor of German in the period immediately before the Second World War. The plot of the film is centered around his relationship with his former students who care for him in his old age. The title 'Not Yet' in English is an allusion to an ancient Japanese legend mentioned in one scene of the film of an old man who refuses to die. This story is constantly referred to in the movie as every year on the professor's birthday his students throw him a party in which they all ask him ""Mada kai?"" (""Are you ready?""). He responds by drinking a large ceremonial glass of beer and shouting ""Mada dayo!"" (""Not yet!"") implying that death may be near but life still goes on!

• Ran | Blu Ray | (18/10/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Akira Kurosawa's brilliantly conceived retelling of Shakespeare's 'King Lear' magically mixes Japanese history Shakespeare's plot and Kurosawa's own feelings about loyalty in this epic masterpiece. Set in 16th century Japan an aging ruler Lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) announces his intention to divide his land equally among his three sons. This decision to step down unleashes a power struggle between the three when Hidetora falls prey to the false flattery bestowed upon him by the two older sons and banishes the youngest when he speaks the truth. The ruthless betrayal ultimately drives Hidetora insane destroying his entire family and kingdom. Deep human emotion and outstanding acting combine to create one of the most acclaimed foreign films of all time.

• Ran | Blu Ray | (28/09/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Akira Kurosawa's brilliantly conceived retelling of Shakespeare's 'King Lear' magically mixes Japanese history Shakespeare's plot and Kurosawa's own feelings about loyalty in this epic masterpiece. Set in 16th century Japan an aging ruler Lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) announces his intention to divide his land equally among his three sons. This decision to step down unleashes a power struggle between the three when Hidetora falls prey to the false flattery bestowed upon him by the two older sons and banishes the youngest when he speaks the truth. The ruthless betrayal ultimately drives Hidetora insane destroying his entire family and kingdom. Deep human emotion and outstanding acting combine to create one of the most acclaimed foreign films of all time.

• Dersu Uzala | DVD | (26/02/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £23.99

  A Russian army explorer who is rescued in Siberia by a rugged Asiatic hunter renews his friendship with the woodsman years later when he returns at the head of a larger expedition. However the brave Dersu is to find that all his nature lore is of no help when he accompanies the explorer back to civilisation... Filmed in 70mm on location in the peaceful vastness of the Siberian ice desert this is one of Kurosawa'a most beautiful films as well as a tale of great humanity. It is based on the turn of the century journals of Tsarist Officer Vladimir Arseniev.

• Kagemusha | DVD | (27/11/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  In this exciting visually dazzling epic from Akira Kurosawa a petty thief named Kagemusha gets saved from a death sentence because he resembles the warlord Shingen Takeda. The warlord has been fighting two other leaders for control of 16th-century Japan and impersonators often take his place during battles to put him out of harm's way. Because of Kagemusha's strong physical similarities to the warlord he's a perfect choice for a ""shadow warrior."" However the arrangement suddenly

• Rhapsody In August | DVD | (04/08/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  From one of the world's most renowned and influential directors Akira Kurosawa (The Seven Samurai) comes eloquent examination of the nuclear holocaust in Nagasaki as seen through the eyes of a survivor and her four grandchildren 44 years later. The grandmother recalls the history of her family and Japanese society. As she searches for an understanding of the past she falls into despair over the loss of her husband in the blast as its anniversary draws near.

• Classic Kurosawa | DVD | (28/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  Throne of Blood (1957): Kurosawa's film career began in 1936 at the Photo Chemical Laboratories in Tokyo. His directorial debut in 1943 Judo Saga bore evidence of his economy of expression and marked his humanist approach. His Rashomon won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1951 and this led to the 'discovery' of his other works and those of his mentors and peers notably Ozu and Mizoguchi. Kurosawa's transposition of Shakespeare's Ma

• The Fencing Master | DVD | (26/01/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Fencing Master (Aka: Tateshi Danpei)

• Ran | HD DVD | (26/03/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Rashomon | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Rashomon DVD - classic film by Akira Kurosawa. Won Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1952.

• Seven Samurai | DVD | (22/11/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Unanimously hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the motion picture, Seven Samurai has inspired countless films modelled after its basic premise. But Akira Kurosawas classic 1954 action drama has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is set in the 1600s, when the residents of a small Japanese village are seeking protection against repeated attacks by a band of marauding thieves. Offering mere handfuls of rice as payment, they hire seven unemployed "ronin" (masterless samurai), including a boastful swordsman (Toshiro Mifune) who is actually a farmers son desperately seeking glory and acceptance. The samurai get acquainted with but remain distant from the villagers, knowing that their assignment may prove to be fatal. The climactic battle with the raiding thieves remains one of the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed. Its poetry in hyperactive motion and one of Kurosawas crowning cinematic achievements. This is not a film that can be well served by any synopsis; it must be seen to be appreciated and belongs on the short list of any definitive home-video library. --Jeff Shannon