4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Toshiro Mifune Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today would have been the 105th birthday of the great actor, Toshiro Mifune.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Toshiro Minfune Films

Drunken Angel (1948, dir by Akira Kurosawa)

Seven Samurai (1954, dir by Akira Kurosawa)

The Hidden Fortress (1958, dir by Akira Kurosawa)

Yojimbo (1961, dir by Akira Kurosawa)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Toshiro Mifune Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

104 years ago today, the great Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune was born in Qingdao, Shandong, China, which was under Japanese occupation at the time.  After working as a photographer and as an assistant cameraman, Mifune made his acting debut in 1947, playing a bank robber in Snow Trail.

Mifune would go on to become an international superstar, appearing in hundreds of films before his death in 1997.  Sixteen of those films would be directed by Akira Kurosawa and Mifune’s performances in Kurosawa’s yakuza and samurai films would go on to inspire actors the world over.  When Sergio Leone adapted Yojimbo into A Fistful of Dollars, Clint Eastwood based his performance on Mifune’s performance in the original.  George Lucas would later create the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi with Mifune in mind.

In honor of the man and his career, here are

4 Shots From 4 Films

Drunken Angel (1948, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Throne of Blood (1957, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Yojimbo (1961, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Shogun (1980, directed by Jerry London)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Akira Kurosawa Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, the Shattered Lens honors both the birth and the legacy of the great filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Akira Kurosawa Films

Throne of Blood (1957, dir by Akira Kurosawa, DP: Asakuza Nakai)

Yojimbo (1961, dir by Akira Kurosawa, DP: Kazuo Miyagawa)

Kagemusha (1980, dir by Akira Kurosawa, DP: Takao Saito and
Masaharu Ueda )

Ran (1985, dir by Akira Kurosawa, DPs: Takao Saito, Masharu Ueda, and Asakazu Nakai)

Scene that I Love: The Finale of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo


Yojimbo (1961, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

The great filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa, was born 111 years ago today, in Tokyo.  Kurosawa would go on to become one of the most influential directors of all time, making 30 films over a career that lasted 57 years.  Though Kurosawa is often cited as an influence on westerns (Seven Samurai became The Magnificent Seven, Yojimbo inspired Serigo Leone to create The Man With No Name), Kurosawa’s influence goes for beyond just one genre.  He directed action films.  He directed gangster films.  He directed social problem films.  He directed historical epics.  Kurosawa taught an entire generation of future film film directors the language of cinema.

In honor of the anniversary of Akira Kurosawa’s birth, here is a scene that we all love from his 1961 masterpiece, Yojimbo.  Playing the lead role of the lone swordsman is, of course, Kurosawa’s frequent star, Toshiro Mifune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCjsazHO0c0

 

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Toshiro Mifune Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

100 years ago today, the great Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune was born in Qingdao, Shandong, China, which was under Japanese occupation at the time.  After working as a photographer and as an assistant cameraman, Mifune made his acting debut in 1947, playing a bank robber in Snow Trail.

Mifune would go on to become an international superstar, appearing in hundreds of films before his death in 1997.  Sixteen of those films would be directed by Akira Kurosawa and Mifune’s performances in Kurosawa’s yakuza and samurai films would go on to inspire actors the world over.  When Sergio Leone adapted Yojimbo into A Fistful of Dollars, Clint Eastwood based his performance on Mifune’s performance in the original.  George Lucas would later create the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi with Mifune in mind.

In honor of the man and his career, here are

4 Shots From 4 Films

Drunken Angel (1948, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Throne of Blood (1957, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Yojimbo (1961, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Red Sun (1971, directed by Terence Young)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Akira Kurosawa Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

110 years ago today, Akira Kurosawa was born.  Today, we honor the life of one of the most influential directors in film history and that means that it’s time for:

4 Shots From 4 Films

Seven Samurai (1954, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Yojimbo (1961, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Ran (1987, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

Dreams (1990, directed by Akira Kurosawa)

If you’re on lockdown right now and you’re not at already a familiar with Japan’s greatest director, this is a great time to discover the works of Akira Kurosawa!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Akira Kurosawa


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

With the latest entry to the Star Wars franchise set to be released in just a few days I thought it was appropriate to share four particular scenes from one filmmaker who has been a huge influence on George Lucas’ vision for Star Wars. This filmmaker also became a huge influence on other master filmmakers such as John Ford, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Sidney Lumet just to name a few.

Many consider this filmmaker to be one of the greatest filmmakers who ever lived and in this humble individual’s opinion he was the greatest filmmaker who stood above all and whose storytelling and visual techniques would become part of the modern filmmaker’s toll bag.

The man I speak of is Akira Kurosawa.

4 SHOTS FROM 4 FILMS

The Hidden Fortress (dir. by Akira Kurosawa)

The Hidden Fortress (dir. by Akira Kurosawa)

Dersu Uzala (dir. by Akira Kurosawa)

Dersu Uzala (dir. by Akira Kurosawa)

Yojimbo (dir. by Akira Kurosawa)

Yojimbo (dir. by Akira Kurosawa)

Kagemusha (dir. by Akira Kurosawa)

Kagemusha (dir. by Akira Kurosawa)