The Director's Series: Akira Kurosawa, No. 5


Throughout 2025 I'm turning my focus to Directors. They help craft the vision on screen that makes a movie work. This year I'm looking at five favorite films from 18 directors I admire and 10 films directed by different women that I have enjoyed. Join me Fridays and Saturdays throughout 2025 as we take this journey.

Ran (1985)
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Jinpachi Nezu, and Daisuke Ryû
Director: Akira Kurosawa
About: This is a fun transition from yesterday's look at Michael Bay. Kurosawa is one of the greatest filmmakers and a master storyteller. This was my first introduction to him as a filmmaker, and a film I saw as a teen that has stuck with me. It's a big, sweeping epic based on a play from William Shakespeare. It's also in color, which is something different for Kurosawa. In this case, I really loved his use of color, which is especially visually interesting during the big battle sequences. This film stuck out to me when I first saw it and it still stands out to me. It's a sad tale, but it's very compelling.

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