Dreams (1990) *

This esoteric film consists of eight segments. It begins with a little boy sent away from home by his mother. In the second episode, another little boy cries, because his favourite peach trees have been cut down. The third one is set during a terrible blizzard. The following segment shows an officer walking through a tunnel, where he meets his dead comrades. Martin Scorsese plays Vincent Van Gogh in the fifth episode, while the next segment shows exploding nuclear power plants around Mount Fuji. The last two episodes contrast the harsh reality of a nuclear winter with a quiet life in a simple village. Directed by Akira Kurosawa, it's among his weakest films.

Ran (1985) ****

Magnificent epic film by Akira Kurosawa, an adaptation of "King Lear" set in Japan.

Kagemusha (1980) ***

Visually magnificent historical epic drama from Akira Kurosawa.

Dersu Uzala (1975) ***

A Soviet film directed by Akira Kurosawa, set in the Siberian taiga.

Dodes'ka-den (1971) ***

Interesting, unusual film by Akira Kurosawa. Set in a slum, it has moments of pure magic.

Red Beard (1965) ***

High And Low (1963) *****

One of Akira Kurosawa's best films, starring Toshiro Mifune as a rich businessman who pays a ransom to free his servant's son.

Sanjuro (1962) ****

Tremendously entertaining samurai pic by Akira Kurosawa. Humorous, exciting and extremely well-made.

Yojimbo (1961) *****

One of Akira Kurosawa's best films, a great samurai picture starring Toshiro Mifune.

The Bad Sleep Well (1960) ***

Akira Kurosawa freely adapted Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and set it among Japanese businessmen and gangsters.

Hidden Fortress (1958) ****

An excellent samurai film by Akira Kurosawa. The same story was used by George Lucas for "Star Wars: A New Hope" (1977).

Throne Of Blood (1957) ****

Akira Kurosawa's take on "Macbeth".

The Lower Depths (1957) **

I Live In Fear (1955) ****

One of Kurosawa's finest films, a complex study of insanity in Nuclear Age.

The Seven Samurai (1954) *****

One of the greatest films of all time. An exciting, powerful and deeply moving story of a small village trying to defend itself from ruthless bandits by hiring seven ronins (unemployed samurai).

Ikiru (1952) ***

Excellent Japanese drama directed by Akira Kurosawa.

The Idiot (1951) ***

Probably the best film adaptation of a Fjodor Dostoevsky's novel.

Rashomon (1950) ****

Classic film by Akira Kurosawa, presenting different points of view of a single event.

Scandal (1950) **

Stray Dog (1949) ***

Toshiro Mifuno plays a Tokyo cop whose gun was stolen by a criminal. An impressive Japanese film clearly inspired by DeSica's "The Bicycle Thief".