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“I am a person rarely impressed by actors… but in the case of Mifune I was completely overwhelmed. The ordinary Japanese actor might need ten feet of film to get across an impression. Toshirō Mifune needed only three feet,” said Akira Kurosawa.

One of the greatest talents in cinema history, Toshirō Mifune left behind a staggering body of work amassing over 150 starring roles. Born on April 1, 1920, a retrospective was planned for 2020 timed to his centennial and now, after a delay due to the pandemic, it will kick off next week at NYC’s Film Forum. Featuring 35mm rarities and rediscoveries imported from the libraries of The Japan Foundation and The National Film Archive of Japan, the series will run for a whopping four weeks, from February 11 through March 10, and feature 33 films.

Ahead of the retrospective, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the trailer, edited by John Zhao, highlighting what is...

Shichinin No Samurai / Seven Samurai (1954) Direction: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi, Isao Kimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, Yoshio Tsuchiya Screenplay: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni Oscar Movies Toshiro Mifune, Seven Samurai By Dan Schneider of Cosmoetica Some films get better after repeated viewings. Akira Kurosawa's 1954 black-and-white drama Shichinin no samurai / Seven Samurai is one of them. It fully deserved winning that year's Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, as well its Academy award nominations for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (black and white) and Best Costume Design (black and white). Additionally, Seven Samurai became an international sensation and it's reported to have been the highest-grossing Japanese film of its day. [Note: Spoilers ahead.] On first view, Seven Samurai is simply a great action film; but with subsequent viewings, the finer points of characterization come through, subliminally and purposefully seeping into the viewer's mind. [...]...