Kurosawa and Mifune

For many years, Toshiro Mifune was, to many Western filmgoers, THE Japanese movie star. In the years shortly after the end of World War II, Kurosawa's films starring Mifune brought attention and glory to the Japanese movie industry (self-imposed, if truth be told), a national cinema that was isolated from Western eyes until after the war, and now, the history of which, from examples of high art, to direct to video exploitation, seems every bit as crucial to the story of World Cinema as the histories ofGermany, Italy, France, or even Hollywood. In the hyper-hip milieu of current critical and pop cine-darlings like Miike, Suzuki and "Beat" Takeshi (and I love all three), we tend to forget the impact and importance of Kurosawa and Mifune's work in opening the door, so to speak.

Here's a good Mifune appreciation site, complete with images from his films, movie reviews, and a nice collection of Kurosawa film poster cards. Here's the BFI's Kurosawa page, along with some appreciations from Bright Lights and Senses of Cinema.