The Directorspective: Akira Kurosawa (Part of Aspects of Japanese Cinema)

Date: 3 - 19 December 2010
Venue: Barbican Cinema, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS
Tel: 020 7638 8891
E-mail: film@barbican.org.uk
Web: www.barbican.org.uk/film
Organiser: Barbican Cinema
Film tickets: £8.50 online / £10.50 full price; Members £6.50 online / £8.50 full price; Concessions £7.50; Under 15 £5.50 subject to availability

Curated by Japanese film expert Helen McCarthy, the season demonstrates this master film maker’s thrilling artistry and marks the centenary of Kurosawa’s birth on 23 March 1910.

Fri 3 Dec 6pm
Introduced by Helen McCarthy.
Throne Of Blood (Kumonosu jo) 12A
Kurosawa's unforgettable transposition of Macbeth to the ghostly forests and grim castles of medieval Japan in the Age of Warring States..
Japan 1957 Dir. Akira Kurosawa 109 min.

8.45pm
Rashomon 12A
Set in feudal Japan, Kurosawa's master work is a compelling exploration of the nature of truth, as various witnesses present their diverse accounts of a rape and murder in 12th century Kyoto. Presented on a newly restored digital print.
Japan 1950 Dir. Akira Kurosawa 87 min.

Wed 8 Dec , 6pm
Drunken Angel (Yoidore tenshi) PG
A feast of striking imagery this intense and powerful thriller initiated Kurosawa’s rewarding collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. Mifune's flashy gangster outfits and the Western dress of the other characters form a stark contrast to Kurosawa's historical dramas.
Japan 1948 Dir. Akira Kurosawa 98 min.

8.30pm
The Hidden Fortress (Kakushi-toride no san-akunin) PG
A light-hearted romp in war-torn feudal Japan. Kurosawa’s first experiment with the Tohoscope widescreen format which was an inspiration for George Lucas’s Star Wars.
Japan 1958 Dir. Akira Kurosawa 139 min

Thu 9 Dec , 7pm
Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) PG
In sixteenth century Japan, a convicted robber with a striking resemblance to a mortally wounded warlord is spared execution in order to impersonate the ruler after his death. This vividly colourful epic uses 5000 extras for the final battle sequence.
Japan 1980 Dir. Akira Kurosawa 181 min.

Sun 19 Dec , 2.30pm
Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) PG
In 16th century feudal Japan seven samurai warriors defend a village from a marauding band of ruthless outlaws. Kurosawa's epic achievement is a cornerstone of world cinema, which again brought Japanese cinema to amazed audiences in the West.