Over eight weeks, we’ll see four films by Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa (1910-98), paired with an American or European film the following week that was inspired by his original. There will be time for class discussion following each film.

The paired films are:

Rashomon (1950) and The Outrage (Martin Ritt: 1964), each depicting a crime and how it was witnessed from the perspectives of those present.

Ikiru (1952) and Living (Oliver Hermanus: 2022), each depicting the decisions that an elderly man makes upon learning that he has terminal cancer.

Seven Samurai (1954) and The Magnificent Seven (John Sturgis: 1960), each about the plight of poor villagers, beset by thieves, who hire some fighters to protect them.

Yojimbo (1961) and A Fistful of Dollars (Sergio Leone: 1964), each about a stranger who finds himself in a town caught in a war between rivals, each rival seeking to engage the stranger’s sword/gunfighting skills for their side.

Kurosawa’s career spanned five decades and 30 films, making him widely recognized as one of the greatest and most influential in his profession.

There are no required books for this course.