Kumokiri Nizaemon (1978)

Yôjinbô (1961)

A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.

Highly influential, much copied Kurosawa masterpiece is flawlessly scripted and staged, tough, very violent and witty, and Mifune plays as if he was born for the role.

Halliwell****: "Masterful, beautifully composed, witty movie that inspired the 'spaghetti Western' cycle when it was remade by Sergio Leone as A Fistful of Dollars."

Maltin****: "Superb tongue-in-cheek samurai picture, the plot of which resembles a Western; Mifune is perfection as samurai...Beautiful on all counts..."

Kagemusha (1980)

A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double, and when the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.

From memory: A grand Japanese epic making elaborately made like a masterpiece painting; a master director at the peak of his art; the battle scenes are awe-inspiring.

Halliwell***: "Fascinating Japanese epic centring on stately ritual and court intrigue, with the occasional battle for spectacular action; one of the director's most impressive works."

Maltin***: "Grand combination of humanism and spectacle from a great filmmaker in the twilight of his career."