Partly thanks to his collaborations with director Akira Kurosawa, actor Toshiro Mifune became a stalwart star of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema, forging a different breed of hero across a memorable batch of movies. Now his life and career is being chronicled and celebrated in Steven Okazaki's new documentary, Mifune: The Last Samurai. See the tailer below.
With Keanu Reeves as the narrator, Okazaki's film features clips from Kurosawa and Mifune's work on movies such as Seven Samurai, Rashomon and Yojimbo. The likes of Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Shiro Mifune, Takeshi Kato, Kyoko Kagawa and more are interviewed about Mifune's life and the influence of his performances.
He's an actor that other actors study, even if he never intended to get into the performing life, and the documentary doesn't shy away from his darker sides, including his love of drinking.
Mifune: The Last Samurai screened at the London Film Festival, but doesn't have a set release date yet.