Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa (?? ? Kurosawa Akira, also ?? ?) (March 23, 1910 – September 6, 1998) was a prominent Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter of films, many of which are considered highly influential worldwide classics.

Influences

A notable feature of Kurosawa's films is the breadth of his influences. Some of his plots are adaptations of William Shakespeare's works: The Bad Sleep Well, based on Hamlet; Ran, based on King Lear; and Throne of Blood, based on Macbeth. Kurosawa also directed film adaptations of Russian novels, including The Idiot by Dostoevsky and The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky. 'Ikiru' was based on Leo Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich'. High and Low was based on a novel by American crime writer Ed McBain. Stray Dog was inspired by the detective novels of Georges Simenon. The American film director John Ford also had a large influence on his work. Despite criticism by some Japanese critics that Kurosawa was "too Western", he was deeply influenced by Japanese culture as well including the Kabuki and Noh theaters and the jidai-geki (period drama) genre of Japanese cinema.

Related Topics:
William Shakespeare - The Bad Sleep Well - Hamlet - Ran - King Lear - Throne of Blood - Macbeth - The Idiot - Dostoevsky - The Lower Depths - Maxim Gorky - High and Low - American - Crime - Ed McBain - Stray Dog - Georges Simenon - John Ford - Kabuki - Noh

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