Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) made some of the most influential films in the history of cinema. His samurai stories inspired later movies like "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964), and "Star Wars: A New Hope" (1977), and his adaptations of Shakespeare have been praised by film critics and scholars around the world. Netflix currently has a number of the great auteur's best pictures available for instant streaming. The Shakespearean films, which include "Throne of Blood" (1957), "The Bad Sleep Well" (1960), and "Ran" (1985), are not currently included in the Instant catalog, but they are available from Netflix as DVD rentals. Here are the Kurosawa films that are currently available for streaming.
"Rashomon" (1950)
"Ikiru" (1952)
"Seven Samurai" (1954)
"The Hidden Fortress" (1958)
"Sanjuro" (1960)
"Yojimbo" (1961)
"High and Low" (1963)
"Kagemusha" (1980)
"Akira Kurosawa's Dreams" (1990)
If you are new to Kurosawa, start with "Rashomon" and then move on to "Seven Samurai" and "Yojimbo." Fans of "Yojimbo" will also enjoy its sequel, "Sanjuro." The 1963 picture, "High and Low," offers something different from the director in its modern Japanese take on American film noir. The Netflix Instant catalog changes periodically, so it's hard to say how long these films will remain available for streaming.
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