Cold Open · Essay · jun 27, 2025

What Akira Kurosawa Taught Us About Movies – And Morality

Akira Kurosawa is the director most likely to be cited as a direct influence by the directors everyone else is citing as influences. Elliot and Kiriko trace the specific quality of his filmmaking — the rain, the violence, the moral ambiguity that never resolves into certainty — through Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ikiru, and High and Low. What does Kurosawa do with the question of truth that makes it feel different from any other filmmaker's answer? And what does it mean that his visual language has been absorbed so completely by world cinema that we sometimes forget where it came from?

By Kiriko Mechanicus

Film Journalist · Celebrating Cinema

This week, Elliot and Kiriko dive into the legendary world of Akira Kurosawa—Japan’s master filmmaker and, let’s be honest, probably your favorite director’s favorite director. From samurai epics like Seven Samurai and Rashomon to powerful character dramas like Ikiru and High and Low, Kurosawa knew how to tell a story that hits you in the heart and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

They unpack the big questions his films tackle—truth, justice, mortality—and connect the dots between Kurosawa’s personal life and the unforgettable worlds he brought to the screen. Whether you’re a longtime fan or just Kurosawa-curious, this episode is a love letter to one of cinema’s all-time greats—and a reminder that great storytelling never goes out of style.

Get tickets to ⁠The Films of Kurosawa⁠ @ LAB111

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