The Films of Akira Kurosawa, Third Edition, Expanded and Updated

Film scholars and enthusiasts should welcome this third edition of Donald Richie's study. The introduction and filmography contain updated information, and Richie has added chapters on Ran, Dreams, Rhapsody in August, and Madadayo.

Kurosawa remains as arguably one of the 20th century's greatest film directors. Through his long, distinguished career, he has managed, like very few others in the teeth of a huge and relentless industry, to elevate each of his films to a distinctive level of art.

His Rashomon—one of the best-remembered and most talked-about films in any language—was a revelation when it appeared in 1950 and did much to bring Japanese cinema to the world's attention. Kurosawa's films display a breadth and an astonishing strength, from the philosophic and sexual complexity of Rashomon to the moral dedication of Ikiru, from the naked violence of Seven Samurai to the savage comedy of Yojimbo, from the terror-filled feudalism of Throne of Blood to the wit of Sanjuro.