Mifune: The Last Samurai — Trailer

added: Fri, Oct 14th '16

Best known for his collaborations with legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, iconic film actor Toshiro Mifune, whose influential career spanned almost five decades until his death in 1997, is the fascinating subject matter of the forthcoming documentary "Mifune: The Last Samurai."

Critically acclaimed documentarian Steven Okazaki, who won an Oscar for the 1990 documentary short "Days of Waiting" about the Japanese American Internment Camps during WWII and also nabbed an Emmy for the 2007 HBO documentary "White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," explores Toshiro Mifune's life from his days as a rebellious youth to his years working with Kurosawa on such classic samurai films as "Rashomon," "Throne of Blood," "Yojimbo," and, of course, "Seven Samurai."

Narrated by Keanu Reeves and featuring interviews with Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, "Mifune: The Last Samurai" will open in New York on November 25, and in Los Angeles on December 2, and San Francisco December 9, with additional cities to follow. Watch the trailer, above.

synopsis:
Nearly 20 years after his death, Toshiro Mifune remains a true giant of world cinema. He made 16 remarkable films with director Akira Kurosawa, including Rashomon, Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, and together they shook the film world, inspiring not only The Magnificent Seven and Clint Eastwood's breakthrough movie, A Fistful of Dollars, but also George Lucas' Star Wars. MIFUNE: THE LAST SAMURAI, the new feature-length documentary by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki, explores the evolution of the samurai film; Mifune's childhood and World War II experience; his accidental entry into the movies; and dynamic but sometimes turbulent collaboration with Kurosawa.

Mifune -- wry, charismatic and deadly -- was the first non-white action star. "A lot of people try to imitate Mifune, especially when they're playing strong and silent," says Steven Spielberg," but nobody can. He was unique in all the world."

directed by Steven Okazaki

release date November 25, 2016 (NY), December 2, 2016 (LA), December 9, 2016 (SF); other cities to follow