Midway (1976)

I considered saving the last U.S. war movie left on my list for a patriotic holiday, much as I like to save horrors for October. But in all likelihood, I wouldn't remember on time. Besides, I was already in the mood for something very different from what else I'd seen lately.

The story begins with the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April '42. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Tohiro Mifune overdubbed by Paul Frees) sees it as a blessing in disguise, because now his superiors will give him carte blanche for his next move. Soon after, U.S. intelligence staff supervised by Commander Joseph Rochefort (Hal Holbrook) and monitored by composite character Captain Matthew Garth (Charlton Heston) find inconclusive evidence that Japan's next target is Midway Atoll. By the time of the eponymous battle in June, U.S. naval forces are not fully prepared and consider themselves the underdog.

Scandal (1950)

No, this has nothing to do with the 2010s TV series. This is an Akira Kurosawa film from the same year as Rashômon, which would explain why it gets overshadowed.

Somewhat famous painter Ichiro Aoye (Toshirō Mifune) and more famous singer Miyako Saijo (Yoshiko Yamaguchi) happen to stay at the same hotel, and they engage in friendly conversation on a balcony. Alas, it looks juicy enough for photojournalists to spin a tryst tale. Aoye threatens a lawsuit, but Saijo would rather keep quiet and wait for the whole thing to blow over. Editor Asai (Shinichi Himori) believes that Amour magazine will be most profitable doubling down on its false version of events. Aoye hires the first lawyer to approach him, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), despite the latter having nowhere near the repute of the defense. Hiruta does sympathize, but he can hardly resist Asai waving money at him to take a dive....

Stray Dog (1949)

For my first Akira Kurosawa film in more than a year, I chose one that Kurosawa himself didn't think much of but that has enjoyed plenty of popularity, as well as at least one remake. It also reputedly was a lot of fun for the makers, which I find surprising for such a serious work.

Murakami (young Toshirô Mifune), a novice police detective in the Tokyo homicide division, has just bombed at a shooting range when his day gets worse: A pickpocket on the trolley takes his fully loaded compact pistol. Fearing for his career among other things, he tries to trace the gun himself. When a bullet fired in a crime matches one retrieved from a memorable misfire at his target practice, he asks to team up with a more experienced detective, Satō (Takashi Shimura).

The Lower Depths (1957)

Not for the first time, Akira Kurosawa directs an adaptation of Russian literature, albeit a Maxim Gorky play in this case. I see that another Japanese director beat him to it by 36 years, but of course, that silent version can't possibly be as popular overseas. This one includes quite a few actors I've seen in many other movies, but the only name likely to mean something to you is top-billed Toshirō Mifune.

Like Dodes'ka-den, it follows lots of people in a shantytown and dumpsite. Unlike Dodes'ka-den, it takes place mostly in one large room (yeah, one of those plays), in a tenement with tilting walls. You could say that the action begins with the arrival of a new elderly tenant, who serves not only to stand in for the audience as a newcomer but to try to improve the sorry situations of others. He seems almost saintly, if a bit prone to well-meaning lies, but shows evidence of a guilty past.

Drunken Angel (1948)

It had been more than 1.5 years since my last Akira Kurosawa viewing. More than 2.5 years since my last characteristic Kurosawa viewing. And just about half a year since my last viewing to make me nostalgic for Kurosawa. So I was rather glad to discover what Netflix had delivered while I was off on vacation.

Dr. Sanada (Takashi Shimura) treats Matsunaga (Toshirō Mifune) initially for an injury hinting at gang violence, but that's not as great a concern as the compelling evidence of tuberculosis. Matsunaga doesn't take this news well at all, as being a yakuza makes any sign of weakness dangerous; besides, TB hinders his ability to enjoy vices. Complicating matters is the return of his boss from prison, who incidentally used to be in a relationship with Sanada's assistant....

Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015)

I had seen Toshirō Mifune in a dozen films, only one of them not directed by Akira Kurosawa. Even when he's not the main character, he has a habit of capturing our attention. So I accepted the Meetup invitation to a documentary about him, tho my dad declined.

Actually, this isn't entirely about Mifune. Before getting into even his parentage and infancy (with cute photos care of his professional photographer dad), the doc presents the earliest history of motion pictures in Japan, with a focus on silent, Noh-inspired samurai shorts. I'm somewhat impressed that clips survive in any capacity. Late in the doc, we learn a little about the career of Kurosawa in the absence of Mifune.

Hakuchi/The Idiot (1951)

I've long known Akira Kurosawa to take inspiration from westerns and Shakespeare plays for his samurai epics. But while I'd seen some dramas of his set in contemporary Japan, it didn't occur to me that they, too, might owe something to foreign artists. In this case, it's the Fyodor Dostoevsky novel with the same title in English.

I picked this one out of curiosity, not for its literary basis but for its DVD case description as having had an especially troubled production and an initially lukewarm reception. It certainly gained popularity after spreading to other countries, judging from its 7.5 on IMDb and 75% on Rotten Tomatoes. The main signs of production problems come in the form of strange scene shifts and inconsistent handling of narration (or lack thereof): Early on, we get a few intertitles, despite this being far from a silent movie; later we get a brief anonymous voiceover, and that's it. We may have to blame the cutting of more than 1.5 hours, tho it still runs more than 2.5.