Main content | Search | Section navigation menu | Site-wide navigation menu

Main menu

 
 
 

Toshiro Mifune

Actor

 
Drunken AngelDrunken Angel (Yoidore tenshi) (1948)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura
The film that made Toshiro Mifune a star – playing a petty gangster with TB, who turns to an alcoholic doctor for help after a shoot–out.…
Stray DogStray Dog (Nora Inu) (1949) Recommended
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune
An early film noir from Japan’s best–known director tracks police detective Toshiro Mifune into the underbelly of Tokyo in search of a pistol…
Quiet Duel, TheQuiet Duel, The (Shizukanaru ketto) (1949)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura
A pre–RED BEARD Toshiro Mifune plays an idealistic doctor who fatally contracts syphilis from performing surgery in this minor Kurosawa…
ScandalScandal (Shubun) (1950)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Shirley Yamaguchi, Takashi Shimura
This excellent early Kurosawa, has Mifune playing a painter who becomes acquainted with a pop–singer, and thus the target of a tabloid…
RashomonRashomon (1951) Recommended
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori
The film that brought Kurosawa to the attention of the world, and an Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. Four wildly varying perspectives on a…
Idiot, TheIdiot, The (Hakuchi) (1951) Recommended
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Setsuko Hara, Masayuki Mori
Flawed but compelling adaptation of Dostoyevsky's classic novel of human frailty, in which a madman and war criminal (Mori), is released from an…
Life of OharuLife of Oharu (1953)
Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
Feat. Kinuyo Tanaka, Toshiro Mifune
The prolific, though rarely seen dir. Mizoguchi came to attention with this chronicled downfall of a court–concubine in 17th century Japan,…
Seven Samurai, TheSeven Samurai, The (1954) Aro Favourite
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune
Kurosawa's classic 'Eastern Western' about a village who hire an elite band of warriors to fend off marauders. Compassionate storytelling with combat…
Samurai Trilogy, TheSamurai Trilogy, The (Musashi Miyamoto, Duel at Ichijoji Temple, Duel at Ganryu Island) (1954-1956) Recommended
Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune
Sweeping saga of a legendary 17th century samurai Musashi Miyamoto, that made an icon of actor Toshiro Mifune. Played out against the turmoil of a…
I Live in FearI Live in Fear (Ikimono no Kiroku) (1955)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura
Convinced a nuclear holocaust is imminent, an elderly industrialist (Mifune) decides to uproot his reluctant family (even his mistresses!) from Tokyo…
Throne of BloodThrone of Blood (1957)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
Kurosawa transposes MacBeth into a Samurai setting and the result justifies his reputation. Nothing short of an awesome spectacle Shakespeare himself…
Lower Depths, TheLower Depths, The (Donzoko) (1957)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Kyoko Kagawa, Isuzu Yamada
Arresting Maxim Gorky stage adaptation (previously filmed by Jean Renoir) is transposed to Japan’s Edo–era slums. Social realisms and the…
Hidden FortressHidden Fortress (1958)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune
Toshiro Mifune displays astounding skill with horse and sword as the ultimate warrior in this innovative amalgam of fairy–tale and Samurai…
Samurai SagaSamurai Saga (Aru kengo no shogai) (1959)
Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa
Feudal Japanese retelling of Rostand's 'Cyrano de Bergerac', with the charismatic Toshiro Mifune as the shogun–poet with a…
Bad Sleep Well, TheBad Sleep Well, The (1960)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune
A contemporary gangster saga that uses a Hamlet–esque narrative to indict corporate and political corruption. Government officials were not…
YojimboYojimbo (1961) Recommended
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa
Mercenary Sanjuro walks into town and sells his services to both factions of rival gangs – to stand back and watch them destroy each other.…
Daredevil in the CastleDaredevil in the Castle (Osaka jo monogatari) (1961)
Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Kyoko Kagawa, Yuriko Hoshi
Another solid genre excursion from seasoned dir. Hiroshi Inagaki (THE SAMURAI TRILOGY), with Toshiro Mifune again taking the lead as a despondent,…
SanjuroSanjuro (1962)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai
The sequel to YOJIMBO unravels the story of nine would–be Samurai unveiling a government corruption ring. Kurosawa adopts a satirical…
47 Ronin, The47 Ronin, The (Genroku chushingura) (1962)
Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Setsuko Hara
A grand and spectacular take on a famous Japanese legend, with 47 ronin (masterless samurai) in feudal Japan seeking revenge on those responsible for…
High and LowHigh and Low (1963) Aro Favourite
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune
Adapted from a crime–novel by Ed McBain, this kidnapping–thriller is a central work in dir. Kurosawa’s series of film noirs, combining…
Samurai PirateSamurai Pirate (Daitozoku) (1963)
Dir. Senkichi Taniguchi
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Mie Hama, Kumi Mizuno
Odd hybrid of feudal Japan and swashbuckler fantasy, with Toshiro Mifune as a ruffian sailor assigned with rescuing a captive King’s daughter from…
Red BeardRed Beard (Akahige) (1965)
Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki
An unusual hospital drama from dir. Kurosawa, collaborating for the final time with Mifune, who here plays a tough doctor coaching an intern (Kayama)…
Samurai AssassinSamurai Assassin (1965) Recommended
Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Keiju Kobayashi, Michiyo Aratana
Sharply delivered samurai epic based on the infamous Sakurada Gate Incident of 1860 in which a high–ranking shogunite official was assassinated…
Grand PrixGrand Prix (1966)
Dir. John Frankenheimer
Feat. James Garner, Yves Montand, Eva Marie Saint
James Garner, Yves Montand and others rival for the Formula One championship in this exciting sports epic. Split–screen effects and widescreen…
Sword of DoomSword of Doom (Dai-bosatsu tôge) (1966) Recommended
Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai
Based on a long–running Japanese newspaper serial, this stars Tatsuya Nakadai as an evil wandering samurai in feudal Japan who sees himself as…
Hell in the PacificHell in the Pacific (1968) Recommended
Dir. John Boorman
Feat. Lee Marvin, Toshiro Mifune
American GI Lee Marvin encounters lone Japanese soldier Toshiro Mifune on a remote Pacific island. A series of tense confrontations unfolds, expertly…
Red LionRed Lion (Akage) (1969)
Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Shiwa Iwashita
A fine samurai comedy from dir. Okamoto (KILL!), has a luckless soldier (Toshiro Mifune) don a brilliant red hairpiece (thus impersonating a…
Zatoichi Meets YojimboZatoichi Meets Yojimbo (Zatoichi 20) (1970)
Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
Feat. Shintaro Katsu, Toshiro Mifune
An enjoyable spin on the Japanese samurai genre, depicts a comedic rivalry between Katsu and Mifune in a secluded mountain village. Although lacking…
Incident at Blood Pass, TheIncident at Blood Pass, The (Machibuse) (1970)
Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Shintaro Katsu
Pedigree shogun face off between genre icons Mifune and Katsu in a tautly conceived show down over hijacked gold between a remote mountain pass.…
Red SunRed Sun (1971)
Dir. Terence Young
Feat. Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Toshiro Mifune
Exotic western with samurai elements that boasts an international cast. The plot involves a munhunt to retrieve a ceremonial Japanese sword from a…
19411941 (1979)
Dir. Steven Spielberg
Feat. John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Toshiro Mifune
The dir.’s only real commercial failure, this loose slapstick comedy, set in a Californian seaside town visited by a Japanese submarine in 1941,…
Bushido Blade, TheBushido Blade, The (1979)
Dir. Shusei Kotani
Feat. Richard Boone, Frank Converse, James Earl Jones
Predating SHOGUN by a year, this martial arts adventure set in mid–19th century Japan, has an American marine (Boone) pledged to recover the…
Winter KillsWinter Kills (1979)
Dir. William Richert
Feat. Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins
Low–key but satisfying 'redux' of the Kennedy assassination posits a parallel scenario where the half–brother of an assassinated…
Shogun (Mini Series)Shogun (Mini Series) (1980) Recommended
Dir. Jerry London
Feat. Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune
Exciting TV mini–series version of James Clavell's novel set in Feudal Japan, here in its complete form (DVD) or as a cut–down movie…

Results Page   | 1 |    Paginate

Display
Display
Order
Order