Akira Kurosawa: Every Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Drunken Angel marked a major landmark in Kurosawa's career, since it's the first film to have both Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura sharing a screen, working off each other like they've being doing it for years and plan to for many more.

In his first role for the director, Mifune plays a weary yakuza who's diagnosed with turberculosis and forms a friendship with Shimura's alcoholic doctor whilst coming to terms with the way he's lived his life.

Anchored by its two fiery leads and Kurosawa's keen eye for tension, Drunken Angel was considered by the director to be his first great film, and it's hard to argue with his assessment. It's as violent as it is bleak, as comical as it is heartfelt, and refuses to hold back in its depiction of crime and addiction, with unforgettably crushing results.