Akira Kurosawa: Every Movie Ranked Worst To Best

10. Stray Dog (1949)

Ikiru 1952
Toho

Considered to be one of the earliest Japanese detective movies, Stray Dog is a noir crime drama that stars Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura as eager crime fighting partners in search of a stolen gun.

The ultimate buddy cop scenario, Mifune plays a hotshot trying to prove himself whilst Shimura plays his weathered guide, and for the performances alone it would have to be seen as one of Kurosawa's most accomplished and intensely rewatchable efforts.

Luckily, there's more to it than its stars - who've rarely if ever been better side-by-side - with the central mystery creating one of Kurosawa's greatest narrative hooks. Grimy and crime-ridden, it's a movie many Hollywood crime flicks aspire to, but often fall short of equalling.

Contributor

Aidan Whatman hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.