Akira Kurosawa: Every Movie Ranked Worst To Best

27. Sanshiro Sugata (1943)

Ikiru 1952
Toho

Kurosawa's first film was based on the novel of the same name by Tsuneo Tomita, and tells the story of a judoka on a mission to master his skills.

Featuring many of the traits best associated with the director, including a turbulent man versus nature finale and innovative camera movements, Sanshiro Sugata was also the first film to feature Kurosawa's most frequent collaborator, Takashi Shimura.

There are some first-time director issues, mainly with its wonky narrative structure, but all told the action debut is a promising start to a career few could have possibly foreseen.

Contributor

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