# What is the best Akira Kurosawa movie of all time?

> From samurai epics to intimate character studies, Kurosawa's filmography spans decades of breathtaking cinematic invention — spanning black-and-white masterworks and sweeping color epics alike. Which one stands above the rest?

*By YPB Team · Published April 9, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-akira-kurosawa-movie-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Seven Samurai**
   An epic tale of seven samurai hired to defend a poor village from ruthless bandits, widely considered one of the greatest films ever made.
2. **Rashomon**
   A murder in a grove is recounted by four witnesses, each with their own contradictory version of events, in this landmark exploration of truth and perception.
3. **Yojimbo**
   A wandering samurai plays two warring crime families against each other in a corrupt town, inspiring countless Western films.
4. **Sanjuro**
   The scruffy ronin Sanjuro helps a group of naive young samurai navigate clan politics and corruption in this witty sequel to Yojimbo.
5. **Ran**
   An aging warlord divides his kingdom among his three sons, unleashing treachery, war, and tragedy in Kurosawa's magnificent adaptation of King Lear.
6. **Ikiru**
   A dying bureaucrat spends his final months searching for meaning and ultimately finds purpose in completing one small, lasting good deed for his community.
7. **Kagemusha**
   A petty thief is chosen to impersonate a dying warlord in this visually stunning meditation on war, identity, and the illusion of power.
8. **High and Low**
   A wealthy businessman faces a moral crisis when kidnappers accidentally abduct his chauffeur's son instead of his own in this gripping crime thriller.
9. **The Hidden Fortress**
   Two greedy peasants unwittingly aid a general and a princess escaping enemy territory, the film that directly inspired George Lucas's Star Wars.
10. **Dersu Uzala**
   A Russian explorer and a wise Siberian hunter form a deep friendship while surveying the remote wilderness in this Oscar-winning Soviet-Japanese co-production.
11. **Stray Dog**
   A young detective searches desperately for his stolen pistol through the sweltering ruins of postwar Tokyo in this tense noir thriller.
12. **Dreams**
   Kurosawa's most personal film, a series of eight visually stunning vignettes inspired by his own dreams, exploring nature, war, and the human condition.

Tags: japanese, 20th-century, movies, directors, japan, kurosawa