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There's a whole bunch of his films I'd put squarely in my all-time list. Ikiru, Ran, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, High and Low, Dersu Uzala, Rashomon. It's one masterpiece after another. Try watching Seven Samurai and Ikiru back to back to really appreciate the genius of Takeshi Shimura as an actor.

High and Low — as good as Hitchcock. Not what most people are expecting with Kurosawa.

To quote Francis Ford Coppola, "Most directors have one masterpiece by which they are known. Kurosawa has at least eight or nine."

I completely agree! Ikiru had a huge effect on me, and I've never been able to forget Takashi Shimura's facial expressions from it.

A bit OT, but this reminded me of the story behind the “catch copy” by Shigesato Itoi [1] for Mononoke Hime, 「生きろ」

https://ghibli.jpn.org/report/mononoke-9/

(Used prominently in their marketing material including posters)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigesato_Itoi

Anyone setting out to watch this should be warned that they will cry like a little baby. At least I did.