"I am not a special person. I am not especially strong; I am not especially gifted. I simply do not like to show my weakness, and I hate to lose, so I am a person who tries hard. That's all there is to me."

These humble words, voiced by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa in his Something Like an Autobiography, denote a vast understatement in the eyes of critics and film scholars. For Kurosawa, who has directed some thirty films during his prolific fifty-seven-year career, is regarded by many as the greatest Japanese filmmaker of all time, if not the most preeminent moviemaker alive today. A screenwriter as well as a director, Kurosawa has staked his reputation through award-winning films such as Rashomon, The Throne of Blood, The Seven Samurai, and Ran. His works, renowned for their depiction of the contrasting sides of humanity, frequently intermix strains of violence...