Akira Kurosawa Mini-Season at Showroom Cinema

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

10 — 28 November 2021 Tickets from £7.00 — Book now

There’s a reason that Akira Kurosawa remains one of the best known Japanese filmmakers, some eighty years on from his debut feature. From bracing crime flicks, to socially-driven dramas and thrusting epics, the director made over thirty films across fifty years, each one infused with a wit and visual style that was distinctively his. Indeed, he helped define not only post-war Japanese cinema, but genre cinema globally, with a continuing influence that stretches from Sergio Leone and George Lucas to George Miller and Jim Jarmusch.

Kurosawa’s most popular works were alongside star Toshiro Mufune (the pair collaborated on fifteen films in total), and those in the samurai genre — and it is these that Showroom have decided to focus on for their three title mini-season this November. The films start with 1954’s iconic Seven Samurai (Wed 10 – Sun 14 Nov), in which a village of farmers hire seven ronin (Mifune included) to defend them against a group of marauding bandits.

Then, 1957’s Throne of Blood (Wed 17 – Sun 21 Nov) reimagines Shakespeare’s Macbeth to stunning effect. Set in feudal Japan and shot around Mount Fuji, the film works towards a visceral conclusion, where flaming arrows and driving rain deliver some of the most memorably graphic images in the director’s career. Finally, 1961’s Yojimbo (Wed 24 – Sun 28 Nov) sees Mifune as a masterless samurai who plays two competing crime bosses against each other. Famously remade by Leone in 1964 as A Fistful of Dollars, this is Kurosawa at his most blisteringly entertaining.

10 — 28 November 2021 Tickets from £7.00 Book now

Where to go near Akira Kurosawa Mini-Season at Showroom Cinema

Manchester
Restaurant
New Wave Ramen

New Wave Ramen is a stylish, friendly Japanese ramen bar and restaurant on Tib Lane in the heart of Manchester.

caprismcr - restaurant
City Centre
Restaurant
Capri’s Cucina Italiana

The King Street area isn’t short of popular Italian restaurants, but none strike quite the same note as Capri’s, where you’ll be greeted like family and served some of the most authentic Neapolitan food in Manchester.

The Feel Good Club exterior
Manchester
Event venue
Feel Good Club

Our flagship Feel Good Club in Manchester, open 7 days a week, providing a beautiful friendly environment for coffee, brunch, lunch, cocktails and beers with an amazing selection of non alcoholic beverages too.

Ancoats
Bar or Pub
Finders Keepers

Welcoming waterside bar in New Islington Marina, serving a wide array of carefully-curated cocktails.

City Centre
Restaurant
Climat

Highly-regarded wine-led, French-leaning wine bar and rooftop restaurant in the city centre.

Image licensed with iStock.
Stockport
Library
Stockport Central Library

Stockport Central Library is a Carnegie library, built 1913–15 in the Edwardian Baroque style. It continues to serve as Stockport’s largest library.

The Edge exterior
Wigan
Event venue
The Edge, Wigan

Opened in September 2017, The Edge Arena is Wigan’s performance, conference and event venue.

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