Talk:Akira Kurosawa

message: I suggest someone add the quote listed in the NY Times that says "I suppose all of my films have a common theme, Mr. Kurosawa once told the film scholar Donald Richie. If I think about it, though, the only theme I can think of is really a question: Why can't people be happier together? "
I don't think that's the full truth of the matter, there are other reoccurring themes, but it's a good start.
Personally, I find that Kurosawa has taken a pretty strong stance against fighting and war as a means to a good end. This might be what he is referring to in his above statement. This is evident in the Seven Samurai at the end when the samurai are disappointed that they fought a war for the peasants who were ungrateful. In Kagemusha the story also ends in a bloody battle that the protagonists tried to prevent from occurring. In Dreams, there are several stories where war has caused major problems, one in which the main character, a veteran has a dream of his dead war comrades as well as the story about the horned demons who exist because of radiation caused by a nuclear blast. 
There might be a slight connection between the theme of "nothing is ever as it initially appears" or "Hidden Identity" as well. Rashomon is the biggest example, but in the Hidden fortress, the two peasants are unsuspecting of the princess and the general because of their false identity. Kagemusha also supports this theme with the "shadow warrior" of the late lord. Seven Samurai has Mifune's character, who is actually a farmer not a true blue samurai. (and don't quote me on this one, but I believe in Ikiru the main character starts out by telling those around him, the girl and the writer, that he is someone who he is not. I will have to rewatch that one to find out for certain). 
In general, I agree with your last point, although I might call it "buried identity" or "suppressed identity," which in the course of the story slowly emerges. In RED BEARD, the talented but selfish young doctor prides himself on his skills but despises the poverty of the clinic and its poor. By the end, his compassionate self has emerged and his determination to serve others. This is symbolized by the moment when, for the first time, he puts on the same humble uniform as the other doctors. In KAGEMUSHA, the trickster imposter gradually assumes the self-sacrificing nobility of the ruler he impersonates. In THE SEVEN SAMURAI, the wild farmer's son (Toshiro Mifune) lives and dies as bravely as the samurai he yearned to be--indeed, he has become a samurai.
Younggoldchip (talk) 16:42, 11 February 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Common Themes 

message: What does this mean?  "In 1990, he accepted the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Posthumously, he was named "Asian of the Century" in the "Arts, Literature, and Culture" category by AsianWeek magazine and CNN, cited there as being among the five people who most prominently contributed to the improvement of Asia in the 20th century."Kdammers (talk) 04:44, 13 September 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  unclear 

message: Why do we have only one close image of Kurosawa-sensei from the 1950s and one very small image of him in a group picture? Why on earth are there images of people like Dostoyevski, Ed McBain, Steven Spielberg, and a bust of Ingmar Bergman, but no later pictures of the subject of the article? I'm not the best person for the job, but I think there should be at least one more recent image of the subject of the article; probably more.
*Septegram*Talk*Contributions* 17:47, 22 October 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Images