TCM (Turner Classic Movies) will present a 100th birthday tribute to actor Toshiro Mifune (1920-1997) on Wednesday, April 1.
Mifune appeared in over 150 feature films and is best known for his 16-film collaboration with director Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), including the 10 selected for this tribute.
The schedule is as follows (Pacific Standard Time):
3 a.m.: “Drunken Angel” (1948). An alcoholic doctor builds a shaky friendship with a dying gangster.
4:45 a.m.: “Stray Dog” (1949). When a detective’s gun is stolen, he tears apart the underworld to get it back.
7 a.m.: “The Hidden Fortress” (1959). A samurai fights to save a feudal lord’s daughter from bandits.
9:30 a.m.: “Sanjuro” (1962). A wandering samurai recruits younger fighters to help him battle corruption.
11:15 a.m.: “Red Beard” (1965). A tough doctor takes a young intern under his wing.
2:30 p.m.: “High and Low” (1963). Kidnappers mistake a chauffeur’s son for the child of a wealthy businessman.
5 p.m.: “Seven Samurai” (1956). Villagers hire a team of traveling samurai to defend them against a bandit attack.
8:45 p.m.: “Rashomon” (1950). In medieval Japan, four people offer conflicting accounts of a rape and murder.
10:30 p.m.: “Yojimbo” (1961). A samurai-for-hire sets the warring factions of a town against each other.
12:30 a.m.: “Throne of Blood” (1957). Spurred by his wife and a witch’s prediction, a samurai murders his lord to steal the throne.