Akira Kurosawa is one of the most recognisable and influential film directors in the world, with Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, Martin Scorcese and George Lucas all naming him as a major benchmark in their own filmmaking. This new biography by his long-time friend and collaborator gives the reader a priveleged look into the life and working processes of the director of Rashomon (Daiei, 1950) and Seven Samurai (Columbia, 1954).