Trivia

According to his family, he rarely thought about anything other than films. Even when at home, he would sit around silently, apparently composing shots in his head.

Although the Japanese press tried to paint him as a tyrant, almost all of his casts and crews agreed he was a much more cool and detached presence on sets. Many also described him as "intense".

His films are frequently copied and remade by American and European filmmakers.

He was voted the 6th greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly, making him one among only two Asians along with Satyajit Ray (who is ranked in 25th position) on a list of 50 directors and the highest ranking non-American.

At around 6' feet, he was extremely tall by Japanese standards, having stood a head taller than any of his colleagues.

Because he could not get film financing for a period of time in his career, he directed and even appeared in Japanese television commercials.

Many of his early films were produced by Jin Usami who was also chief assistant director to Kurosawa on "Snow Trail" which was the film debut of Toshiro Mifune.

Toho Film producer Jin Usami's wife, Sayuri Tanima starred in a number of Kurosawa's early films.

He had a son Hisao (b. 20-Dec-1945), and a daughter, award-winning film costume designer Kazuko (b. 29-Apr-1954).

Having pursued painting before changing to a career in film, he would later create paintings as storyboards for several of his films. His style as a painter was influenced by Paul Cézanne, Marc Chagall, and Vincent van Gogh.