Mifune: The Last Samurai

Mifune: The Last Samurai, also known as Mifune, is a 2015 biographical documentary directed and co-written by Steven Okazaki. It chronicles the life of Toshiro Mifune, a Japanese actor and international star most noted for playing samurai characters in films by Akira Kurosawa.

Cast

 * Toshiro Mifune (archival footage) as himself
 * Akira Kurosawa (archival footage) as himself
 * Kyōko Kagawa as herself
 * Yoko Tsukasa as herself
 * Yoshio Tsuchiya as himself
 * Takeshi Kato as himself
 * Kaoru Yachigusa as herself
 * Yosuke Natsuki as himself
 * Terumi Niki as herself
 * Steven Spielberg as himself
 * Martin Scorsese as himself
 * Shiro Mifune as himself
 * Hisao Kurosawa as himself
 * Teruyo Nogami as herself
 * Tadao Sato as himself
 * Sadao Nakajima as himself
 * Haruo Nakajima as himself
 * Kanzo Uni as himself
 * Wataru Akashi as himself
 * Kōji Yakusho as himself
 * Keanu Reeves as narrator

Production
Mifune was produced by Toshiaki Nakazawa, known for producing 13 Assassins and Sukiyaki Western Django.

Writing
Mifune is inspired by the book Samurai: Hyōden Mifune Toshirō (Samurai: A Biography of Mifune Toshirō) by Matsuda Michiko.

Release
Mifune officially opened on November 25, 2016 at the IFC Center in New York City, over a year after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2015.

Its opening coincided with Toshiro Mifune being honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—the ceremony also featured a screening of the film.

Home media
On April 25, 2017, Netflix began streaming Mifune in the United States on the same day as its DVD release.

Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.

On Metacritic, the film has a score of 64 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Awards and nominations

 * Venice Film Festival (2015)
 * Nominated – Best Documentary on Cinema – Steven Okazaki
 * Hawaii International Film Festival (2016)
 * Nominated – Documentary Feature – Steven Okazaki
 * Denver International Film Festival (2016)
 * Nominated – Best Documentary – Steven Okazaki