Mifune: The Last Samurai
# Mifune: The Last Samurai

Mifune: The Last Samurai, also known as Mifune, is a 2015 biographical documentary directed 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
