Most of his later films were made only through outside supporters: French producer Serge Silberman (Ran), U.S. directors Francis Coppola and George Lucas (Kagemusha).

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia

After Dersu Uzala was Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior), winner of the Cannes Palme d'Or in 1980, and Ran (Chaos, 1985), an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear which won him an Academy Award nomination for best director - a feat almost unheard of for a foreign-language film.

CNN: Kurosawa Akira