Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the Japanese director widely known as “the master of horror,” is releasing his first samurai film in the United States this month, according to ABC News.
“The Samurai and the Prisoner” opens in New York and Los Angeles on July 31 and will roll out to major U.S. cities through August. The film was met with an enthusiastic response when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
The movie has also been well received in Japan, where it opened earlier this year, and ABC News reports that it may become Kurosawa’s most popular film to date. Kurosawa has directed a long list of acclaimed films, including “Wife of a Spy” and “Tokyo Sonata.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Kurosawa said he was unsure how viewers would react to working in a samurai setting for the first time. He said the genre gave him new challenges, from directing actors to shaping scenes in a world that already feels removed from everyday life.
Kurosawa said he enjoyed making the film and would like to direct another samurai project in the future, along with possibly trying a musical. He also said he intends to keep making horror films.
