Ran, The Hidden Fortress, The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ikiru, Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Stray Dog, and High and Low might be better choices though I finally watched my Criteron version of Ikiru and was actually disappointed. It was a much longer cut (and sometimes needlessly longer, the hooker girls sining Rosemary Clooney was not in the version I had on VHS) For everybody's starter in Kurosawa I would suggest BOTH Yojimbo and Sanjuro, since they are the two most influenced and influential to western films that there are things in them that somebody coming to them will relate to. Throne of Blood is also a great place to start. captured by Altman's zoom lens Which is HIS Kurosawa influenced trait.