Akira Kurosawa quotes

Akira Kurosawa was a renowned Japanese film director and screenwriter, celebrated as one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history. His visionary storytelling and innovative techniques inspired generations of directors around the world. He directed classics like "Seven Samurai" and "Rashomon," earning international acclaim for Japanese cinema. Here are 18 of his quotes:

I can't afford to hate anyone. I don't have that kind of time.

Akira Kurosawa

There is nothing that says more about its creator than the work itself.

Akira Kurosawa

Man is a genius when he is dreaming.

Akira Kurosawa

but ignorance is a kind of insanity in the human animal. People who delight in torturing defenseless children or tiny creatures are in reality insane. The terrible thing is that people who are madmen in private may wear a totally bland and innocent expression in public.

Akira Kurosawa

Although human beings are incapable of talking about themselves with total honesty, it is much harder to avoid the truth while pretending to be other people.

Akira Kurosawa

Cinema is a truly valuable means of connecting people.

Akira Kurosawa

No matter where I go in the world, although I can't speak any foreign language, I don't feel out of place. I think of the earth as my home. If everyone thought this way, people might notice just how foolish international friction is, and they would put an end to it. We are, after all, at a point where it is almost narrow-minded to think merely in geocentric terms. Human beings have launched satellites into outer space, and yet they still grovel on earth looking at their own feet like wild dogs. What is to become of our planet?

Akira Kurosawa

The role of the artist is to not look away.

Akira Kurosawa

Human beings are unable to be honest with themselves about themselves. They cannot talk about themselves without embellishing.

Akira Kurosawa

Movie directors, or should I say people who create things, are very greedy and they can never be satisfied... That's why they can keep on working. I've been able to work for so long because I think next time, I'll make something good.

Akira Kurosawa

To be an artist means never to avert one's eyes.

Akira Kurosawa

A film should appeal to sophisticated, profound-thinking people while at the same time entertaining simplistic people. A truly good movie is really enjoyable too. There's nothing complicated about it. A truly good movie is interesting and easy to understand.

Akira Kurosawa

Although human beings are incapable of talking about themselves with total honesty, it is much harder to avoid the truth while pretending to be other people. They often reveal much about themselves in a very straightforward way. I am certain that I did. There is nothing that says more about its creator than the work itself.

Akira Kurosawa

I like silent pictures and I always have. They are often so much more beautiful than sound pictures are. Perhaps they had to be.

Akira Kurosawa

You say that you can't understand this script at all, but that is because the human heart itself is impossible to understand. If you focus on the impossibility of truly understanding human psychology and read the script one more time, I think you will grasp the point of it.

Akira Kurosawa

Egoism is a sin the human being carries with him from birth; it is the most difficult to redeem.

Akira Kurosawa