After a battle with rival criminals, a small-time gangster is treated by an alcoholic doctor in post-war Japan. The doctor diagnoses the young gangster's tuberculosis, and convinces him to begin treatment for it. The two enjoy an uneasy friendship until the gangster's former boss is released from prison and seeks to take over his gang once again.
Drunken Angel is notable for being the first collaboration between director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune, who would go on to make 16 films together. In this one, Mifune's character fits him like a hand in glove. He's just as charismatic as he is cool, and is perfect for the gangster noir-feel of the movie. In early drafts of the script, the story was to be almost entirely about the doctor (played by Takashi Shimura), but Kurosawa was so impressed by Mifune that he their parts equal in screen-time.
The best start you could wish for in a Kurosawa-movie-marathon.
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
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