title: Mifune: The Last Samurai
text: # Mifune: The Last Samurai
  
  Mifune: The Last Samurai, also known as Mifune, is a 2015 biographical documentary directed by Steven Okazaki. It chronicles the life of Toshiro Mifune, a Japanese actor and international star most noted for playing samurai characters in films by Akira Kurosawa.
  
  ## Cast
  
  * Toshiro Mifune (archival footage) as himself
  * Akira Kurosawa (archival footage) as himself
  * Kyōko Kagawa as herself
  * Yoko Tsukasa as herself
  * Yoshio Tsuchiya as himself
  * Takeshi Kato as himself
  * Kaoru Yachigusa as herself
  * Yosuke Natsuki as himself
  * Terumi Niki as herself
  * Steven Spielberg as himself
  * Martin Scorsese as himself
  * Shiro Mifune as himself
  * Hisao Kurosawa as himself
  * Teruyo Nogami as herself
  * Tadao Sato as himself
  * Sadao Nakajima as himself
  * Haruo Nakajima as himself
  * Kanzo Uni as himself
  * Wataru Akashi as himself
  * Kōji Yakusho as himself
  * Keanu Reeves as narrator
  
  ## Production
  
  Mifune was produced by Toshiaki Nakazawa, known for producing 13 Assassins and Sukiyaki Western Django.
  
  ### Writing
  
  Mifune is inspired by the book Samurai: Hyōden Mifune Toshirō (Samurai: A Biography of Mifune Toshirō) by Matsuda Michiko.
  
  ## Release
  
  Mifune officially opened on November 25, 2016 at the IFC Center in New York City, over a year after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2015.
  
  Its opening coincided with Toshiro Mifune being honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—the ceremony also featured a screening of the film.
  
  ### Home media
  
  On April 25, 2017, Netflix began streaming Mifune in the United States on the same day as its DVD release.
  
  ## Reception
  
  On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.
  
  On Metacritic, the film has a score of 64 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
  
  ## Awards and nominations
  
  ### Venice Film Festival (2015)
  
  * Nominated – Best Documentary on Cinema – Steven Okazaki
  
  ### Hawaii International Film Festival (2016)
  
  * Nominated – Documentary Feature – Steven Okazaki
  
  ### Denver International Film Festival (2016)
  
  * Nominated – Best Documentary – Steven Okazaki
  