If one of the definitions of a movie star is that there is no one else quite like that person (Who else is like Cary Grant? Who else is like Jack Nicholson?), then already Toshiro Mifune qualifies.
The great Japanese actor also fits other criteria for stardom, like talent, energy and arresting presence. But basically, he was unique. When Mifune came along in postwar Japanese movies, he arrived like a panther at a tea ceremony, all rough edges and bristling bravado.
It wasn’t just Japanese audiences that noticed him. The international success of films by director Akira Kurosawa, “Rashomon” (1950) and “Seven Samurai” (1954), brought this startling performer wide acclaim.
There must be a great documentary waiting to happen about this singular star; unfortunately, “Mifune: The Last Samurai” isn’t it. There are relevant clips here, and stalwart journalistic work in the way director Steven Okazaki has tracked down people who worked with Mifune. But something gets missed.
Most of the clips are drawn from Mifune’s work with Kurosawa, the filmmaker who saw in the young actor an electric presence that would light up the screen. These excerpts hit some key titles, but they don’t summon up the man.
With the filming of “Red Beard” in 1965, the collaboration of Mifune and Kurosawa ended. It’s a mystery why — the interviewees here don’t know either. Mifune was getting more shots at international films and Kurosawa was about to hit a major creative block.
Mifune appeared in Hollywood productions such as “Grand Prix” and “Hell in the Pacific,” although he never truly gained momentum in English-language pictures. The documentary alludes to drinking problems and a fondness for driving fast cars, but doesn’t dig far into any aspect of Mifune’s life.
We hear from Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg (Mifune did a comic turn in Spielberg’s “1941”). The narration doesn’t help, as spoken by a deadbeat who seems to be doing a sluggish imitation of Keanu Reeves — which turns out to be Keanu Reeves.
At 80 minutes, “Mifune” doesn’t have time for much more. The actor died in 1997 after living with Alzheimer’s for a few years.
If Toshiro Mifune is new to you, perhaps this film will do as a quick intro. Otherwise, go find “Seven Samurai,” “Yojimbo,” “High and Low,” and meet a movie star in his natural habitat.
“Mifune: The Last Samurai” (2 stars)
An unsatisfying portrait of the great Toshiro Mifune, the unbridled movie star famous for “Seven Samurai,” “Rashomon,” and other Akira Kurosawa classics. Some new interviews provide first-hand recollections of Mifune, but the film doesn’t really go deep.
Rating: Not rated; probably PG
Showing: Grand Illusion
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