Japan/1949 — directed by Akira Kurosawa | 122 min.

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami (a young Toshiro Mifune) when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to recover the weapon, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the “stray dog” whose own desperation has driven him to a life of crime. 

But with each step, the lives of cop and criminal become increasingly intertwined. One of Kurosawa’s early breakout films, Stray Dog (Nora Inu) transcends the typical crime thriller, probing the squalid world of postwar Japan and the complex relationship between pursuer and pursued. 

Presented in a new 4K restoration, Stray Dog is the first of eight newly restored Kurosawa classics being screened at the DFT between August 22 and August 31.

“Stray Dog shows Kurosawa fully engaged with his culture, using cinema to participate as an artist. He’s on the threshold of greatness here.” — Stephen Prince, The Warrior’s Camera