Another gem from the Kurosawa/Mifune dream factory, this time in the form of a wonderfully compassionate story about three diligent doctors attempting to find meaning and honor while running a Shogun era Hospital. Ironically, while being one of Akira Kurosawa’s most restrained and subtle films, Red Beard still displays a truly amazing and brutal fight scene, pitting Mifune’s titular grizzly bear against a rabid gang of pimps. Pure gold.