A sweltering summer in postwar Tokyo. A rookie detective’s pistol is stolen on a packed bus, and with it, his sense of control. What begins as a frantic search for a missing weapon spirals into a haunting journey through the city’s underbelly—and into the heart of a man pushed to the edge.

Toshiro Mifune delivers a raw, magnetic performance as Murakami, the young cop whose pursuit of a desperate criminal becomes a mirror to his own inner turmoil. With Takashi Shimura as the seasoned mentor who keeps him grounded, Stray Dog is a gripping noir and a searing portrait of a society in flux. Newly reissued by the BFI earlier this year, Kurosawa’s early masterpiece remains as urgent and psychologically rich as ever.

We kicked off the year with Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. Now, join us for a pair of gripping crime dramas that reveal another side of his genius. Both Stray Dog (14 July) and High and Low (21 July) showcase Kurosawa’s mastery of tense, socially conscious storytelling amid the complexities of postwar Japan.