Series

Michael A. McRobbie's Choice

In September 2017, more than 30 Indiana University faculty and staff members presented gifts to endow the Michael A. McRobbie President’s Choice Film Series Fund. The series is now officially part of IU Cinema’s program every semester in perpetuity, honoring  Chancellor Michael McRobbie’s leadership and his affinity for cinema. Each semester,  Chancellor McRobbie selects films that represent some of the masterworks of cinematic art to screen in IU Cinema’s world-class theater.

Spring 2026 | Twin Blades: Kurosawa & Mifune  

“The director Akira Kurosawa and the actor Toshiro Mifune worked together on some of the most remarkable films ever made, films that have passed into legend… If you do not know their work, I envy you, because you have some of your most sublime moviegoing experiences ahead of you.” – Roger Ebert

Rarely has there been a pairing between an actor and a director so extended, so fruitful, and so legendary as that between master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and celebrated actor Toshiro Mifune. Making 16 films together over the course of their careers, the pair introduced contemporary Japanese cinema to the world, redefined connection between genre and storytelling, and inspired countless filmmakers for decades to come. Experience three of their landmark collaborations this semester as new 4K restorations.

January 24, 7pm: Throne of Blood (1957) | A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he will become lord of Spider's Web Castle. New 4K restoration!

January 31, 7pm: The Hidden Fortress (1958) | Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines. A grand-scale adventure as only Akira Kurosawa could make. New 4K restoration!

February 7, 7pm: High and Low (1963) | An executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom. New 4K restoration!

Curated by IU University Chancellor Michael A. McRobbie.