Akira Kurosawa Had a Surprising Favorite Harrison Ford Movie

His movies have grossed billions, and his name is synonymous with Hollywood blockbuster royalty.

But for all the action heroes and box office hits, the one film that earned Ford his only Oscar nomination — and ended up as a personal favorite of legendary director Akira Kurosawa — was a quieter, more grounded thriller: Witness (1985).

Released at the height of Ford's stardom, Witness cast him as John Book, a Philadelphia detective assigned to protect an Amish widow (played by Kelly McGillis) and her son (Lukas Haas) after the boy witnesses a murder. Directed by Peter Weir, the film was a critical success and marked a rare moment where both Hollywood awards voters and an auteur like Kurosawa aligned in their praise.

Ford's performance was nominated for Best Actor, and Witness also received a Best Picture nomination. It remains the only time the Academy has formally recognized Ford's work.

As for Kurosawa — the legendary Japanese director behind Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Ran — he listed Witness among his 100 favorite films of all time, a list that was published after his death.

While Kurosawa never explained his reasoning, fans and critics have pointed out a few striking similarities between Witness and some of his own work:

• The film's premise — a child caught up in a dangerous crime — echoes High and Low (1963), Kurosawa's tense thriller about a kidnapping.
• The second half of Witness, where Book hides in the Amish community, parallels Seven Samurai (1954), with its focus on protecting an isolated group from outside violence.
• The final confrontation on the farm plays like a scaled-down version of Kurosawa's sweeping, carefully staged action set pieces.
• Both directors favor stories about moral duty, community, and quiet sacrifice over spectacle.

Peter Weir's approach — letting relationships and atmosphere drive the story rather than special effects — likely struck a chord with Kurosawa, who often emphasized human behavior over plot mechanics. And while Ford had shown vulnerability in earlier films, Witness was one of the few times it was allowed to be the centerpiece of the performance.

For the record:

• Witness grossed $68.7 million at the domestic box office.
• It was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning 2 (Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing).
• Harrison Ford's nomination for Best Actor remains his only Oscar nod to date.

So, while Kurosawa never weighed in on Star Wars or Blade Runner, we do know which Harrison Ford film stuck with him — and it wasn't a space opera or a whip-cracking adventure. It was a quiet thriller about a city cop learning to live by a very different set of rules.

And that's what makes it all the more surprising.