Which Kurosawa film was first produced under his own independent company?

The Bad Sleep Well was the first Kurosawa film produced under his own independent company.

After Toho grew frustrated with Kurosawa’s costly production of The Hidden Fortress, he formed Kurosawa Productions in 1959. The Bad Sleep Well, released in 1960, became the company’s first film. Kurosawa chose a contemporary story about corporate corruption rather than making a merely commercial project.

The film stars Toshiro Mifune as a man who enters a corrupt postwar company to investigate his father’s death. Its plot draws on Hamlet, while its offices, bribery, and concealed power struggles give it a distinctly modern film-noir setting.

A common mix-up is confusing the company’s first production with later famous collaborations. Yojimbo and Sanjuro followed in 1961 and 1962, while High and Low came in 1963. The Bad Sleep Well was also entered at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.