However, to his delight, the reception at the New York premiere of The Samurai and the Prisoner was rapturous. Inverse spoke with Kurosawa about making his first jidaigeki, how it connects with his past films, and why he thinks The Samurai and the Prisoner is not truly a murder-mystery movie. Anadolu/Anadolu/Getty ImagesThe Samurai and the Prisoner is a movie unlike many of your past films — one difference being this is your first movie set before the 20th century. Janus FilmsThis is also not a horror movie, like many of your past films. In that sense, I didn’t approach this in the genre of mystery as I was writing the script.