Good on Akira Kurosawa calling out A Fistful of Dollars for ripping off his movie

I've been getting into his movies lately and am realizing that he truly was one of the most influential film directors that ever lived! Yojimbo is next on my list and I was reading up on how the landmark spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars is actually a remake of that film. I only recently learned that and found it very interesting! But what's also interesting is how it's considered an unofficial remake. What that means is director Sergio Leone failed to acquire licensing rights to remake Yojimbo, so he basically ripped it off. Yes, another famous western The Magnificent Seven was also a remake of a Kurosawa film, Seven Samurai, but that was a licensed remake. Credit and a share of the profits from that movie were paid to Kurosawa and his production company Toho (that's where the difference a remake and a rip-off lies). After Kurosawa had seen a A Fistful of Dollars, he wrote to Leone himself with the following:


This led to a lawsuit by Toho, which they won! After which, Kurosawa and Toho began receiving 15% of the film's revenue. According Kurosawa, he made more money off that settlement than he did from Yojimbo. Good for him! And for not standing to get cheated out of being credited for his incredible work.