Drop everything, Akira Kurosawa’s Criterion films are free on Hulu for the weekend

To celebrate what would have been Akira Kurosawa’s 103rd birthday if he hadn’t died in 1998, Hulu is streaming 24 of his films from the Criterion collection, plus various supplementary featurettes and interviews, for free this weekend. They’re available now through Sunday at the site’s Happy Birthday, Akira Kurosawa page, and they amount to more than 44 hours of viewing, so you’ve got just about enough time to make some lame excuse to your boss, professor, or the friends you made plans with this weekend, then head straight home, grab some popcorn, and move in for the duration. Need help prioritizing? Our Kurosawa Primer from 2010 covers the director’s career, which films are essentials, and why he’s a crucial part of the cinematic landscape. It does not cover the essentials of peeing into a cup and going without sleep for three days so you don’t miss anything, but we figure you’ll work that out for yourself.