I can't quit watching "Stray Dog"

I have been watching Akira Kurosawa's 1949 crime drama "Nora Inu (Stray Dog)" the past couple days on DVD. I am quickly becoming obsessed with it.
Critics consider "Stray Dog" Kurosawa's first masterpiece. I consider it the ULTIMATE JAPANESE FILM SNOB PICTURE.
Here's why:
1) Crime films rule. The genre can accommodate everything from B-movie noirs such as "Gun Crazy" to Nouvelle Vague touchstones "A Bout de Souffle." In this particular crime film, a rookie cop has his pistol stolen -- it is subsequently used in a spate of robberies -- and must delve into the occupied Tokyo underworld to find it.
2) The second-unit director shines. "Stray Dog" is notable for a montage of black markets, brothels and opium dens. Kurosawa's second-unit director Ishiro Honda shot those scenes using a hidden camera to pass through the dens of iniquity. Honda later became famous for helming the "Gojira (Godzilla)" films.
3) Japanese cinema stalwarts make their first big impression in "Stray Dog." Toshiro Mifune stars as the rookie cop. Isao Kimura plays the former soldier turned thief. He later starred as Katsuhiro in "Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai)." Minoru Chiaki has a small role as a theatre operator on a frighteningly hot day. He played Heihachi in "Shichinin no Samurai." Even Kokuten Kodo plays a bit part in "Stray Dog." Japanese film lovers know him as the old man in the mill on "Shichinin no Samurai" and as the old man on the hill (note the difference) in "Gojira" who is convinced a giant monster lives in the sea.
Watching "Stray Dog" is like playing spot-the-celebrated-Japanese-character-actor.
There are many more reasons to watch "Stray Dog." I haven't even mentioned Takashi Shimura's excellent acting as the mentoring veteran cop or Keiko Awaji's screen debut as the sexpot dancer who holds the key to the mystery.
Get "Stray Dog" soon at your local DVD rental emporium or off of NetFlix. That's my message to you.