Press Release Criterion Press Release: Yojimbo / Sanjuro: Two Samurai Films by Akira Kurosawa (4k UHD Combo) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Thanks to perhaps the most indelible character in Akira Kurosawa’s oeuvre, Yojimbo surpassed even Seven Samurai in popularity when it was released. The masterless samurai Sanjuro, who slyly manipulates two warring clans to his own advantage in a small, dusty village, was so entertainingly embodied by the brilliant Toshiro Mifune that it was only a matter of time before he returned in a sequel. Made just one year later, Sanjuro matches Yojimbo’s storytelling dexterity yet adds a layer of world-weary pragmatism that brings the two films to a thrilling and unforgettable conclusion.
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FILMS IN THIS SET​

• • 
    Yojimbo
    
    1961
    The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa’s visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo.To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade twice, by Sergio Leone and Walter Hill, this exhilarating genre-twister remains one of the most influential and entertaining films of all time.
  • 
    Sanjuro
    
    1962
    Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Akira Kurosawa’s tightly paced, beautifully composed Sanjuro. In this sly companion piece to Yojimbo, jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan’s evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a “proper” samurai on its ear. Less brazen in tone than its predecessor but equally entertaining, this classic character’s return is a masterpiece in its own right.
    
    
    
    January 7, 2025

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[Robert Crawford]

I've been wondering when this 4K/UHD release would happen.

 

[bujaki]

We'll get this and then Criterion will announce a box set of Kurosawa's films.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I've been wondering when this 4K/UHD release would happen.

Man, I still have to watch my BD copy. I haven’t seen these since the DVD editions, I’m way overdue.

 

[Patrick McCart]

We'll get this and then Criterion will announce a box set of Kurosawa's films.

I'm fine with a big box of all his films on Blu, then a fraction in 4K like these and Seven Samurai. 4K isn't going to happen for his 40s films and even a lot of his 50s work is unlikely.

Really excited this is the next Kurosawa 4K upgrade. The Blu-rays aren't bad by any means, but the new restorations ought to look stunning.

 

[titch]

It's taken two years, since the Japanese Toho 4K UHD restorations were announced! I've purposely held off introducing my son to Kurosawa, until these new restorations were available. However, we tested the old Criterion blu-ray of Hidden Fortress two summers ago, as his first black and white Japanese samurai epic. He found it slow to start with, but he was hanging on the edge of his seat with excitement, after the first hour!

If you want to convince skeptical children, that silent black and white classics are worth watching, you start with Buster Keaton and Chaplin. Then, if you want them to get interested in classic black and white Japanese masterpieces, Kurosawa is your best bet. The stories are easy to follow and they are enormously exciting. He'll probably have to wait a bit though, until we introduce him to the slower stuff, from Ozu and Mizoguchi!