Yojimbo / Sanjuro: Two Samurai Films by Akira Kurosawa (Criterion Collection) 4K Ultra HD Review

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

This is a pair of jidaigeki films starring Kurosawa’s favorite hero Mifune Toshiro, Yojimbo (1961) and its lesser sequel Sanjuro (1962). Yojimbo is the film that inspired A Fistful of Dollars. Yojimbo is the story of a drifting ronin (Mifune) who wanders into a town full of corrupt warring factions who are eager to hire him onto their side in order to gain control and power. Disgusted with their pettiness and violence, the masterless samurai decides to pit them against each other to rid the town of them for good. It is a fascinating film, one of the most overtly violent of Kurosawa’s catalogue, and contains one of his most magnetic anti-heroes ever put to film. This is no honorable samurai out to do good for goodness’ sake, he’s out to make a buck and to kill as many people as he can, although redemption does come when he saves a woman who has been stolen from her weak husband as payment for a gambling debt and made to be a consort for one of the town’s bosses.

In Sanjuro, the ronin returns to help a town full of inexperienced samurai in what is more of a political satire and a send-up of the jidaigeki genre than a straight reading of the sort that was Yojimbo. While it is not as interesting and Mifune feels just a little out of sorts here, the spectacularly violent ending reminds us where Kurosawa really wants to take us with a film like this. As always, Kurosawa makes brilliant use of the lens with is masterful understanding of movement and framing, the use of natural elements in the backgrounds to contrast against the subjects in the foreground, and other of his signature techniques.

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The Video

Both Yojimbo and Sanjuro were created from their 35mm original camera negatives. They are presented on 4K Ultra HD in 2.35:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) SDR. In comparison to the recently released Seven Samurai on 4K, these two films look far for pristine in their source, and one might argue that this would be a case where an HDR grading would work out to their benefit far more than it did for Seven Samurai. Nonetheless, these films look satisfying, with three-dimensional detail, inky blacks, lots of textural detail, and good contrast in the stark black and white imagery.

The Audio

Both films come with the original monaural Japanese track in LPCM 1.0 and original Perspecta Stereophonic 3.0 mix in DTS-HD Master Audio. The Perspecta 3.0 is not a a true discrete stereophonic mix, but rather a system where three sub-audible tones at 30 Hz, 35 Hz, and 40 Hz were mixed and embedded in a monaural optical soundtrack. This Perspecta mix does open up the sound of the score making it sound fuller and does the same for the dialogue. Otherwise, the 1.0 mix is just as acceptable, but a little less dynamic.

The Supplements

• Booklets featuring essays by film writers Alexander Sesonske and Michael Sragow and comments from Kurosawa and members of his casts and crews, plus cast and credits, and information on the restoration.

Yojimbo Bonus Features:

• Audio commentary featuring film historian Stephen Prince, author of The Warrior’s Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa, recorded exclusively for the Criterion Collection in 2006.
• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create (1080i; 00:44:37)– This forty-five-minute documentary about the making of Yojimbo, part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create, features director Akira Kurosawa, actor Tatsuya Nakadai, production designer Yoshiro Muraki, and longtime Kurosawa collaborator Teruyo Nogami, among others.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080i; 00:02:38)
• Teaser (1080i; 00:01:24)
• Stills Gallery (1080p)

Sanjuro Bonus Features:

• Audio commentary featuring film historian Stephen Prince, author of The Warrior’s Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa, recorded exclusively for the Criterion Collection in 2006.
• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create (1080i; 00:34:46) – This thirty-five-minute documentary about the making of Sanjuro, part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create, features director Akira Kurosawa, actor Tatsuya Nakadai, production designer Yoshiro Muraki, and cinematographer Takao Saito, among others.

The Final Assessment

These two films from the Japanese auteur, different in tone, but masterful in technique, showcase his fascination with samurai and his command of filmmaking. Yojimbo is the the better, more dramatic of the two, but they work together as a pair and are a must for any fan of Akira Kurosawa.

Yojimbo / Sanjuro: Two Samurai Films by Akira Kurosawa (Criterion Collection) is out on 4K Ultra HD January 7, 2025

Purchase Yojimbo / Sanjuro: Two Samurai Films by Akira Kurosawa (The Criterion Collection) 4K Ultra HD on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: Not Rated
• Studios & Distributors: Kurosawa Production Co. | Sammy | Toho | Janus Films | Criterion Collection
• Written By: Akira Kurosawa, Ryûzô Kikushima (Yojimbo) | Ryûzô Kikushima | Hideo Oguni | Akira Kurosawa (Sanjuro)
• Run Time: 110 Mins. (Yojimbo) | 95 Mins. (Sanjuro)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: SDR
• Primary Audio: Japanese LPCM 1.0
• Secondary Audio: Japanese Perspecta 3.0 DTS-HD MA
• Subtitles: English
• Street Date: 7 January 2025