Yojimbo / Sanjuro: Two Samurai Films by Akira Kurosawa (The Criterion Collection) [4K UHD]

Akira Kurosawa is a director that anyone seriously interested in film has heard of, but not a filmmaker whose works I am particularly familiar with. As I have spent the past year purchasing new release Criterion blu-rays, I decided to take a chance on a collection of two of Kurosawa's best known films -- Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Suffice it to say, I am not the least bit disappointed.Yojimbo is without a doubt the rosetta stone for a single archetype -- the antihero. In this case, masterless samurai (or ronin), Sanjuro played by the charismatic actor Toshiro Mifune. As a fan of comics, science fiction, fantasy and action films, I have seen variations of Sanjuro throughout my life, but never realized that so many characters began with the protagonist of Kurosawa's Yojimbo. Most notably, Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" in Sergeio Leonne's remake of Yojimbo (re: rip-off), A Fist Full of Dollars. And it's a testament to Kurosawa's skill as a director that with so many derivative descendants, Yojimbo is still an incredibly compelling film, surprisingly modern in its sensibilities and most importantly, funny and entertaining.Yojimbo is set in a town beset by two rival factions of Yakuza. Sanjuro, an aging wandering samurai, arrives in the town and decides to set both sides against each other for nothing more than his own personal amusement. What follows is a dark comedy as Sanjuro acts as an agent of chaos, shattering the delicate balance of power in the town.Created as a quick follow up to capitalize on the popularity of Yojimbo, Sanjuro is a very different story and casts Sanjuro in a slightly different role. Nine young samurai discover corruption within their local clan. As they begin to align against the suspected source of the corruption, they stumble upon Sanjuro, who quickly realizes that they have the situation entirely wrong. Unlike Yojimbo, where Sanjuro acts alone, here he serves a mentor figure and leader to the nine samurai. In addition, Sanjuro is portrayed more of a traditional hero, motivated by altruism rather than boredom and money, though still shabby and uncouth. Sanjuro is an entertaining film, but not the classic that Yojimbo is.The transfers on the two blu-rays are top notch -- there's a little flicker here and there, but overall Kurosawa's black and white compositions look phenomenal. Extras are sparse for a Criterion edition, but include segments from a Japanese documentary on Kurosawa's career, as well as commentary tracks from Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince. Although a little dry, Prince's commentaries are very illuminating, providing important context for both the historical period in which the two films are set, as well as for the production of the films.All in all, the Yojimbo & Sanjuro two-pack is well worth your money -- and at $50 on Amazon, is also an incredible bargain.

This Criterion Collection contains Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 film, “Yojimbo,” & its 1962 sequel, “Sanjuro,” both of which star Toshiro Mifune in the lead role as Kuwabatake Sanjuro.In the original film, a rōnin arrives in a small town trapped between competing crime lords. Each attempts to hire him as their bodyguard works to play them against each other, freeing the town. Kurosawa was loosely inspired by the 1942 film, “The Glass Key,” but he added his own spin on it. Mifune is stellar in the lead role, perfectly capturing the “Man with No Name” trope (his name in the story is a fake one that he makes up on the spot). Naturally, Kurosawa’s filming is flawless and Masaru Sato’s music adds the perfect dramatic note to the story. Later, in 1964, Sergio Leone remade the film as “A Fistful of Dollars.” Leone never secured the remake rights, however, and had to pay an undisclosed settlement to Kurosawa for the rights.The sequel began as an adaption of Shūgorō Yamamoto’s novel “Hibi Heian,” though Kurosawa modified it to include Sanjuro. The story similarly follows a rōnin riding into town to deliver justice, in this case to a group of samurai who believe the lord chamberlain is corrupt. Mifune is again enjoyable in the lead role in this sequel as he partners with Kurosawa, continuing a longtime collaboration between the two. The final battle is particularly noteworthy and brilliantly executed. Where samurai films heavily inspired George Lucas during the making of “Star Wars,” the final battle is perfectly duplicated in the “Star Wars Rebels” season 3 episode, “Twin Suns.” Both films show a connection to Kurosawa’s 1954 film, “Seven Samurai,” which explored similar themes of villagers hiring rōnin. Mifune would later reprise the role, or at least the character type, in the 1970 films “Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo” and “Incident at Blood Pass.”As part of the Criterion Collection, this set cleans up the films for perfect clarity. It also includes several bonus features, such as audio commentaries, making of documentaries for both films from a larger documentary about Kurosawa, trailers, behind-the-scenes photos, and essay booklets about both films. Best of all, the Criterion packaging looks lovely on the shelf with a minimalist style evocative of the films. My only complaint is that Criterion’s way of doing subtitles occasionally makes them hard to read on a black-and-white film, but that’s relatively minor with how crisp they’ve made the picture.

Kurosawa’s most watchable movies? Not that the others aren’t. I think that people who haven’t really tapped into his work think of him as being kinda haughty and whatnot but I think his movies are very easy to turn on and watch. Anyway, both really good. Ending of Sanjuro did a lot for Kill Bill and anime.