‘His influence on filmmakers throughout the entire world is so profound as to be almost incomparable’ Martin Scorsese

Akira Kurosawa is one of the world’s greatest filmmakers. His films have been acclaimed by critics and audiences the world over, and his celebrated samurai epics – featuring international star Toshiro Mifune – have inspired filmmakers as diverse as Steven Spielberg and Sergio Leone, and countless films, including The Magnificent Seven and Star Wars.

This indispensable collection contains recently remastered presentations of five of Kurosawa’s greatest films, accompanied by a wealth of extras features including documentaries, interviews, audio commentaries and original theatrical trailers.

Extras

• 6-disc set featuring five classic Kurosawa films in High Definition
• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create (2002, 195 mins): five episodes of the Toho Masterworks series split over five discs, that take an in-depth look at each of the films included in this collection. Each episode includes interviews with not only Kurosawa himself but a host of cast and crew.
• Audio commentary on Seven Samurai by film critic Adrian Martin
• Philip Kemp selected scenes commentary on Seven Samurai (1999, 20 mins): film critic and writer Philip Kemp analyses key scenes from the film.
• The Art of Akira Kurosawa (2013, 49 mins): Asian-cinema expert Tony Rayns discusses Kurosawa's career and influence
• My Life in Cinema (1993, 116 mins): a conversation between filmmakers Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima filmed for the Directors Guild of Japan in 1993 - the two legendary directors discuss Kurosawa's life, career and legacy
• Introduction to Throne of Blood by Sir Ian McKellen (2016, 2 mins)
• Introduction to Throne of Blood by Mamoun Hassan (2012, 7 mins): the late writer, director, and producer introduces a screening of Akira Kurosawa’s film at the BFI Southbank
• Audio commentary on Throne of Blood by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck
• Macbeth (1945, 16 mins): two scenes from Shakespeare’s famous Scottish tragedy, with Wilfrid Lawson and Cathleen Nesbitt as a fine murderous duo
• Audio commentary on The Hidden Fortress by Japanese-film expert Tony Rayns
• BFI Screen Epiphanies: Steven Berkoff (2015, 18 mins): in a wide-ranging discussion with journalist Ian Hadyn Smith, the actor, writer and theatre director reflects on The Hidden Fortress, the talents of Toshiro Mifune and his first viewing of the film in the late 1950s
• Interview with George Lucas (2001, 8 mins)
• Original trailer
• Sword For Hire (2024, 25 mins): Kurosawa scholar Jasper Sharp discusses Yojimbo and Sanjuro in this analytical assessment
• Audio commentary on Yojimbo by film critic Philip Kemp
• Introduction to Sanjuro (2003, 5 mins): filmmaker Alex Cox introduces Sanjuro
• Audio commentary on Sanjuro by Japanese-Australian filmmaker Kenta McGrath
• Out of the Dust Storm and into the Koi Pond (2025, 18 mins): Nic Wassell considers the role of nature as a background to the machinations of mankind in role of nature as a background to the machinations of mankind in Yojimbo and Sanjuro
• Alex Cox on Kurosawa (2003, 9 mins): the director discusses the life and work of Akira Kurosawa
• Original Japanese trailers
• Seven Samurai trailer (2024)
• Image galleries for Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro