Yojimbo & Sanjuro 4K Ultra HD

Akira Kurosawa’s tribute to the widescreen action westerns of John Ford, Yojimbo stars the great Toshiro Mifune as the film’s enigmatic samurai, a scruffy itinerant warrior who wanders into a town and right into the middle of a war between two clans.

After its huge success, Kurosawa and Mifune teamed up again a year later to make Sanjuro, in which the titular character runs rings around nine naïve, clean-cut samurai and two genteel ladies – while also cleaning up a spot of corruption in local government.

Extras

· Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

· Sword For Hire (2024, 25 mins): Kurosawa scholar Jasper Sharp discusses Yojimbo and Sanjuro

· Audio commentary on Yojimbo by Philip Kemp (2000)

· Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create (2002, 80 mins): two episodes from the Toho Masterworks series examining both films

· Introduction to Sanjuro by Alex Cox (2003, 5 mins)

· Audio commentary on Sanjuro by 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 human machinations in both films

· Alex Cox on Kurosawa (2003, 9 mins)

· Original trailers

· Image galleries

On Sanjuro: ‘The humour is bitter, the action ferocious. A minor masterpiece’ The Observer