Product Description

Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 01/23/2007

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50789 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2007-01-23
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
Akira Kurosawa's sequel to Yojimbo is more lighthearted and less cynical, a rousing adventure with Toshirô Mifune reprising his role as the scruffy mercenary who becomes an unlikely big brother to a troupe of nine naive samurai. Shuffling into a secret meeting where the proud young men discuss the graft choking their clan, Mifune's Sanjuro scratches his scraggly beard and distractedly rubs his neck like some common peasant while giving them advice on appearances and truths: "People aren't what they seem," he warns the dubious lads. "Be careful." Naturally they aren't, and Sanjuro grudgingly adopts the well-meaning but hopelessly ill-equipped heroes, giving the starry-eyed youths a series of lessons in real-world honor and respect while saving their skins from reckless attacks and impulsive plans. It isn't the subtlest of Kurosawa's films--the repetitious lessons and speeches delivered to the thickheaded samurai are rather obvious--but it's one of his most entertaining. Mifune, gruffly at ease with the boys, is hilariously discomforted in the presence of a cultured lady, who sees through his shaggy exterior and imparts a little wisdom of her own. Mifune bounds into action in a number of impressive sword fights--wonderfully choreographed lightning-quick battles in which Mifune leaps all over the widescreen image--but an increasing sense of waste, of futility, hangs over the action scenes, culminating in a tense but meaningless duel of honor. The accompanying trailer on the DVD features brief behind-the-scenes glimpses of Kurosawa directing Mifune through an action sequence. --Sean Axmaker

On the DVD
The Criterion Collection's 2007 disc is a must-have for any serious cinephile. The film is presented with an all-new, fully restored high-definition digital transfer, representing (as in the case of Seven Samurai) a significant improvement over Criterion's previous DVD release. It features a full-length commentary by Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince (with eloquent emphasis on camera movement and composition) in addition to a retrospective documentary culled from the priceless Japanese Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create, featuring illuminating interviews with many of Kurosawa's closest collaborators. A theatrical trailer and behind-the-scenes photo gallery are also included, along with new-and-improved subtitles, insightful booklet essays, and rarely seen production notes by Kurosawa and members of his cast and crew. With this reissue, Criterion's previous release of Sanjuro should now be considered officially obsolete. --Jeff Shannon