Tatsuya Nakadai movies available on 4K Blu-ray, ranked by transfer quality.
dir. Akira Kurosawa
S-Tier Criterion 4K. Kurosawa's procedural thriller. The split-screen compositions look great.
Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray
Criterion and BFI both released Yojimbo/Sanjuro in 4K, and the BFI version has Dolby Vision while the Japanese release is SDR. Packaging disappointed some collectors because BFI used a cardboard slip instead of a hardbox like Seven Samurai got. People want matching hardboxes for the whole Kurosawa 4K run, but space-conscious collectors are fine with slimmer packaging. The SDR debate matters here since the Criterion release also lacks HDR grading.
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
BFI · 4K + Blu-ray
StudioCanal's A-Tier 4K has people asking when Criterion or someone else will do the definitive release. The 35mm theatrical screenings keep fueling demand for Kurosawa in the best possible presentation.
StudioCanal · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Eiichi Yamamoto
C-Tier from Anime Ltd. A psychedelic 1973 Japanese animated film with watercolor-style art. The C-Tier rating is a source material limitation. The art style doesn't benefit from resolution the way traditional animation does.
Anime Ltd
