Madman Films

dir. Akira Kurosawa

S-Tier Criterion 4K. Kurosawa's procedural thriller. The split-screen compositions look great.

Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Akira Kurosawa

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.

Criterion Collection · Two Samurai Films by Akira Kurosawa

dir. Akira Kurosawa

The BFI vs. Criterion debate dominated every thread. BFI has HDR and what people call the best authoring house in the world (Fidelity in Motion), while Criterion has the deeper extras catalog. Most people who already own the Criterion Blu-ray went BFI for the encode quality bump. The BFI hardbox at $35 USD from OrbitDVD was considered a steal compared to the typical $42-60 USD range for rigid box editions. Criterion's 4K is SDR, which stung given BFI was offering HDR of the same restoration. Seeing it in theaters during the 4K restoration tour was almost too sharp for some viewers, with bald cap seams visible for the first time.

Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Akira Kurosawa

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

BFI · 4K + Blu-ray (United Kingdom)

dir. Akira Kurosawa

The BFI 4K is the version collectors are buying while everyone else waits for a Criterion Kurosawa box that may or may not happen. Kurosawa's Macbeth adaptation with Mifune at full intensity, and the fog sequences are exactly the kind of high-contrast material that rewards a good restoration.

BFI · 4K + Blu-ray (United Kingdom)

dir. Akira Kurosawa

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 · Two Films by Akira Kurosawa