Yojimbo (1961) - The Criterion Collection

Synopsis

The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa’s visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo. To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade twice, by Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars) and Walter Hill (Last Man Standing), this exhilarating genre-twister remains one of the most influential and entertaining films ever produced. Criterion is proud to present this Kurosawa favorite in a new, high-definition digital transfer.

Cast

Sanjuro	Toshiro Mifune
Unosuke	Tatsuya Nakadai
Nui	Yoko Tsukasa
Orin	Isuzu Yamada
Inokichi	Daisuke Kato
Seibei	Seizaburo Kawazu
Tokuemon	Takashi Shimura
Yoichiro	Hiroshi Tachikawa
Kohei's son	Yosuke Natsuki
Gonji	Eijiro Tono

Credits

Director	Akira Kurosawa
Screenplay	Ryuzo Kikushima and Akira Kurosawa
Producer	Tomoyuki Tanaka and Ryuzo Kikushima
Cinematography	Kazuo Miyagawa
Production Design	Yoshiro Muraki
Music	Masaru Sato

Disc Features

All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer
Optional Dolby Digital 3.0 soundtrack, preserving the original Perspecta simulated-stereo effects
Audio commentary by film historian and Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince
A 45-minute documentary on the making of Yojimbo, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
Theatrical trailer and teaser
Stills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Alexander Sesonske and notes from Kurosawa and his cast and crew

From the Current

Yojimbo

by Alexander Sesonske Jan 22, 2007

If we adapt the language of horse breeders to the genealogy of films, one might write Yojimbo, by Shane out of Scarface.But while this odd coupling does suggest the most obvious hereditary traits of Kurosawa’s black comedy, it fails to capture the joy with which...