SANJURO - DVD

Sanjuro (DVD)
A film by Akira Kurosawa

In response to the huge critical and commercial success of Yojimbo (1961), Kurosawa and Mifune re-teamed a year later to make Sanjuro, a hilarious comedy of manners altogether more light-hearted than its predecessor.

The story has Sanjuro (Mifune) running lazy rings around nine naïve and clean-cut samurai and two genteel ladies, whilst also cleaning up a spot of corruption in local government. Whilst Kurosawa plays most of it for laughs, expertly parodying the conventions of Japanese period action films, he stages a startling switch of mood with an intense finale which may well be the briefest, and most breathtaking duel in all cinema.

Special features

• Digitally remastered in High Definition
• Introduction to Sanjuro by filmmaker Alex Cox (2003, 5 mins)
• Interview with filmmaker Alex Cox (2003, 9 mins): the director discusses the life and work of Akira Kurosawa
• Original Japanese theatrical trailer
• Essay by film historian and critic Philip Kemp

Japan | 1962 | black and white | Japanese language, with optional English subtitles | 92 minutes | DVD9 | original aspect ratio 2.35:1 | PCM mono audio (320kbps) | Cert 12 | region 2