8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
Jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a "proper" samurai on its ear.
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûzô Kayama, Reiko DanForeign | 100% |
Drama | 97% |
Period | 28% |
Martial arts | 22% |
Crime | 18% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Akira Kurosawa's "Sanjuro" (1962) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive audio commentary with film historian Stephen Price; a thirty-five-minute documentary about the making of "Sanjuro"; theatrical trailer; and more. The Blu-ray disc also arrives with a 20-page illustrated booklet, containing a statement by Akira Kurosawa that appeared in the 1999 book The Films of Akira Kurosawa, by Donald Richie; Michael Sragow's essay "Return of the Ronin"; and comments from notable Kurosawa collaborators that appeared first in the 2002 Toho SDVD release of Sanjuro. With optional English subtitles. Region-A "locked".
The best sword is kept in his sheath
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
Even though the transition to 1080p here is not as striking as it is with Yojimbo, the final result is still pleasing. Again, fine object detail is a lot more convincing, clarity improved and contrast levels much more appealing. Film grain is present, but there are certain areas of Sanjuro where minor noise reduction has been applied. Selected scenes also tend to look slightly softer, but I have to assume that there are specific limitations with the element Criterion had to work with that are actually causing the imbalance.
Edge-enhancement and macroblocking do not appear to be a serious issue of concern. Additionally, I must point out that the digital noise that plagued the SDVD release of Sanjuro has been largely eliminated here (with the Blu-ray release of Yojimbo the results are even more impressive). Also, aside from some mild background flickering, the transfer is pleasingly stable. Finally, there are no large cuts, warps, or stains that I saw while viewing the film. To sum it all up, I think that this is a very competent presentation of Sanjuro, which its fans would be delighted with. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0 and Japanese LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The following text appears in the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc: "The monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm optical soundtrack. The restored Perspecta Stereophonic Sound was decoded through Perspecta decoder and reencoded as a Dolby 3.0 soundtrack. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated audio workstation."
Once again, I opted for the Japanese LPCM 1.0 track. Generally speaking, the dialog is clean and easy to follow, though I did notice that if you turn up the volume a lot, you would hear some very mild background hissing. Masaru Sato's music score is well balanced with the dialog, and dynamically actually a lot stronger than I expected it to be. I have a feeling, however, that many of you would probably opt for the DTS-HD Master Audio Perspecta 3.0 as it offers some slightly stronger audio enhancements.
Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create - this thirty-five-minute documentary about the making of Sanjuro, part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create, features director Akira Kurosawa, actor Tatsuya Nakadai, production designer Yoshiro Muraki, and cinematographer Takao Saito, among others. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (35 min, 1080i).
Theatrical trailer - In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080i).
Teaser - In Japanese, with optional English subtitles. (1 min, 1080i).
Stills gallery - a collection of stills from the filming of Sanjuro.
Commentary - an audio commentary with film historian Stephen Price, author of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa, recorded exclusively for the Criterion Collection in 2006. Once again, this is a very informative, if a bit dry, commentary in which Mr. Price discusses the similarities and differences between Sanjuro and Yojimbo, Akira Kurosawa's filming technique, the message each film conveys, how they were greeted by the critics and audiences in Japan and around the world, etc.
Booklet - a 20-page illustrated booklet, containing a statement by Akira Kurosawa that appeared in the 1999 book The Films of Akira Kurosawa, by Donald Richie; Michael Sragow's essay "Return of the Ronin" (the author has been writing about new movies for the Baltimore Sun since 2001 and old movies for the New Yorker since 1989); and comments from notable Kurosawa collaborators that appeared first in the 2002 Toho SDVD release of Sanjuro.
Having seen now what Criterion have done with Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and Sanjuro, I can hardly contain my excitement for the big one - Seven Samurai. I am very confident that it would look and sound spectacular on Blu-ray. We just need to be patient, as it is more than obvious that the right people will be releasing it. In the meantime, enjoy Yojimbo and Sanjuro; they both look great. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
用心棒 / Yôjinbô
1961
七人の侍 / Shichinin no samurai
1954
Tengoku to jigoku / 天国と地獄
1963
蜘蛛巣城 / Kumonosu-jô
1957
羅生門 / Rashômon
1950
大菩薩峠 / Dai-bosatsu tôge
1966
修羅雪姫 / Shurayukihime
1973
切腹 / Seppuku
1962
続宮本武蔵 一乗寺の決闘 / Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijôji no kettô
1955
宮本武蔵完結編 決闘巌流島 / Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: kettô Ganryûjima
1956
Kozure ôkami: Jigoku e ikuzo! Daigorô
1974
Kozure Ôkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma
1972
2008
Kozure ôkami: Ko wo kashi ude kashi tsukamatsuru
1972
修羅雪姫 怨み恋歌 / Shurayuki-hime: Urami koiuta
1974
1970
新座頭市物語・折れた杖 / Shin Zatôichi monogatari: Oreta tsue
1972
座頭市御用旅 / Zatôichi goyô-tabi
1972
座頭市牢破り / Zatôichi rôyaburi
1967
座頭市あばれ火祭り / Zatôichi abare-himatsuri
1970