The Criterion Collection has announced that, to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, it will release two of his films on Blu-ray on March 23: '
Yojimbo' and '
Sanjuro', starring Toshiro Mifune as a samurai-for-hire. Later in the year, Criterion will also release '
The Seven Samurai' on Blu-ray.
Criterion had hoped to release 'The Seven Samurai' on March, but according to one of its representatives, "weeks of additional restoration have turned into months —yes, it looks really amazing— and the release won't be until later in 2010."
Thanks to forum member "ccfixx".
Update
The Criterion Collection has added the release details. 'Yojimbo' and 'Sanjuro' will be available separately or in a
two-movie box set.
Special features are as follows:
Yojimbo
- 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
- Booklet featuring an essay by critic Alexander Sesonske and notes from Kurosawa and his cast and crew
Sanjuro
- Audio commentary by film historian and Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince
- A 35-minute documentary on the making of Sanjuro, 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
- Booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Sragow and notes and statements from Kurosawa and his cast and crew