Akira Kurosawa's Yojiimbo & Sanjuro Getting 4K BFI Release

The BFI to continue their way through the films of Akira Kurosawa. Next month Two Kurosawa samurai classics, Yojimbo (1961) and its sequel Sanjuro (1962), are released together in new 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray sets.

Each set includes a newly filmed discussion by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp and a 2002 documentary on each film in which they are examined in detail, along with more special features, listed below.

Yojimbo was Akira Kurosawa’s tribute to the widescreen action westerns of John Ford (and was itself remade in 1964 by Sergio Leone as A Fistful of Dollars). The great Toshiro Mifune plays the film’s enigmatic samurai, a scruffy itinerant warrior who wanders into a town and right into the middle of a war between two clans. Showing his skills with a sword within minutes of his arrival, he soon has the rival factions competing for his services. After its huge success, Kurosawa and Mifune teamed up again a year later to make Sanjuro, in which the titular character runs rings around nine naïve, clean-cut samurai and two genteel ladies – while also cleaning up a spot of corruption in local government. It’s more light-hearted than its predecessor, but no less entertaining.

Here’s a look at the original Yojimbo trailer from 1961…

Special features

UHD: Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Blu-ray: Newly restored in 4K and presented in High Definition
Sword For Hire (2024, 25 mins): Kurosawa scholar Jasper Sharp discusses Yojimbo and Sanjuro in this analytical assessment
Audio commentary on Yojimbo by film critic Philip Kemp (2000)
Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – Yojimbo (2002, 45 mins): a detailed documentary study of the film
Introduction to Sanjuro (2003, 5 mins): filmmaker Alex Cox introduces Sanjuro
Newly recorded audio commentary on Sanjuro by Japanese-Australian filmmaker Kenta McGrath
Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – Sanjuro (2002, 35 mins): the film is examined in detail in this documentary study
Out of the Dust Storm and Into the Koi Pond (2025, 18 mins): Nic Wassell considers the role of nature as a background to human machinations in both films
Alex Cox on Kurosawa (2003, 9 mins): the director discusses the life and work of Akira Kurosawa
Original trailers
Image galleries
***First pressing only*** Illustrated booklet with new writing on both films by Hayley Scanlon, writing on both films by Akira Kurosawa, originally published in1964, original reviews and film credits

UHD: Buy from BFI
12/ Japan / 1961, 1962 / black and white / 110, 96 minutes / Japanese language with English subtitles / original aspect ratio 2.35:1 UHD66 x 2: 2160p, 23.98fps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio and LPCM 1.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)

Blu-ray: Buy From BFI
12/ Japan / 1961, 1962 / black and white / 110, 96 minutes / Japanese language with English subtitles / original aspect ratio 2.35:1 BD50 x 2: 1080p, 23.98fps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio and LPCM 1.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit)

Yojimbo and Sanjuro are released together in new 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray sets by the BFI on 17th March.