The audio package on this release is downright awesome as well. When you approach Yojimbo keep in mind that there's not a bombastic 5.1 track or anything of that ilk. Instead, a Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0 and Japanese LPCM 1.0 are included here. The limited range in the sound field may be off-putting for some, but personally I felt this presentation retained the integrity of the original track. The quality is clear, concise, and downright free of any flaw. It's an improvement over the DVD release of the film, though not quite as grandiose as the video quality. English subtitles are included.
A good supply of supplemental content makes its way onto this Blu-ray release of Yojimbo as well. For starters there is a classy 22-page booklet packed in with the case. It features pictures and information about the film as well as musings on the genre by Kurosawa and other prolific personalities. Film historian Stephen Price provides a solid and informational audio commentary for the movie that is definitely worth checking out at some point. There's also a stills gallery, trailer for the film, and teaser as well. The biggest draw from the bonus feature menu (aside from the audio commentary) is a featurette created as part of the "Toho Masterworks series, Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create" (44:37). This is basically a scene by scene look at many of the film's better moments. There's also a fair amount of commentary provided by people who worked on the film.
Yojimbo's Blu-ray release is nothing short of extraordinary. Criterion went through a clearly painstaking process to get all the details right from the video to the audio. This release is a dramatic improvement over the original and stands as Criterion's best Blu-ray release to date, in my opinion. It's absolutely not to be missed by fans of the film. If you've never seen Yojimbo then consider this the best opportunity ever to check out one of Kurosawa's more iconic films.
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Good review but a couple of points
"the Criterion Collection has made the move to Blu-ray and has finally taken Kurosawa with them."
They already have. "Kagemusha" came out last fall.
"Mifune's performance here can be compared to Clint Eastwood's character from "The Man with No Name" trilogy."
Should be the other way around with as Leone remade "Yojimbo" in "Fistful of a Dollars" so Eastwood had Mifune's performance to look at.
I am going to get the set
2 - Todd
Good points on both accounts. It actually slipped my mind somehow when I wrote this review that Kagemusha was already on Blu-ray. Also you are correct that this film was indeed the inspiration for Leone. Thanks!