Yojimbo and Sanjura are not my first Kurosawa 4Ks. Criterion Collection did Dreams first and Ran has been available. I haven’t seen Criterion’s Seven Samurai yet but the quality of these samurai films makes me want to fill in that back catalog.
Yojimbo is familiar as the basis of A Fistful of Dollars. The Samurai Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune) wanders into a town ruled by gangsters and plays both sides, with swordfights before they had guns.
Sanjuro is a less familiar story so it feels a tad newer as another standalone adventure aginst corruption. Sanjuro leads a gang of samurai boys imparting his wisdom and skills.
Both films are exquisite black and white. Yojimbo’s empty town street is especially ominous at night, but the 4K UHD mostly makes you appreciate all of the shades of light during the day.
Sanjuro gets more elaborate with patches of dark night in a forested area, not just a deserted town.
Bonus features include episodes of the 2002 Japanese series “It’s Wonderful to Create,” which went through Kurosawa’s career. So each film had its own episode.
Two 2006 commentaries with author Stephen Prince actually interact with each other, as he compares both films between the two tracks.