Sanjuro (DVD) A film by Akira Kurosawa In response to the huge critical and commercial success of Yojimbo (1961), Kurosawa and Mifune re-teamed a year later to make Sanjuro, a hilarious comedy of manners altogether more light-hearted than its predecessor. The story has Sanjuro (Mifune) running lazy rings around nine nave and clean-cut samurai and two genteel ladies, whilst also cleaning up a spot of corruption in local government. Whilst Kurosawa plays most of it for laughs, expertly parodying the conventions of Japanese period action films, he stages a startling switch of mood with an intense finale which may well be the briefest, and most breathtaking duel in all cinema. Special features Digitally remastered in High Definition Introduction to Sanjuro by filmmaker Alex Cox (2003, 5 mins) Interview with filmmaker Alex Cox (2003, 9 mins): the director discusses the life and work of Akira Kurosawa Original Japanese theatrical trailer Essay by film historian and critic Philip Kemp Japan | 1962 | black and white | Japanese language, with optional English subtitles | 92 minutes | DVD9 | original aspect ratio 2.35:1 | PCM mono audio (320kbps) | Cert 12 | region 2