The British Film Institute is currently preparing Akira Kurosawa Samurai Collection, a four-disc Blu-ray box set containing five of Kurosawa’s samurai films which will be released on 25 August 2014. The Region B (Europe) collection comes with an assortment of extras.
The films includes are:
- Seven Samurai (1954)
- Throne of Blood (1957)
- The Hidden Fortress (1958)
- Yojimbo (1961)
- Sanjuro (1962)
And the special features include:
- All films presented in High Definition
- Original theatrical trailers
- The Art of Akira Kurosawa (2013, 49 mins): Asian-cinema expert Tony Rayns discusses Kurosawa’s career and influence
- Interview with filmmaker George Lucas (2001, 8 mins)
- Interview with filmmaker Alex Cox (2003, 9 mins)
- Introduction to Sanjuro by Alex Cox (2003, 5 mins)
- Full-length audio commentary for Throne of Blood by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck
- Full-length audio commentary for Yojimbo by film critic Philip Kemp
- Fully illustrated booklet with essays by Philip Kemp and Nigel Andrews, contemporary reviews and full film credits
The films are naturally presented in their original aspect ratios. There is no word yet what HD transfers the BFI collection will be using, or how the individual films compare to Criterion’s American releases.
Also on August 25, BFI will be putting out an individual release of Seven Samurai, which has previously been available only as a Limited Edition Steel Book package.
