The Samurai Trilogy (1954-1956)

[Blu Titan]

The much anticipated release of Hiroshi Inagaki's The Samurai Trilogy wis coming from Criterion on 6/26/2012. Three fantastic samurai movies starting the great Toshiro Mifune. Hopefully this is a sign that The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood, and Rashomon are under way.

The Samurai Trilogy Blu-ray Pre-order


The Samurai Trilogy (1954-1956)

The Samurai Trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring the inimitable Toshiro Mifune, was one of Japan’s most successful exports of the 1950s, a rousing, emotionally gripping tale of combat and self-discovery. Based on a novel that’s often called Japan’s Gone with the Wind, this sweeping saga fictionalizes the life of the legendary seventeenth-century swordsman (and writer and artist) Musashi Miyamoto, following him on his path from unruly youth to enlightened warrior. With these three films—1954’s Oscar-winning Musashi Miyamoto, 1955’s Duel at Ichijoji Temple, and 1956’s Duel at Ganryu Island—Inagaki created a passionate epic that’s equal parts tender love story and bloody action.

[Weirded Wonder]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

The much anticipated release of Hiroshi Inagaki's The Samurai Trilogy wis coming from Criterion on 6/26/2012. Three fantastic samurai movies starting the great Toshiro Mifune. Hopefully this is a sign that The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood, and Rashomon are under way.

The Samurai Trilogy Blu-ray Pre-order


The Samurai Trilogy (1954-1956)

I'm glad these are finally getting a restoration. The previous Criterion DVDs were atrocious. They were actually my first CC purchases and almost never bought another because of the poor transfers.

[MifuneFan]

Holy crap that cover art looks amazing! So much better than the old one. I really really hope they restored this properly as it needed a lot of work. Probably one of the few DVD releases from Criterion I own that was pretty disappointing (though I'm sure they did their best at the time).

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Holy crap that cover art looks amazing! So much better than the old one. I really really hope they restored this properly as it needed a lot of work. Probably one of the few DVD releases from Criterion I own that was pretty disappointing (though I'm sure they did their best at the time).

Cool member name . Yeah, Mifune is awesome....any movie with him in it is a must buy for me.

[rickah88]

I think this will look very nice next to my Sanjuro/Yojimbo Criterion BD set!

[Mooch360]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

Three fantastic samurai movies starting the great Toshiro Mifune. Hopefully this is a sign that The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood, and Rashomon are under way.

If anything, I would think all the other Kurosawa blus already available would be more of a sign that the rest are coming than this...

However, I am looking forward to getting this!

[swinefilms]

Originally Posted by Mooch360

If anything, I would think all the other Kurosawa blus already available would be more of a sign that the rest are coming than this...

However, I am looking forward to getting this!

I'm still holding out for a nice Ikiru blu-ray.

[Daigoro]

this trilogy is pretty great. i saw it on IFC a few years ago. this will be a nice buy.

Originally Posted by swinefilms

I'm still holding out for a nice Ikiru blu-ray.

oh yeah. that would be fantastic.

[ssjmichael]

I just noticed Criterion is putting the three movies on 2 discs. Hopefully quality doesn't suffer because of that. The DVD's were pretty poor so I want these to have as little compression as possible

Optimistically, the last two movies are about 1 hour and 40 minutes each, so combined they are around the same length as Seven Samurai, and the latter has multiple audio commentaries on the disc. So we should be okay

[captveg]

Originally Posted by ssjmichael

I just noticed Criterion is putting the three movies on 2 discs. Hopefully quality doesn't suffer because of that. The DVD's were pretty poor so I want these to have as little compression as possible

Optimistically, the last two movies are about 1 hour and 40 minutes each, so combined they are around the same length as Seven Samurai, and the latter has multiple audio commentaries on the disc. So we should be okay

They'll be fine. Longer color films with 1.33:1 AR have looked just fine on BD even with lower bit rates than Criterion's standard (such as Gone with the Wind).

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by Mooch360

If anything, I would think all the other Kurosawa blus already available would be more of a sign that the rest are coming than this...

However, I am looking forward to getting this!

I think that if Samurai movies continue to sell well, more will be released in the near future. Although, your point is well taken, the movies you mentioned have been available for a while and sales of newer releases should be a stronger indicator for the studio.

[MifuneFan]

I was able to sell my old DVD set on ebay for $28 so when B&N has their 50% sale I won't have to pay that much to upgrade to Blu. Can't wait.

[kristoffer]

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/ has reviews up. Looks good!

[easyblu]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/ has reviews up. Looks good!

Man, I can't believe how much better it looks! I had a hard time watching the trilogy because it looked so awful. Anyways, the more Mifune films on blu-ray, the better.

[Dr_Bedlo]

Have this one in my B&N basket for July!!!

[moileduge]

^+1

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/ has reviews up. Looks good!

Wow, it's like night and day from the DVD. Probably not the greatest looking BD if compared to others of its time, but considering its history, it looks great

[Inspector Toschi]

The DVDs were just awful looking. I feared that we'd never get a quality release, but once again Criterion comes through. I'll have to wait for the B&N sale though, there's just too many Criterion titles I want. But this is at the top of my list. Can't wait. It will truly be like watching the film for the first time again.

[stvn1974]

Now don't laugh at me but I just bought and watched Seven Samurai for the first time the other day. It is also the first Kurosawa film that I have ever seen. I loved it of course and know that Kurosawa is not the director of The Samurai Trilogy so I am wondering if I will enjoy this? Worth a Blind buy?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

Now don't laugh at me but I just bought and watched Seven Samurai for the first time the other day. It is also the first Kurosawa film that I have ever seen. I loved it of course and know that Kurosawa is not the director of The Samurai Trilogy so I am wondering if I will enjoy this? Worth a Blind buy?

If you're into Japanese/Samurai films, totally. It's unlike any of Kurosawa's Samurai films, but it's still a great period piece. It's more drama than action but Mifune is excellent in the role. I look at all 3 as one continuous movie personally (sort of like LOTR in that respect). I don't think any individual movie will blow you away on its own, but when looked at as a whole the three movies are a great epic and a wonderful transformation for the characters involved.