Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

http://www.criterion.com/boxsets/40-the-samurai-trilogy

SYNOPSIS: 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.

Jet_Jaguar, you're full of good news today. Groo, and now this..... I like it!

The finalized cover artwork for this Blu-Ray/DVD set...I like it:

Can't wait!

The packaging design for this set looks beautiful:

http://criterioncorner.tumblr.com/post/ ... rilogy-dir

A look at the process behind the artwork for this DVD/Blu-Ray set:

http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/ ... ai-trilogy

I got this set in the mail yesterday, and it's beautiful (I could almost turn off the subtitles and just watch these films for the images). It blows away any previous DVD release of this trilogy; these are definitely films that benefit from being watched in HD. Definitely required viewing for UY fans. My only complaint about this set is that it has only pretty minimal supplemental material: a trailer for each film and three short videos in which the author of a book about Miyamoto Mushasi discusses each film and gives a little bit of historical background on them.

I got a good deal on my copy of this set from taking advantage of the 50% off sale on all Criterion items going on at Barnes & Noble until July 30.

If anyone wants to watch these films without having to buy the Criterion DVD/Blu-Ray set, they're going to be on Turner Classic Movies on August 9th/10th along with Hiroshi Inagaki's The Rickshaw Man (I've wanted to see this one for a while now), Masaki Kobayashi's Samurai Rebellion, and Akira Kurosawa's Drunken Angel, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, and Red Beard (all of those are required viewing, of course ).

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.html? ... 2012-08-09

Bought mine.

Movies rocked.

The colours, man, the colours...they freaked me out.