Akira Kurosawa is a director that anyone seriously interested in film has heard of, but not a filmmaker whose works I am particularly familiar with. As I have spent the past year purchasing new release Criterion blu-rays, I decided to take a chance on a collection of two of Kurosawa’s best known films — Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Suffice it to say, I am not the least bit disappointed.

Yojimbo is without a doubt the rosetta stone for a single archetype — the antihero. In this case, masterless samurai (or ronin), Sanjuro played by the charismatic actor Toshiro Mifune. As a fan of comics, science fiction, fantasy and action films, I have seen variations of Sanjuro throughout my life, but never realized that so many characters began with the protagonist of Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. Most notably, Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” in Sergeio Leonne’s remake of Yojimbo (re: rip-off), A Fist Full of Dollars. And it’s a testament to Kurosawa’s skill as a director that with so many derivative descendants, Yojimbo is still an incredibly compelling film, surprisingly modern in its sensibilities and most importantly, funny and entertaining.

Yojimbo is set in a town beset by two rival factions of Yakuza. Sanjuro, an aging wandering samurai, arrives in the town and decides to set both sides against each other for nothing more than his own personal amusement. What follows is a dark comedy as Sanjuro acts as an agent of chaos, shattering the delicate balance of power in the town.

Created as a quick follow up to capitalize on the popularity of Yojimbo, Sanjuro is a very different story and casts Sanjuro in a slightly different role. Nine young samurai discover corruption within their local clan. As they begin to align against the suspected source of the corruption, they stumble upon Sanjuro, who quickly realizes that they have the situation entirely wrong. Unlike Yojimbo, where Sanjuro acts alone, here he serves a mentor figure and leader to the nine samurai. In addition, Sanjuro is portrayed as more of a traditional hero, motivated by altruism rather than boredom and money, though still shabby and uncouth. Sanjuro is an entertaining film, but not the classic that Yojimbo is.

The transfers on the two blu-rays are top notch — there’s a little flicker here and there, but overall Kurosawa’s black and white compositions look phenomenal. Extras are sparse for a Criterion edition, but include segments from a Japanese documentary on Kurosawa’s career, as well as commentary tracks from Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince. Although dry at times, Prince’s commentaries are illuminating, providing important context for both the historical period in which the two films are set, as well as for the production of the films.

All in all, the Yojimbo & Sanjuro two-pack is well worth your money — and at $50 on Amazon, is also an incredible bargain.