Toshirō Mifune

13 films on Best Blurays8 in 4K4 in HD1 with no official release

Toshirō Mifune (April 1, 1920 - December 24, 1997) was a Japanese actor who is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Japanese cinema. He was born in Qingdao, China, but was raised in Japan. Mifune's career spanned over 50 years, during which he collaborated extensively with renowned director Akira Kurosawa, creating some of the most iconic films in Japanese cinema. Mifune gained international recognition for his performances in Kurosawa's films, particularly in samurai films. He portrayed strong, dynamic, and often rebellious characters, bringing a raw intensity to his roles. Some of his notable collaborations with Kurosawa include "Rashomon" (1950), "Seven Samurai" (1954), "Yojimbo" (1961), and "The Hidden Fortress" (1958), which inspired George Lucas's "Star Wars." Apart from his work with Kurosawa, Mifune appeared in numerous other films, showcasing his versatility as an actor. He played roles in various genres, including dramas, comedies, and war films. Some of his other notable films include "The Throne of Blood" (1957), "High and Low" (1963), and "Red Beard" (1965). Mifune's charismatic presence, powerful performances, and ability to convey complex emotions made him an iconic figure in Japanese cinema. He received international recognition and awards for his contributions to the film industry, including several honors at the Venice Film Festival and a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Biography from TMDB

By format

List

8 in 4K

UHD Blu-ray or 4K streaming

Sanjuro (1962)

Leading role · Director: Akira Kurosawa

4K · Excellent

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · blah-ray.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Intact grain compared to Toho/BFI UHDs' DNR'd master

Audio Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray is good, derived from the 1995 Criterion LaserDisc (which would be minimally better due to its lack of filtering) see blah-ray

4.2

Throne of Blood (1957)

Leading role · Director: Akira Kurosawa

4K · Solid

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI 4K Blu-ray for video or Criterion Blu-ray for subtitles

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

See detailed review However Criterion has better subtitles

Best Audio:

Old BFI Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

Old BFI Blu-ray > Criterion Blu-ray > BFI 4K Blu-ray > Toho Blu-ray See DonaldMcDonald's post

4.3

Seven Samurai (1954)

Leading role · Director: Akira Kurosawa

4K · Excellent

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray or BFI 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

No clear winner, Criterion SDR 4K Blu-ray has better defined grain and is cleaned-up more thoroughly. But looks grayer and flatter in daytime scenes. BFI 4K Blu-ray's HDR/DV is better in contrast but the grading can be debatable.

Best Audio:

BFI Streaming

Additional Info:

The subtitles of Criterion and BFI are translated differently. See BR forum.

4.6

Stray Dog (1949)

Leading role · Director: Akira Kurosawa

4K · Solid

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray, caps

As with other Kurosawa 4K's, Criterion has a less processed master than Toho and BFI.

Best Audio:

Criterion NTSC DVD

Audio Notes:

Criterion NTSC DVD overall. The 4K restoration's track is denoised and sounds muffled, but has a few of moments where it edges out in detail

Audio analysis between the Criterion 4K Blu-ray, BFI Blu-ray and Toho 4K Blu-ray

4.0

The Hidden Fortress (1958)

Leading role · Director: Akira Kurosawa

4K · Excellent

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR

Best Audio:

Restored original mono mix: Toho Japan 4K Blu-ray
Unrestored original mono: 2014 BFI Blu-ray

BFI 4K Blu-ray has OG Perspecta (in 5.1 container) and a stereo downmix of it; no original mono.

Additional Info:

The unrestored track on BFI's earlier release appears to be an almost entirely unmanipulated transfer of the original mix. It suffers from a distracting low-frequency hum. The 4K restoration comes with a restored track, which appears to be the same transfer, but which appears to be cleaned up with a moderate amount of noise reduction and some EQ, nicely opening up the high-end, and which is likely to be preferable to most listeners. All earlier releases sound poor.

Perspecta isn't a discrete surround format, instead only relying on manipulating volume and panning of the mono track across L/C/R channels, based on embedded control tones. As such, even the Perspecta track is technically just the mono mix, though the omission of the proper mono on BFI's 4K is still unfortunate.

4.2

High and Low (1963)

Leading role · Director: Akira Kurosawa

4K · Excellent

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

France Carlotta

Video Notes:

France Carlotta > Criterion 4K Blu-ray see caps: https://slow.pics/c/s7AfL3XW

Grain is sharper/clearer on the new Carlotta/Criterion 4K; BFI's grain resolves slightly worse and more so in motion, being a standard Blu-ray; The Toho 4K's grain is softer, probably DNR'd.

Best Audio:

Toho 1993 LaserDisc

Audio Notes:

BFI Player used to have the same mastering available to stream in 2019.

4.6