Kurosawa masterpieces on dvd

Five pioneering Samurai epics on dvd mark the centenary of Akira Kurosawa - one of cinema's most influential film-makers:

- SEVEN SAMURAI Japanese villagers seek protection by hiring seven Samurai in this cinematic masterpiece famously remade as The Magnificent Seven by John Sturges

- YOJIMBO the classic tale used by Sergio Leone for A Fistful of Dollars in which a drifting samurai plays two warring factions against each other

- THRONE OF BLOOD Kurosawa's remarkable, brutal reworking of Shakespeare's Macbeth

- THE HIDDEN FORTRESS a warrior and princess fight against all odds to return to their homeland in a film that inspired George Lucas' Star Wars some 20 years later

- SANJURO the breathtaking sequel to Yojimbo ends in a fast-moving, violent duel

All five films come in BFI's slimline presentation box (previously £39.95).

"Electrifying" Philip French, The Observer.

Kurosawa's masterpiece SEVEN SAMURAI awakened the West to Japanese cinema: simple plot, flawlessly executed, it combines gripping tension and some of the finest action scenes ever filmed.

The storyline, in which Japanese villagers seek protection by hiring seven Samurai, was famously remade as The Magnificent Seven by John Sturges.

YOJIMBO is the classic tale used by Sergio Leone for A Fistful of Dollars in which a drifting samurai plays two warring factions against each other. Its a film that displays a wonderful ability for storytelling and thrilling acrtion.

THRONE OF BLOOD is Kurosawa's remarkable, brutal reworking of Shakespeare's Macbeth into 16th century Japan, in a film that combines a beauty with terror.

THE HIDDEN FORTRESS is a thrilling mix of fairy story and Samurai action movie, in which a warrior and princess fight against all odds to return to their homeland.

It was to be Kurosawa's biggest box office success, and George Lucas borrowed the plot some 20 years later for his first Star Wars film.

SANJURO is the breathtaking sequel to Yojimbo which ends in the infamous fast-moving and violent duel.