"Actor: Seiji Miyaguchi"

• Kurosawa Samurai Collection | Blu Ray | (01/09/2014) from £36.98   |  Saving you £25.00 (71.45%)   |  RRP £59.99

  The films of Akira Kurosawa one of the cinema's greatest auteurs have had a profound effect on audiences around the world and his acclaimed samurai epics - featuring international star Toshirô Mifune - have inspired filmmakers a diverse as George Lucas and Sergio Leone. This collection marks the first time all these seminal films have been available on High Definition blu-ray in the UK. Seven Samurai (1954)When the residents of a small Japanese village seek protection they hire seven unemployed ronin' (masterless samurai). Paid only in handfuls of rice the samurai remain distant from the villagers knowing that their assignment may prove to be fatal. Unanimously hailed as one of cinema's greatest masterpieces Seven Samurai has inspired countless films including The Magnificent Seven. Japan | 1954 | 190 minutes | Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 Throne of Blood (1957)In this brilliant re-imagining of Shakespeare's Macbeth Toshirô Mifune plays a samurai fated to betray his friend and master in exchange for the prestige of nobility. Kurosawa's bloody tale is a triumph of economic style and the climactic battle scene is full of remarkable and brutal imagery. Japan | 1957 | 104 minutes | Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 The Hidden Fortress (1958)In this classic collaboration between Kurosawa and star Mifune a warrior and a princess try against all odds to return to their homeland with their fortune. Acknowledged by George Lucas as the inspiration for Star Wars The Hidden Fortress combines an epic tale of struggle and honour with modern comic sensibilities to masterful effect. Japan | 1958 | 138 minutes | Original aspect ratio 2.35:1 (16x9 enhanced) Yojimbo (1961)A drifting samurai for hire plays both ends against the middle with two warring factions surviving on his wits and his ability to outrun his own bad luck. Eventually the samurai seeks to eliminate both sides for his own gain and to define his own sense of honour. Yojimbo provided inspiration for A Fistful of Dollars. Japan | 1961 | 106 minutes | Widecreen 4:3 format Sanjuro (1962)After the success of Yojimbo Kurosawa teamed up once again with Mifune one year later to make this comedy of manners. The film which follows a man fighting corruption in local government offers a twist on the classic Samurai tale by gently but perfectly parodying the conventions of the Japanese period action movie tradition. Japan | 1962 | 95 minutes | Original aspect ratio 2.35:1 (16x9 enhanced)

• Seven Samurai (Blu-ray Edition) | Blu Ray | (25/08/2014) from £18.75   |  Saving you £1.24 (6.61%)   |  RRP £19.99

  One of the greatest films ever made – Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai has influenced the work of directors from George Lucas to Steven Spielberg and spawned remakes such as John Sturges’ acclaimed The Magnificent Seven. With their village raided every year by vicious bandits a group of peasants hire seven warriors to protect them. Initially met with suspicion the warriors eventually gain the trust of the peasants and they join forces to face the bandits. This special edition includes alternative presentations of the film a new and exclusive interview with Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns and the film’s original Japanese trailer. Endlessly copied but never surpassed Seven Samurai is a truly timeless classic. Contents: Digitally re-mastered in High Definition Play with or without original intermission Original Japanese theatrical trailer The Art of Akira Kurosawa (2013 49 mins): Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns discusses Kurosawa’a career and influence Fully illustrated booklet with essays and credits

• Seven Samurai | DVD | (22/11/1999) from £17.29   |  Saving you £2.70 (15.62%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Unanimously hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the motion picture, Seven Samurai has inspired countless films modelled after its basic premise. But Akira Kurosawa's classic 1954 action drama has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is set in the 1600s, when the residents of a small Japanese village are seeking protection against repeated attacks by a band of marauding thieves. Offering mere handfuls of rice as payment, they hire seven unemployed "ronin" (masterless samurai), including a boastful swordsman (Toshiro Mifune) who is actually a farmer's son desperately seeking glory and acceptance. The samurai get acquainted with but remain distant from the villagers, knowing that their assignment may prove to be fatal. The climactic battle with the raiding thieves remains one of the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed. It's poetry in hyperactive motion and one of Kurosawa's crowning cinematic achievements. This is not a film that can be well served by any synopsis; it must be seen to be appreciated and belongs on the short list of any definitive home-video library. --Jeff Shannon

• The Bad Sleep Well | DVD | (25/07/2005) from £14.59   |  Saving you £5.40 (37.01%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A tense re-working of Hamlet (adapted from a novel by Ed McBain) is a biting expos of the corruption and politics of greed at the heart of Japanese business. Beautifully photographed in ravishing black and white Tohoscope this is original Japanese version never before released in Europe. A young man marries the boss's daughter as part of a scheme to take revenge on the influential businessman who forced his father to commit suicide. Leisurely paced bitterly ironic the film emplo

• Demon Fire | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £6.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (143.06%)   |  RRP £16.99

  The third film in the popular WITCHOUSE horror film series DEMON FIRE tells the story of Annie a woman whose constant physical abuse by her boyfriend causes her to flee to the home of 2 friends. When these friends tell Annie that they are filming a documentary on witchcraft she agrees to join them in enacting a seance for the camera. Meant as a staging for the camera the seance accidently unleashes a dangerous presence into the house leaving the trio fighting for their lives!