First Films of Akira Kurosawa

This box set from the popular Criterion Collection 'Eclipse' line - volume 23 in the series - presents four early and seldom-seen sound films by master Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, produced many years before the titles, such as YOJIMBO and RASHOMON, that turned Kurosawa into a household name. The set includes: the 1943 SANSHIRO SUGATA, Kurosawa's debut film, on a judo student's difficult but compelling spiritual journey; THE MOST BEAUTIFUL (1944), a propagandistic wartime drama about female volunteers employed at an optics factory; SANSHIRO SUGATA, PART TWO (1945), the sequel to Kurosawa's debut, that continues the tale of Sanshiro and his quest to become a martial arts master; and THE MEN WHO TREAD ON THE TIGER'S TAIL (1945), a kabuki-inspired tale about a lord who disguises himself as a monk to get past a seemingly impenetrable roadblock.