"The Criterion Collection continues their ""Sixties Swordplay Classics"" series with this striking blend of espionage, samurai action, and revisionist philosophy, all brought to the screen with grace and vigor by director Masahiro Shinoda. Samurai Spy (aka Sarutobi) has been given a spectacularly well-detailed transfer to disc in the widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which has been letterboxed for play on standard monitors and enhanced for anamorphic play on widescreen equipment. Masao Kosugi's camerawork is a glorious balance of light and shadow, and it looks marvelous in this release. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono from the original single-channel mix, and sounds superb, with the frequent significant silences as clear and penetrating as the dialogue and the music. The dialogue is in Japanese, with optional subtitles in English, which are easy to read and convey the dialogue with both efficiency and gravity. As a bonus, this release also includes an exclusive interview with Masahiro Shinoda, who among other things talks about his early years working with Yasujiro Ozu and his battles with studio brass to give Samurai Spy its distinctive look. Just as Sarutobi rises high above the conventions of traditional Japanese genre cinema, this DVD of Samurai Spy stands head and shoulders above most digital releases of classic Asian action filmmaking, and once again Criterion are to be commended for giving their best efforts to nearly everything they issue."

"The Criterion Collection continues their ""Sixties Swordplay Classics"" series with this striking blend of espionage, samurai action, and revisionist philosophy, all brought to the screen with grace and vigor by director Masahiro Shinoda. Samurai Spy (aka Sarutobi) has been given a spectacularly well-detailed transfer to disc in the widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which has been letterboxed for play on standard monitors and enhanced for anamorphic play on widescreen equipment. Masao Kosugi's camerawork is a glorious balance of light and shadow, and it looks marvelous in this release. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono from the original single-channel mix, and sounds superb, with the frequent significant silences as clear and penetrating as the dialogue and the music. The dialogue is in Japanese, with optional subtitles in English, which are easy to read and convey the dialogue with both efficiency and gravity. As a bonus, this release also includes an exclusive interview with Masahiro Shinoda, who among other things talks about his early years working with Yasujiro Ozu and his battles with studio brass to give Samurai Spy its distinctive look. Just as Sarutobi rises high above the conventions of traditional Japanese genre cinema, this DVD of Samurai Spy stands head and shoulders above most digital releases of classic Asian action filmmaking, and once again Criterion are to be commended for giving their best efforts to nearly everything they issue."