Rashomon (1950), a tale of a brutal rape and murder told from four different perspectives, is the film that introduced Japanese director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune to Western audiences. Today's moviegoers remember Kurosawa's samurai films best of all. Still, it's Red Beard, a tale of redemption and discovering the goodness in a life of service, that remains one of Kurosawa's greatest masterpieces.

Mifune was already a superstar before Red Beard, the last of his 16 films with Kurosawa, went into production. Compared to their quartet of ronin films -- The Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo and Sanjuro -- there is emotional calmness in Red Beard. This dramatic subtlety is what makes Red Beard such an engrossing epic story. The grand set that Kurosawa had built for Red Beard, a historically accurate and detailed recreation of an entire town and its main gate, remains the stuff of film legend. Red Beard is gigantic in its scope and vision (courtesy of cinematographers Asakazu Nakai and Takao Saito). Yet, Kurosawa never loses touch with the intimate, human journey that lies at the heart of Red Beard's story.

Based on the novel by Shugoro Yamamoto, Red Beard takes place at the end of Japan's Tokugawa period. An egotistical young doctor, Noboru Yasumoto (Yuzo Kayama), is assigned under Kyoji Niide (Mifune), nicknamed "Red Beard," the head of the Koishikawa Public Clinic.

Yasumoto considers the assignment demeaning. He thought he would be assigned to the court medical staff. Frustrated by his appointment, he refuses to wear his clinic uniform and intentionally breaks the rules. Over time, he understands the merits of his assignment and the needs of the clinic's impoverished clients. Yasumoto also sees the merits in the career path chosen by Niide.

A recently restored print and soundtrack were the basis for this new, high-definition, digital transfer of Red Beard. Bonus features include notes from Donald Richie, author of The Films of Akira Kurosawa, and film scholar Stephen Prince's audio commentary. Still, the chance to watch a dazzling DVD version of Red Beard, a film previously available only as worn and damaged film prints, is what makes Criterion's release so momentous.

The recent release of Stuart Galbraith IV's book, The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, brings additional awareness to Kurosawa and Mifune's body of work. In terms of humanistic storytelling, Red Beard remains one of their best collaborations.

Late in Red Beard, when Niide is surrounded by thugs intent on stopping his removal of a sick girl who works at a local brothel, Mifune delivers the type of high-energy action scene we've come to expect from him. Niide, who's been solemn and restrained to this point, leaps into action and quickly disposes of the thugs in a bone-crunching manner. The scene is surprising and wonderful. Red Beard is proof that Kurosawa always brought out the best in Mifune. Likewise, Mifune was the firecracker who energized Kurosawa's best films.

Red Beard grade: A

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