content: Some customers here, according to their reviews, suggest not buying the DVD because it is not in the widescreen format. According to Donald Richie's "The Films of Akira Kurosawa," the definitive analysis of his filmography (film by film), Kurosawa did not work with the widescreen format until 1958 with "Hidden Fortress". So "Samurai" is shown in its original format on Criterion's DVD. Hope that clears up the confusion.