Akira Kurosawa's RAN - Masterworks Edition (street date: September 9th, 2002) (1 Viewer)

[David Glenn]

Ditto on the Justification. BTW, I can be the Guinea Pig..., I have a paypal account. All we have to do is get 8,500 HTF Members to send me 1 cent each

 

[Rob Tomlin]

 

[Mark_Wilson]

I ordered this set on April 5th. My 'delivery estimate' is 9/20-9/21, guess they didn't make that. Status shows 'preparing to ship'.

 

[RexW]

I got my shipment order last Friday but it usually takes at least a week to ship over here to Japan. Looking forward to this and hoping the transfer is brilliant.

 

[Mark_Wilson]

Got my copy of Ran Masterworks edition. Popped it in and ran through a few chapters. Doesn't look good, guess I had too high expectations Edge Enhancement is VERY noticeble. It is anamorphic, but Madadayo isn't. TONS O' Shimmer! Even in closeups! The colors look nice though. The sound is 5.1 Japanese and there is even a Japanese Mono track, which isn't listed in the literature. Overall kinda disappointed. I also noticed the price on Amazon went down from $99.99 when I pre-ordered it to $84.49.
edit: Was a little harsh at first. After a complete viewing it isn't that bad. EE and Shimmer are distracting though.

 

[Joe Vidal]

This is unfortunate news. :frowning:
Mark, how does the transfer compare to the original F-L release? It sounds like a very negative initial impression...but I'm sure there are some people who'd be happy with a better version than the old FL disc(not saying much).
BTW, is "shimmering" a common byproduct of PAL-NTSC transfers? It sounds like an edge enhancement artifact but I'm not familiar with common problems of PAL-NTSC conversions (if in fact a PAL video master was used).

 

[Rain]

Considering the long wait and anticipation and the fact that Wellspring actually seemed to be trying to increase quality, based on some of their other releases this year, this news is an extreme disappointment.

Sounds like a NO SALE.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Well, this is indeed very disappointing news! Is the transfer at least better than the previous version?

Even if it is only a little better, I will probably purchase this when it is available as a single disc. That will happen, right?

Must. own. this. movie.

 

[Mark_Wilson]

I haven't seen the FL version so I can't comment.

 

[David Glenn]

:frowning:

 

[Tom Oh]

I am very dissappointed. I would have prefered a great transfer over the fancy packaging any day. I have been awaiting this release ever since I picked up Fox Lorber edition about 3~4 years ago.

 

[Tom Oh]

I should be getting this set any day now. If it indeed is a disappointing transfers of both films, I will have felt cheated. It is ironic that "Madadayo" translates to "Not yet" or "Not ready". Also, on Wellspring web site, you can't even properly search! I input Ran or Kurosawa on search and get back all their films

 

[Matt Giggey]

I haven't seen the FL version so I can't comment.

It has to be better...right?

Either way, it looks like this is the best we'll get for some time, so if people have put off purchasing this movie because of a sub-par transfer, just go ahead and get it. This movie is too good to pass up.

I probably won't even upgrade if there isn't much of a difference. I've gotten plenty of enjoyment out of the current release.

This is disappointing news, but we should wait to hear from someone who has seen both versions.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Oh brother.
All that waiting for nothing it sounds like. I will say that the colors in the FL version appear washed out to me, so at least having the better colors would be an upgrade.
Plus, the FL is non-anamorphic AND offset toward the top of the screen which screws anyone using masking (well, you can customize your system for this one title I suppose).
How do some of these all-time great directors/films get treated like such crap all the time? :frowning:

 

[Matt Giggey]

I will say that the colors in the FL version appear washed out to me, so at least having the better colors would be an upgrade.

For me, with a 4:3 TV, that is the biggest issue. So I imagine the new release will be a big improvement. We'll just have to wait for someone who has seen both.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Either way, it looks like this is the best we'll get for some time, so if people have put off purchasing this movie because of a sub-par transfer, just go ahead and get it. This movie is too good to pass up.

First of all, Wellspring themselves will be re-releasing RAN next year without the expensive box, so at least you won't have to pay through the nose.

Second, a superior release from another region will probably happen sooner rather than later.

Third, if we keep rewarding shoddy work with our $$ we will keep getting shoddy work. This is so elementary -- once DVD companies discover that they lose money from inferior transfers, they will suddenly start caring for quality. Until we do start voting with our money though, they will screw us again and again and again. The choice is ours.

Ted

 

[Rich Malloy]

Damn straight.

 

[Rich Malloy]

And I'd like to add that any company that purports to be actively trying to burnish its image, of which various Wellspring reps have assured us in these forums (o, where are you now?), that one good method would be to provide review copies to the major DVD review sites.
I don't see any reviews out there for this title. Either the review sites have seriously underestimated the interest in this release, or no review copies were provided. I suspect the latter.
And if this disc is as poor as reported - and we already know that the two previously released discs in this set are decidely subpar - then I certainly understand the marketing/distribution scheme cooked-up for this set. Fortunately - or unfortunately - I've been burned one too many times by this lousy producer (name changed to protect the guilty) to have willingly handed over a C-note for any of their products, sight-unseen.
As a stand-alone disc and priced normally, I might consider purchasing a somewhat defective "Ran" dvd. But $100 for three defective discs and a pretty box? What... do you take me for a sucker?
No, not again. Not again.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Let's not jump the gun here guys.

We only have one "review", and that person has not seen the FL edition. It is still possible that this new transfer is a great improvement over the FL edition. I will wait for more reviews to come in before making any final conclusions.

I may be a bit over-optimistic, but I don't think we should base all our conclusions on one review, either.

 

[Mark_Wilson]

I agree with Rob. This disc is no Highlander (1st version). Colors are nice. It is anamorphic. Grain is not noticable but that could be because of heavy video noise reduction. You can see DVNR artifacts in SOME scenes. It is an old film and I'm happy just to have it in anamorphic widescreen.

ps. forgot to mention that all the discs were floaters. The spindles barely hold the disc in. Luckily there was plenty of room to play and none of them had heavy marking on them.