Kurosawa DVDs? (1 Viewer)

[TonyE]

Thanks Matt! Well, it sounds like the boxed set is a good idea if i plan on getting more Kurosawa films after Seven Samurai, that is if it is reasonably priced...i checked the Criterion website but couldn't find a release date or a price.

Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy would be nice as a boxed set (i know you can get them individually) if its not already.

 

[Mark_vdH]

The region 2 and 3 Kagemusha are out rightnow. I have the R3 sitting on my shelf right now. It's done by Fox, and I'm guessing that any US release will be the same disc with the region flipped

Print is kind-of trashed, but it's anamorphic and progressive. Lots and lots of grain is the biggest complaint, but Kurosawa seems to favor the gritty look. Fox is considering an R1 release.

I haven't seen Kagemusha yet, and I'd like to, but:

As there are two version of this movie (179 & 159 minutes), and the version currently out on R2 DVD is the short version, I'm not sure if I must buy it...

Can somebody comment on the cuts....like:

- Were they intended by Kurosawa?
- What's considered to be the best version?

 

[Brook K]

I don't know about the cuts but the r2 Kagemusha reportedly only has english close captions instead of subs.

 

[Ted Todorov]

I have the R3 sitting on my shelf right now. It's done by Fox, and I'm guessing that any US release will be the same disc with the region flipped

Jeff,
How are the English subtitles on your Kagemusha DVD -- normal or for the hearing impaired? Which e-tailers have the R3?
Ted

 

[Mike Broadman]

I just got an e-mail reply from Criterion. There will indeed be a 4 movie Kurosawa box set with no changes to the DVDs, but it should be cheaper than buying them seperately.

Fortunately, I was able to exchange my copy of Seven Samurai for Do the Right Thing, so I'm all set for the box.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

Jeff, definitly tell us more about Kagemusha. Are there any extra material on the disc?

 

[Joseph Goodman]

The new Toho discs are all from new HDTV 24p transfers (I'm assuming that "Hidden Fortress" and "Red Beard" will have the same transfers as have already been issued by Criterion), with similar dust & dirt removal being done on them. All the films released in "Perspecta" will also include 5.1 remixes from the original magnetic stems, and oddly enough, "Seven Samurai" will have a 5.1 remix (!, it will also be 2-discs).
Toho has a site set up listing all the titles scheduled and detailing the new transfers and sound work at:
Link Removed

 

[Jeff Kleist]

As far as extras, there's a nasty cover and the trailer.

The subs are the same as the old VHS. Straight up subs, no CC

The R2/3 DVD are the 159min UStheatrical cut. Why the 20 min were removed is a mystery, but given how Fox hack n slashed their foreign films in the 70s/80s (Highlander and Rocky Horror being noteables) who knows why it was cut. I could not find any documentation on what was Kurosawa's preferred, I guess thatt would be a question for Mr. Lucas or Coppola who produced the film.Full specs of the R3...

159 min NTSC 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen
English Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Thai subs
English menus

Like many R3 discs, it comes in a clear keepcase with the insert printed on the back of the cover art. It looks very snazzy.

 

[SteveGon]

Well, I signed the Dreams petition though I doubt it'll do any good - only five signatures so far!
It's a shame that Warner has shown so little interest in this title. It's an even bigger shame that they won't license it to Criterion. :frowning:
Why we're on the subject, does anyone remember an article in Premiere magazine years ago that featured some of Kurosawa's production paintings from Dreams? They were quite striking and would make a nice addition to a DVD release.

 

[Mark_vdH]

No, but you should tell if this Dersu Uzala DVD is good as soon as you get it, because it is WAY cheaper than Ruscico

Well, I just received the 3 disc version. It contains both the original version (137 min - spread over two dual layered discs), and the USA version (140 minutes - on one disc). The discs are Region 3 only.
The original version is presented in anamorphic widescreen format, framed at aprox. 2.20:1, and with DD 5.1 sound (Russian and English dub), while the USA version is non-anamorphic (aprox. 2.35:1) with DD Mono tracks (again Russian and English). Both versions contain well placed optional English subs.
I just sampled a few minutes of each version, and I thought the (non-anamorphic) USA version looked pretty sharp, and had nice colors. The original version looked softer, and the colors weren't as solid. From what I saw so far, there was a little more print damage on the USA version (but acceptable). Overall, both versions seemed sufficient to me, not as good as I hoped perhaps, but not as bad as I feared either....
There aren't many extras on the discs.
The disc with the USA version has none at all.
The discs with the original cut have the following extra's (all features are in English or with optional subs):
disc 1:
- Vladimir Arseniev biography (text - 2 pages)
- Making the film (5 min)
-Photo Gallery (12 behind the scenes pics)
disc 2:
- Interview with Y. Solomin about Arseniev (5 min), Kurosawa (9 min) and the movie (7 min)
- Cast and Crew biographies
The biographies are quite extensive, and have about 5 trailers from Russian films 'hidden' in them. (the trailers have no subs, but do contain optional English dubs).
The booklet (8 pages) and back cover are in Korean BTW.