Kurosawa's Red Beard review up at dvdjournal (1 Viewer)

[oscar_merkx]

http://www.dvdjournal.com/reviews/r/redbeard_cc.shtml
And perhaps the most enduring mystery of all is: Why did Toshiro Mifune stop working with Akira Kurosawa? Or vice-versa?
head on over to the link

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

Here's another review (it actually preceded DVD Journal's review):
http://www.gamenikki.com/dvd//RedBea...onCollect.php3
The above review has screen caps.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Is it just me, or should DVD Journal change their name to Movie Journal? They offer interesting comments about the flicks themselves but barely discuss the quality of the DVD. There's little information about the picture and audio other than it looks and sounds "better than ever". Most of their reviews follow this standard, with as little detail about the discs themselves as possible. Does anybody PREFER this method to a more in-depth discussion?

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Most of their reviews follow this standard, with as little detail about the discs themselves as possible. Does anybody PREFER this method to a more in-depth discussion?

I think there's room for both types. And judging by the disputes that we see between different reviews on different sites on the quality of a transfer, I'm not yet ready to trust *any* reviewer's opinion on the transfer. That's why - if I'm on the fence about a title - I'll check as many reviews as possible. I like DVD Journal's reviews - along with the Glenn Erickson's DVD Savant reviews on DVD Talk - for interesting discusions about the films and their place in history. Erickson's views and placement on genre titles are second-to-none, IMO.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I agree that not everybody has to be the same, and I do think that DVD Journal provides some good discussions of the films themselves. However, it'd be nice to get more info about the discs - every once in a while they'll provide a more full look at a DVD, but usually their comments seem to be in the "looks great/okay/crummy" domain and that's that. I'm always curious to check out "the competition" and I must admit that their style seems odd to me - I honestly don't understand why they don't provide more info about the DVDs, since that's what most people want...

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Obviously I can't speak for DVD Journal, but I think they are doing this deliberately. They know that every other site will cover the technical angles thoroughly (to the point of exhaustion) and that nobody relies on only one review for information anymore. I get the impression that they are much more interested in the FILM, not the DVD.

You're right, though, they probably would be more accurate if their name was "Film Journal" and not "DVD Journal".

 

[oscar_merkx]

is there a possibility we can actaully talk about Red Beard instead of the name of DVDJournal

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

You're right, Oscar!
I'm looking forward to picking this up based on the reviews I've read . It's one of the few Kurosawa/Mifune pictures I haven't seen.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

is there a possibility we can actaully talk about Red Beard instead of the name of DVDJournal

No!!!!
Okay, here ya go: I found the film to offer a pleasant surprise. A three-hour flick in Japanese about a clinic didn't exactly sound like a party to me, but Red Beard seemed very rich and compelling. The hours went by pretty quickly and I really liked the movie.
As for the DVD, I felt very impressed by the picture except for some edge enhancement and a few minor print flaws. Sound also seemed strong for its era, and the audio commentary was terrific. I haven't written my full review yet, but suffice it to say that article will be more detailed than this quick overview.
Happy?

 

[oscar_merkx]

Colin / Peter
:b

 

[Rich Malloy]

Not a huge fan of "Red Beard", but I love DVD Journal!

It's one of the few sites focusing on DVDs that's not embarrassingly inept when it comes to actually discussing movies. Yes, yes, I want the technical stuff, too, but I'm sick and tired of reading DVD reviews that start off with something like "I usually don't watch foreign/black-and-white/made-before-1990-movies because they all tend to be so lame, but I sucked it up and labored all the way to the end of "Andrei Rublev" so that I can tell you why it sucks..."

Yeah, DVD Journal is a breath of fresh air. After all, I got into DVD for the movies... not vice/versa.

 

[Brook K]

I don't go there much, but DVD Journal offers some of the best reviews on the Net.
As for Red Beard, I haven't seen it but am looking forward to picking up the DVD. It's been a long time since I've seen something "new" from Kurosawa.
Regarding the Mifune/Kurosawa breakup, this was discussed in a documentary I saw a year or more ago on Bravo. (this was different than the more recent one that Wellspring put on DVD in April). Kurosawa always drove his actors hard and like a lot of directors/artists had a large ego, but as his popularity wavered and financial problems arose in the 60's he became even more domineering, to the point of demanding that actors sign an exclusive contract with him. Mifune wanted no part of this and they never worked again.

 

[KevA]

There is no clear-cut reason for the break between Mifune and Kurosawa. They interacted with each other well past 1965. I agree with DVD Journal's statement that the reason for the "break" between them has NOT been cleared up. It seems from the book "The Emperor and the Wolf" that there were numerous factors that kept them from working together post-1965.

Red Beard is Kurosawa's greatest achievement in film (DVD Journal correctly states that it is "the pinnacle of his artistry") and I am looking forward to this DVD tremendously.

(The "gamenikki" review linked to near the beginning of this thread mistakenly says Donald Richie did the commentary, when it is in fact Stephen Prince.)

kfa

 

[Tim RH]

Apparently, Clint Eastwood's favorite Kurosawa picture is RED BEARD, if anyone cares.

 

[Carlo_M]

The Master hasn't let me down yet. I will be picking this one up as soon as I can swing by Ken Cranes...

 

[Randy A Salas]

(The "gamenikki" review linked to near the beginning of this thread mistakenly says Donald Richie did the commentary, when it is in fact Stephen Prince.)

To further clarify, Ritchie wrote the brief liner notes in the rather slim booklet that comes with the DVD--which probably is the reason for the confusion.

 

[Brook K]

Hmm, thanks for the info Kev. Obviously just because something makes it into a documentary doesn't mean it's the truth.

 

[oscar_merkx]

here is another review from the Bits
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/review...criterion.html