Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Akira Kurosawa Boxed Set

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 06-09-2003, 12:15 AM:

Walked into the local Blockbuster today. Found my requested Father's Day present:
$24.99 Akira Kurosawa Box Set containing:

Seven Samurai
Hidden Fortress
Yojimbo
Sanjuro

What a deal on some hard to find DVD's. This offer is exclusively through Blockbuster (or so they say).
"Throne of Blood" just came out on DVD also........

Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 06-09-2003, 05:05 PM:

$25?!? I hadn't heard of this set, but found it on bn.com for $90! Blockbuster.com sells itt for $85. Did you really get it that cheap? I'd patronize a Blockbuster store for that price. Which version of Seven Samurai is it? Have you looked at the transfer quality of any of the discs yet?

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 06-09-2003, 05:15 PM:

Holy Crap! I think they may have mis-priced the package. I'll have to go back and check on that.

Haven't got to look at the details of it yet.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 06-09-2003, 05:19 PM:

There is only one version of "THE SEVEN SAMURAI" on Criterion at the moment but there are plans to release another with couple of extra features. I have a copy of the disc and mine is the very rare first edition that has the film restoration segment on it. This first edition was recalled because Toho was not too happy about the restoration segment and made Criterion remove it and repress the title without it.

-Claude

Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 06-09-2003, 05:27 PM:

Thaqnks, Claude. I thought the new;y retored theatrical print had been released on DVD.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 06-09-2003, 06:02 PM:

Joe,

You will love "THE SEVEN SAMURAI" print quality. It is very clean with no scratches and dirt on it. The restoration demo on my copy first presented a scene without any corrections and than the same segment with corrections and the result is wonderful.
Another wonderful Kurosawa film on DVD is "RAN". It was released once before but this new pressing is much better. If you are into short films, you will alo enjoy "YUME" (Dreams). I condiser this as one of my favorite films of Akira Kurosawa because of the great beauty of the images and the use of color.

-Claude

Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 06-09-2003, 06:53 PM:

Claude,
I saw the same DVD that you own. I had rented it from Netflix a few years back. The quality was excellent, but seeing the restored print was a fantastic experience. I need to see Ran again, but i remember liking it quite a bit. Dreams was very interesting. The sequence(s) with the terraced hill with the cherry blossoms was incredible. I look forward to revisiting both films on DVD.

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 06-09-2003, 07:00 PM:

I paid 70 bucks for the set from DVD Planet. I don't think I will upgrade for the new print, as the current one is very good (and Im getting TIRED of this double-dipping crap! Of course, no one but ME forces me to double-dip in the first place, but I am of weak mind!) It's still a great deal, as the individual Criterion titles are on the pricey side.

[ 06-14-2003, 09:06 PM: Message edited by: Paul Linfesty ]

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 06-14-2003, 03:46 PM:

Paul,

It is good to know you are a Akira Kurosawa fan. I used to see a lot of his films long before he became famous all over the world. "SHICHININ NO SAMURAI" was only known by that title by my parents and the Japanese community who were the only one's that attended films from Japan before the entire world discovered how great they were. It was only after Kurasawa established himself around the world that the film became known as "THE SEVEN SAMURAI". Beside Kurosawa, there was Ozu, Kinoshita, Inagaki and many others who created beautiful films. Some great films I remember when I was young included "KONJIKI YASHA", MABOROSHI NO UMA", "UGETSU MONOGATARI", "HARU NO YUME", "GENJI MONOGATARI" and many others. Those were wonderful years when I was able to see them for free in an outdoor 35mm showing during my parent's Japanese Social Club monthly offerings at the plantation village or for seventy five cents at the Waipahu Theatre.

-Claude

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 06-16-2003, 05:31 PM:

I saw "High and Low" for the first time yesterday. Extremely great movie.

I have an odd question:

Did Akira Kurosawa have a son who directs horror movies?

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 06-16-2003, 06:20 PM:

Dennis,

That is a good question but I do not know the answer because I am not too familiar with Akira Kurosawa's personal life.

In my post the other day, I forgot to mention another very famous Japanese film maker who is well known on the international scene.
His name is Kon Ichikawa and is best known for two films among many others. The one everyone is familiar with is "TOKYO OLYMPIAD" about the Olympic games in that city the previous summer. It was just recently released on DVD by Criterion and I was told it is a beautiful disc. The other film and one of my all time favorite Japanese film is his "BIRUMA NO TATEGOTO" (The Harp of Burma). The story is about a small Japanese regiment at the very tail end of World War II and why one of the soldier decides to remain behind in Burma to bury the war dead after his companions all return to Japan at the end of the conflict in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. The film is very touching and it has always moved me to tears whenever I watch it.

-Claude

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 06-16-2003, 10:07 PM:

Dennis, I think you're thinking of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, known for his horror and yakuza films. No relation to Akira Kurosawa.

Kurosawa's eldest son is Hisao. Starting with Ran in 1985 he served as producer or associate producer on his father's films.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 06-16-2003, 10:11 PM:

"Shichinin no samurai" in Japanese means nothing different but "The Seven Samurai".

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 06-17-2003, 01:30 AM:

Mike San

Ano koto wa wakari masu! [Smile]

Claude

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 06-17-2003, 04:05 AM:

Ha, I knew you would take the bait [Wink]

!
Boku mo shichinin no samurai ga daisuki na eiga desu.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 07-10-2003, 11:16 PM:

Dersu Uzala

Great friggin movie...even in Russian.

Get it and see it...

Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 07-19-2003, 04:55 AM:

My parents took me to see 'Derzu Usala' when I was 7 years old. They were afraid, going in, that I would be restless.

I never forgot it. [Smile]