Unsure about these Criterion DVDs..

[sal]

No "Ran"?

[ejp626]

No "Ran"?

Curiously this came up already in the reviews. Criterion lost the rights to Ran, so grab a copy while they are still floating around. Similarly they never had the rights to Dreams.

[Stefan Wood]

You should check out the Criterion site re: the Kurosawa box. I'm not certain, but the Seven Samurai will be compressed on 1 disc. Not certain if there are any bonus reatures (like commentaries) on any of them.

A nice set to check out is the Nikkatsu Noir Eclipse set. Late 50's to late 60's "nor" ish style Japanese film. Very entertaining!

[ejp626]

You should check out the Criterion site re: the Kurosawa box. I'm not certain, but the Seven Samurai will be compressed on 1 disc. Not certain if there are any bonus reatures (like commentaries) on any of them.

A nice set to check out is the Nikkatsu Noir Eclipse set. Late 50's to late 60's "nor" ish style Japanese film. Very entertaining!

I've been watching the Nikkatsu Noir. The local store (Facets) got a couple of sets in.

My impression is this is pretty bare bones (no stand-alone bonus DVDs), though I suspect the commentaries already on disc will be included. I would be a lot less likely to buy this if it didn't at least have the commentaries! A lot of questions raised, but still a pretty tempting box set, particularly if (like me) you enjoy Kurosawa films but don't own that many.

[Dave James]

Noticed on the Criterion website that Costa-Gavras' "Z" will be out later this year. That's a good 'un.

Up over and out.

[sal]

I didn't know that they lost the rights to Ran! Luckily I got that one about 4 years ago the day it came out. Criterion did a great job with it.

And from a personal standpoint, after seeing that 2 disc version of Seven Samurai, I'd be worried if they decide to compress it to one. The two disc edition was absolutely beautiful....one of the best restorations of a film I've ever seen on DVD.

[ejp626]

I didn't know that they lost the rights to Ran! Luckily I got that one about 4 years ago the day it came out. Criterion did a great job with it.

And from a personal standpoint, after seeing that 2 disc version of Seven Samurai, I'd be worried if they decide to compress it to one. The two disc edition was absolutely beautiful....one of the best restorations of a film I've ever seen on DVD.

Agreed. I actually emailed someone at Criterion and asked. I think the hope is that two of the early films are on 1 DVD and Seven Samurai remains on 2, but that is probably wishful thinking. Nonetheless, supposedly all new transfers (except maybe Dodes’ka-den), which would make it more baffling if there were no audio commentaries (I asked this as well).

Again, what is the market? A lot of fans already have too many of the films to buy this, but then why go to the trouble of new transfers?

[ejp626]

I didn't know that they lost the rights to Ran! Luckily I got that one about 4 years ago the day it came out. Criterion did a great job with it.

And from a personal standpoint, after seeing that 2 disc version of Seven Samurai, I'd be worried if they decide to compress it to one. The two disc edition was absolutely beautiful....one of the best restorations of a film I've ever seen on DVD.

Agreed. I actually emailed someone at Criterion and asked. I think the hope is that two of the early films are on 1 DVD and Seven Samurai remains on 2, but that is probably wishful thinking. Nonetheless, supposedly all new transfers (except maybe Dodes’ka-den), which would make it more baffling if there were no audio commentaries (I asked this as well).

Again, what is the market? A lot of fans already have too many of the films to buy this, but then why go to the trouble of new transfers?

Ok, now I am even more confused. In some of the promotional material -- and as discussed on the Criterion boards -- it sounded like they were all new transfers. This is not the case. And the commentaries will be dropped off. I think a lot of people will be fairly pissed off about this (specifically the fact that they have to wait so long for the unreleased films to be released separate from the box, since the box is frankly kind of lame and definitely not for Kurosawa connoisseurs).

Hi Eric,

Thank you for your email and interest in the AK 100 set!

In response to your first question, The SEVEN SAMURAI included will indeed

be the 2006 edition! It's only one disc, but that doesn't mean there

will be any loss in picture quality at all.

To answer your second question, the special features from the

Kurosawa releases will not be included on this set. If you're one who

values our special features, you may want to stick to the full

Criterion special editions and supplement with the Postwar Kurosawa

Eclipse set, but if you just want to immerse yourself in the life's

work of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, this box is going

to be a great way to do it: a gorgeous object and the most

cost-effective to fill out your Kurosawa library.

I have included a link from our website below that details the set further:

http://www.criterion.com/boxsets/678

I hope this information is helpful. Thank you for supporting Criterion

and please let me know if you have any more questions!

Sincerely,

Jon Mulvaney

On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 4:32 PM, <petersene@comcast.net> wrote:

>

> Dear Jon Mulvaney:

>

>

>

> I was wondering when more information about the AK100 set will be

> available. I actually would be in the target market for this set, since I

> only own Ikiru, though I've seen most of the others. However, the top two

> questions I have are whether The Seven Samurai will be on one DVD or two,

> and whether any existing audio commentaries will be included for any of the

> films. Thank you for your time.

>

>

[ejp626]

I was thinking seriously about this set, but I just can't see getting it now, given how you'd still have to buy (or rent) all the films to hear the commentary and see the various episodes of It is Wonderful to Create. It certainly doesn't free up any shelf space if you already own some of these already (that would have been something at least). I guess they didn't want to cannibalize sales of the main line Kurosawa's, but how are they going to move enough copies of this to people who aren't film buffs? (Film buffs almost by definition would want the bonus features.) It just strikes me as a poorly thought out marketing decision. Someone on the Criterion board said they sell a lot of these bare bones box sets to interior decorators whose clients want to purchase a lot of class, but that was before the recession hit...

That said, if in a year or two it starts showing up at a much, much lower price point ($100-150), I might get it.

Edited October 1, 2009 by ejp626

[ejp626]

I was thinking seriously about this set, but I just can't see getting it now, given how you'd still have to buy (or rent) all the films to hear the commentary and see the various episodes of It is Wonderful to Create. It certainly doesn't free up any shelf space if you already own some of these already (that would have been something at least). I guess they didn't want to cannibalize sales of the main line Kurosawa's, but how are they going to move enough copies of this to people who aren't film buffs? (Film buffs almost by definition would want the bonus features.) It just strikes me as a poorly thought out marketing decision. Someone on the Criterion board said they sell a lot of these bare bones box sets to interior decorators whose clients want to purchase a lot of class, but that was before the recession hit...

That said, if in a year or two it starts showing up at a much, much lower price point ($100-150), I might get it.

Just a head's up that Barnes and Noble is having a 50% off all Criterions sale. Can't tell how long -- maybe a couple of weeks. It appears to apply to everything, including the Criterion and Eclipse box sets. Unfortunately, the sale does not appear to apply to pre-orders so the two sets I am most interested in -- Rossellini's War Trilogy and potentially AK100 -- will not be covered. This sale seems to hit every year around Thanksgiving, so I can afford to be patient and see if I can scoop these up next year.

Oh, they even seem to have a few copies of Ran left in stock, so this might be a good time to grab them before they are gone forever.

Edited November 22, 2009 by ejp626

[BFrank]

I just got "Last Year at Mareinbad" and "Bob Le Flambeur" - great prices!

[BruceH]

I just got "Last Year at Mareinbad" and "Bob Le Flambeur" - great prices!

At a flea market? Yardsale?

[ejp626]

I just got "Last Year at Mareinbad" and "Bob Le Flambeur" - great prices!

At a flea market? Yardsale?

I think he's replying to the post that Barnes and Noble is having a 50% off sale on all Criterions.

[BFrank]

Right.........the B&N sale - 50% off.

[Dave Garrett]

Just a head's up that Barnes and Noble is having a 50% off all Criterions sale. Can't tell how long -- maybe a couple of weeks.

This sale started on the 10th, and was supposed to run for two weeks, which would make the 24th the last day. Not sure if that means midnight on the 24th or midnight on the 25th, but the bottom line is don't wait too much longer to pick up anything you're considering if you're expecting to get the sale discount.

EDIT: looks like the sale ended at midnight last night. Or thereabouts, anyway, as I placed an order a few minutes after midnight and the sale prices were still in effect. Checking a random Criterion DVD this morning, the prices are back to normal.

Edited November 24, 2009 by Dave Garrett