I want these Kurosawas on DVD!
11-21-03, 10:25 PM
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I want these Kurosawas on DVD!
Uma (Horse)
Sugata Sanshiro
Ichiban utsukushiku (The Most Beautiful)
Zoku Sugata Sanshiro
Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi (The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Trail)
Asu o tsukuru hitobito (Those Who Make Tomorrow)
Shubun (Scandal)
Shizukanaru ketto (The Quiet Duel)
Nora inu (Stray Dog)
Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel)
Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (The Bad Sleep Well)
Ikimono no kirok (I Live in Fear)
I've been reading up Kurosawa and Mifune lately and I really want to see these movies get the Criterion treatment. Though all I know of is Ikiru and Lower Depths coming out. So, if you agree that we need more Kurosawa make your voice heard!
Sugata Sanshiro
Ichiban utsukushiku (The Most Beautiful)
Zoku Sugata Sanshiro
Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi (The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Trail)
Asu o tsukuru hitobito (Those Who Make Tomorrow)
Shubun (Scandal)
Shizukanaru ketto (The Quiet Duel)
Nora inu (Stray Dog)
Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel)
Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (The Bad Sleep Well)
Ikimono no kirok (I Live in Fear)
I've been reading up Kurosawa and Mifune lately and I really want to see these movies get the Criterion treatment. Though all I know of is Ikiru and Lower Depths coming out. So, if you agree that we need more Kurosawa make your voice heard!
11-22-03, 12:58 AM
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Stray Dog is available in a nice R2 edition from BFI. Wouldn't be surprised if it eventually makes it into the Criterion collection, but if you've really got your jones on and you can play PAL discs...
11-22-03, 10:28 PM
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At least a couple of those ("Bad Sleep Well," "Stray Dog," possibly others) are available as imports -- playable on R1 players, though. Check out hkflix.com, which is a DVD Talk advertiser. I can't vouch for the quality, but I don't think they're that expensive, and at least you can watch them now...
11-23-03, 10:21 AM
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Nearly all the titles you're looking for are available in Region 0 discs from Mei Ah, a Hong Kong company. I have the Mei Ah editions of SANSHIRO SUGATA PART 2 and THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, among others. Note that I LIVE IN FEAR is better known under its original title, RECORD OF A LIVING BEING.
However, the quality is not good on some of these; whenever possible, you're probably better off getting the factory-sealed VHS versions of these films instead of the Mei Ah discs. (I have a complete collection of Kurosawa films, but have resorted to the Mei Ah discs only when no other option was available.)
STRAY DOG, THE BAD SLEEP WELL and SANSIRO SUGATA (I think) are all available from the BFI in R2 discs, if you have a code-free player. However, all of those will probably see a release from Criterion in the next year or 2.
Two of the titles you list aren't generally considered part of Kuroswa's filmography, proper, and aren't available in any versions I'm aware of: UMA (HORSE), which features some scenes directed by Kurosawa; and THOSE WHO MAKE TOMORROW, a pro-union propaganda project studio execs forced Kurosawa to contributing to (he directed 1 sequence) and which the director later disavowed.
However, the quality is not good on some of these; whenever possible, you're probably better off getting the factory-sealed VHS versions of these films instead of the Mei Ah discs. (I have a complete collection of Kurosawa films, but have resorted to the Mei Ah discs only when no other option was available.)
STRAY DOG, THE BAD SLEEP WELL and SANSIRO SUGATA (I think) are all available from the BFI in R2 discs, if you have a code-free player. However, all of those will probably see a release from Criterion in the next year or 2.
Two of the titles you list aren't generally considered part of Kuroswa's filmography, proper, and aren't available in any versions I'm aware of: UMA (HORSE), which features some scenes directed by Kurosawa; and THOSE WHO MAKE TOMORROW, a pro-union propaganda project studio execs forced Kurosawa to contributing to (he directed 1 sequence) and which the director later disavowed.
11-23-03, 12:03 PM
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I've recently found this link which chronicles the works of Toshiro Mifune and has a nice little biography on him as well. I wholeheartedly agree with you that these need Criterion treatment asap.
11-24-03, 11:45 AM
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As has already been said, the following belong to Janus films and will be released on DVD by Criterion eventually:
Nora inu (Stray Dog)
Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel)
Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (The Bad Sleep Well)
Ikimono no kirok (I Live in Fear)
Stray Dog and The Bad Sleep Well are available on Criterion Laserdisc. Drunken Angel and I Live in Fear are available on Home Vision VHS.
Several early AK's are available as imports. I have seen on store shelves:
Ichiban utsukushiku (The Most Beautiful) and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Trail
Nora inu (Stray Dog)
Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel)
Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (The Bad Sleep Well)
Ikimono no kirok (I Live in Fear)
Stray Dog and The Bad Sleep Well are available on Criterion Laserdisc. Drunken Angel and I Live in Fear are available on Home Vision VHS.
Several early AK's are available as imports. I have seen on store shelves:
Ichiban utsukushiku (The Most Beautiful) and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Trail
11-24-03, 04:22 PM
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HKflix recently had a blowout sale where all Mei-Ah Kurosawa Region-free DVDs went for $5.95, and I picked up a bunch (I think they still have them all, but they're no longer that cheap).
The catch is that on the Mei Ah discs, the English subs are apparently not translated from the original Japanese, but from the CHINESE translation of the original Japanese. This makes them pretty confusing at times, to say the least. I knew that going in however, and it's not a big problem for me. Of the ones I got, the picture quality is pretty good on Yojimbo and Sanjuro, and they are in widescreen. Sanshiro Sugata also looked pretty good, and I love that movie---pretty darn impressive for his first directorial work. I also liked They Who Step on a Tiger's Tail, but the Mei Ah transfer was quite poor, and although I'm glad I saw it, I couldn't really recommend that DVD version.
The catch is that on the Mei Ah discs, the English subs are apparently not translated from the original Japanese, but from the CHINESE translation of the original Japanese. This makes them pretty confusing at times, to say the least. I knew that going in however, and it's not a big problem for me. Of the ones I got, the picture quality is pretty good on Yojimbo and Sanjuro, and they are in widescreen. Sanshiro Sugata also looked pretty good, and I love that movie---pretty darn impressive for his first directorial work. I also liked They Who Step on a Tiger's Tail, but the Mei Ah transfer was quite poor, and although I'm glad I saw it, I couldn't really recommend that DVD version.
