Hi-

DIdn't see any other threads about this. I have the older copy of RAN. Looks like crap. Did anyone get this new one? Does it look any better? Thanks.

Search for Masterworks...

I posted a link to a comparison page over at the Beaver in this thread > http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=285959 < just a few days ago...

Thanks!

Looks great but not perfect. Commentaries are excellent. Subtitles contain some misspellings and bad grammar.

Great. Fox Lorber changed their name but not their ways.

I just got the Masterworks Edition today. My first reaction: "This looks like CRAP."

The comparison (another pointer here: http://207.136.67.23/film/dvdcompare/ran.htm ) is interesting. Given the first three captured frames, I think the Fox/Lorber image is better. It certainly has better color. It's a bit softer, but that's one of the problems with the Wellspring disc... the dreaded edge enhancement. And here it's coupled with too much contrast, and a little too much DVNR. (Compare the hats worn in the first compared frame, for example.)

Then the final two frames are the opposite (although the last one is asking to pick the lesser of two evils, if you ask me). The Wellspring is clearly much better on the shot of the warrior riddled with arrows.

So after consideration, my reaction to the Masterworks Edition is: "This looks pretty bad, but what are you gonna do?"

So, am I the only one disappointed by the picture quality on this disc?

Oh incidentally... the captures, were they resized to match one another? Was PowerDVD used? If so, which setting: (1) Original video source size, or (2) Current video window size?

--------------So, am I the only one disappointed by the picture quality on this disc?--------------

Count me in.

Too much constrast, some scenes as blur as Fox/Lorber one, and the worst thing is that the color is totally wrong (too saturated and too much yellow tinted).

In my opinion, the picture quality is a little better than that of Fox/Lorber one but is worse than that of my VHS tape.

Disappointed in the picture quality but I just couldn't wait any longer. I had to have it. Despite my disappointment with the picture quality the movie is so amazing it quickly becomes secondary. But, I'll be waiting for a better version with the rest of you.

How could this happen... again? The print that went through theaters two years ago was stunning....

Dunno... I merely posted the link, E the guys at the Beaver and ask em'. His email addy w/ subject line is in the comparison review.

Myself, I have yet to watch this so I can't comment on the transfer... It just came in from Amazon yesterday, I'll try to get to it this weekend.

Well, I got around to this disc over the weekend... And, sadly, I have to agree... It's still a mess. A better mess than the previous edition but there are still many issues...

As noted above... The colors seem wrong in a lot of scenes, there's edge enhancement out the wazoo, subtitles are incorrect in some scenes, contrast is too high and so on...

Still, it looks like the best version available so we'll just have to deal with it for now and wait for the definitive version... I certainly recommend it for the film but be prepared to deal with the video issues. At least it's anamorphic! The audio is also a little on the weak end...

*shrug*

And feel for the poor suckers who paid $100 for the biggest scam since Elites "The Masterworks of German Horror Cinema"... the "Amazon-Exlusive Individually-Numbered Limited Edition Kurosawa Boxset" that included the very poorly transfered "Madadayo", the bizarrely non-anamorphic "Kurosawa" documentary (shot for TV in hi-def 16x9, but plagued with artifacts and non anamorphic for no good reason at all), and of course this "RAN" disc.

Wellspring has improved slightly over Winstar-Fox Lorber, I'll give them that. But the operative word is "slightly".

Yep, count me in also. A horrible transfer (and I sat thru the Fox Lorber transfer before).

They even have the nerve to say the print was struck from a master print (yea right).

The Fox Lorber was bad but at least it was not like watching the movie through a low res graphics card on a computer.

Someone fell asleep at the switch on the "digital enhancing". This goes beyond edge enhancment.

If I was the Great Lord of DVDs, I would force all rights to Criterion. I can only imagine what they could do with this great film.

Doug

I sold my FL disc a few months ago, and I just placed an order for this one - will I regret it? The FL transfer was dirty and dreary, but at least it was uniform and you could get used to it. It seems like the problems here are really distracting. Is the new one definately an improvement? Even if it's only slightly improved, I'll be happy.

It's an improvement if only for the framing and the abilty to turn the subs off. The picture suffers from all the above mentioned problems but in the end it's easier to watch than the old F/L version.

Hello, my name's Rich and i'm a sucker!!

To say i was disappointed when i received this set back in September is a bit of an understatement...if paying $100 wasn't bad enough (yes..i'm a sucker! and have myself to blame) with living in the UK i also had a £15 or so customs fee ($20) to pay..2 of the discs in the set had come loose and got scratched to hell!! and if that wasn't bad enough i too was extremely disappointed by the quality of the 'Ran' disc consequently although not their fault i suppose i have never purchased anything from Amazon since!!

This is a damn shame, as I really wanted to buy this disc. But the above comments and a couple of very scathing reviews I've read will keep me away from this. It basically sounds like a sloppily done transfer. Is it true that the reel change marks weren't even removed?

dont waste your energy spilling out pity for this poor sucker....I'm still happy it's in my collection.

Well, I didn't notice them as frequently as the reviewer at DVDTown (http://www.dvdtown.com/reviews/revie...&reviewid=1548) seemed to, but I do recall seeing them, yes.

No they weren't. But that's the least of the discs problems. Reel change marks don't bother me. They're visible on a lot of discs, and of course you see them in the theater.

For some reason, they don't bother me in the theatre, but I always find them distracting if I'm watching a video or DVD at home that has them. Go figure.

Don't "like" your chops just yet! (LOL.. this is just one of several spelling errors on the Masterworks disc!) How hard is it to proof-read, Wellspring?? This remains a bloody awful disc of a bloody good movie. And yes, the reel change marks are there in all their glory.

this is disappointing to read... having just went on a kurosawa spending binge.

oh well.. :\

Thanks for the info...I guess I'll just stick with my old crappy version.

The new version is not perfect but far superior to the old one. I believe everyone is very disappointed due to the high expectations for it.