Looks like Seven Samurai wont be re-released anytime soon
 

It may be old news but I was thinking about holding off on purchasing the Criterion of seven samurai because it was rumored to be remastered and put back out this year. I sent Criterion a email and asked them about the rumor. They emailed me back with this response:

"We have no immediate plans for A SEVEN SAMURAI re-release.'

Best
JM


Oh well...

Criterion always says that, right up until the moment a release is announced.

DJ

Pretty much. Although to be honest, I'd be surprised if Criterion were to release both Ran and a remastered Seven Samurai in the same year, let alone within several months of each other.

Why do you say that? Yojimbo and Sanjuro were released on the same day, although that was fairly early on and the films are related. Rashomon and Red Beard came out just a few months apart. Stray Dogs and The Lower Depths came out a month apart, which was also just a few months after Ikiru. Ran and Seven Samurai may be two of the bigger titles, but I really don't see any pattern that would prevent their release in the same year.

DJ

more box sets...lower price point...now thats what i want

I just don't see Criterion releasing two very high profile releases pretty much back-to-back. I could easily be wrong, happens all the time, hell, I hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Seven Samurai was one of the first DVD purchases I made after getting my first player back in 1998, so I'm ready for a new set but frankly, I'd rather Criterion release Kurosawa's we don't have available in one form or another here in region 1.

When they do re-release it, hopefully they'll add the seventh samurai to the cover art.

Is criterion doing Ran? I somehow managed to miss that. Has a release date been set?

no date..info here

Criterion to release Kurosawa's Ran

Notice the word "immediate" which basically means it's planned but no official announcement will be made at this time. You could email JM a week before it's announced, and you would get the same response.

I know everyone else has said not to believe him but I would. I asked him about some Kurosawa films last year and he gave me a truthful answer. I would not expect it to come out this year.

The "no immediate plans" message is Criterion's blanket response to any and all inquiries about currently unannounced titles. The fact that they really didn't have plans for any of the titles you asked about could just be coincidence.