Living Deadpan

Thanks OP.

Just ordered one from Buy.com for $26.99

LorenzoL

I have the SD version and was hoping to get the Blu-ray. That's too bad that the rights expired.

Nestunk

Thanks to the OP. I picked one up yesterday.

Ron G

Thanks for this info. I bought one from Amazon yesterday.

So Criterion basically wasted their time and money preparing the Blu Ray release? That sucks.

MTRodaba2468

Well, it'll probably come out once Criterion gets the rights back (assuming they do get them back). It sucks, but worse things have happened.

Solid Snake

I'd assume they'd get them back..I mean..they love their Kurosawa. Really wished they'd kept Hard Boiled and The Killer. Were they to still have them...it'd be everything we'd want of them at this time. I mean they did another Seven Samurai (that being probably a very very popular title), they'd do another of those Woo flicks too I'd assume.

MTRodaba2468

Well, the Dragon Dynasty of Hard Boiled isn't bad (I know, I know, it has dubtitles; still, it's not a bad release). They're supposedly going to be releasing The Killer as well.

mdnitoil

There's no guarantee of that. This title is now under Weinstein control, unlike all the other Kurosawa titles. This one can play odd-man-out for a long time to come.

mikelowry

Does this mean other Criterion Kurosawa titles are in risk of OOP?

dx23

Nope. Criterion acquired those from Toho. Ran was license was owned by Wellspring who was recently acquired by Genius. There are other Kurosawa films are spread around like Dreams which WB has, Rhapsody in August that MGM has and BCI had the Quiet Duel until they close shop.

beebs

For once I'm lucky. I picked one up during the B1G1 Criterion sale at DD last year.

Solid Snake

They better get this one..I've been hoping to see this come out from Criterion since I started collecting Kurosawa's works. Kinda wish they'd get Derzu Ursula...Criterion are the only ones to give Kurosawa's works justice.

jjcool

Luckily this disc was one of the few deals I ever got from Circuit City. 7.99 plus tax out the door for this Criterion.

kingtopher

You obviously haven't seen the BCI disc then, because it has a great picture, pretty good audio, excellent subtitles, some nice supplements like lengthy interviews with cast and crew members, and even an essay in the booklet by Stuart Galbraith IV. It might as well be a Criterion DVD, only for a much lower price. I was hoping that BCI would pick up some other Kurosawa films as well. There's no need for Criterion to rerelease it, unless it is out of print now.

Maxflier

I don't want to tell Criterion how to do business, but how do you prepare a title for release on Blu-Ray without considering the kind of major fact that you aren't going to have the rights anymore when the time comes to release it? Was this title supposed to have come out earlier and just got delayed or something?

Tim Tucker

Looks like Quiet Duel is OOP, so I hope Criterion does pick it up.

jjcool

Thats what I was wondering as well. I understand losing rights while something is in print, but while you are prepping a release? The only reason I come up with, is if it was a sudden decision to pull the rights, and not an expiration thing.

chris_sc77

I wonder how well the Criterion Blu's are selling.

pro-bassoonist

Extremely well - you could read an article on the issue in the latest Home Theater Magazine.

Pro-B

Krelyan

Would this have anything to do with Japanese license holders hesitancy to allow Blu-ray releases till they themselves put one out?

manicsounds

I thought about that, but Japan has already issued "Ran" on BluRay

jjcool

I would guess they make up a good portion of criterion's sales. But Criterions sales can't be that many units at all.

Paul1957

From Digital Bits:

Also today, we've learned a little more about Criterion's cancellation of Ran on Blu-ray, but just so you know this is NOT official, so it should be considered Rumor Mill-worthy. It seems that the U.S. home video release rights to the film are owned by Wellspring (who have released it on DVD in the past), the parent company of which is Genius Products, now 70% owned by The Weinstein Company. There have been industry rumors over the last year that Weinstein Co. is in some financial difficulty, so it's possible the Brothers want a better deal with Criterion (i.e. more or too much money) from Criterion to licence the title for Blu-ray. Hopefully, a deal of some kind will be struck soon, because (I'll say again) nobody would do better by this title in high-definition than Criterion. We are SO dying to see Kurosawa films in 1080p...

Solid Snake

For sure...when I get a player, All Kurosawa films will be upgraded. Oh man...Ran looks amazing on DVD I can only imagine wtf it'll be like on Blu-Ray.

Cheato

Probably better.


Thanks to the OP for the news. I gave in and ordered a copy from SecondSpin. It was $22, minus 20% and FS with the recent SS screwup/makeup code, SSFSTWENTYMAKEUP. It was the last one they had at the moment, but it's been popping in and out of stock recently, probably due to lots of people planning to upgrade to the Blu-ray, so if anybody wants it, try checking SS once in a while. I already have the Masterworks Edition, but after checking out the screenshots of the version comparison on DVDBeaver, I can understand Stuart Galbraith's review of the Criterion on this site that condemns the Masterworks Edition's color "enhancements."