Greetings,

I've heard that Fox Lorber's version of Ran is subpar. I also remember rumors that they were planning to reissue it but I have heard nothing. Does anyone know if there are plans for anyone to do a reissue of Ran that improves upon the version that is out?

Any help would be most appreciated!

Eric Cohen

I believe that Fox/Lorber is working really hard on this new version. They want to make sure the new version is even more screwed up than the first.

:lol:

Seriously, I hate Fox Lorber more than practically anyone, but I must give them props...their "theatrical" division re-released RAN in a limited run last August and it looked and sounded pretty close to perfect.

Even a stopped clock is right 2x a day, and there may be hope for a new DVD based on that film restoration.

On the other hand, imagine:
[list][*]Criterion Collection 2 disc-set: 16x9 transfer from HDTV new film element[*]Dolby Digital 5.1 remixed soundtrack[*]Roundtable Commentary by Kurosawa scholars[*]Disc 2: Chris Marker's A.K., a feature length documentary about the making of RAN and Kurosawa[*]2001 new interview with Chris Marker[*]collection of international trailers and awards, storyboards[*]1985 archived interviews with Akira Kurosawa, interviews with Toru Takemitsu, the cast, and crew

(sigh) droool....

not to put a damper :) but even if Criterion could somehow acquire it, there would most certainly not be a 5.1 remix, since it is Criterion's policy to preserve the original mix. Still, I must agree the rest of that looks appetizing indeed....sigh, if that ever came true....

I think it's more likely the laws of quantum mechanics let me flap my wings and fly for a day than Fox Lorber will 'accidentally' release a set like that...would it really be that hard to hire away 2-3 Criterion producers and set them loose on the FL catalog?

While your there, you might as well vistit http://www.criterion/ran.html as well.

so I need to vent ...
 

Fox Lorber announced that they were totally redoing this film for release in 2001. Concurrently, in an old Home Theater Forum chat, they announced that you could send in any of your old F/L dvds you were unhappy with in exchange for a new one. (This "offer" purportedly expired at the end of 2000.)

So I sent in RAN in exchange for THE TERRORIST.

Need I tell you that I have never received a copy of THE TERRORIST?

This story is mitigated only by the fact that THE TERRORIST is supposed to be a hack job of a DVD, as was RAN. Still, I haven't bought an F/L disc since and there's no way I'll pre-order one.

On another note: I've never heard of Marker's film, but I bet it's fascinating (I saw his A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ANDREI ARSENIVICH at Telluride this year). Is any of his work available on any video format?

Yep, I was one of the suckers who bought the FLV version of RAN. Unfortunately, it was before I knew what a shoddy product FLV DVDs were. The most annoying DVD from FLV was BEAU PERE in which the subtitles were out of sync with the actors for about 30 minutes. The male actor's subtitles and the female actor's subtitles were reversed. Needless to say, I haven't bought a FLV title since. I would love to see pristine transfers of RAN and KAGEMUSHA. Stunning films by the master.

question - has anyone seen the Chris Marker docu of Ran on the region 2 UK special edition? I have been wondering if I should buy the import or not.

I so can't wait for next week's release of Kagemusha -with my Amazon coupon, I'll get this puppy for five bucks.

Holy thread bump, Batman! ;)

I actually have the R2 Ran on order... it's set to ship from Amazon.uk in about 3 weeks with some other things. I'll let you know. (From everything I've heard, it's a pretty substantial extra and worth picking up.)

I have the R2/PAL "RAN" in my collection... and it's easily better than the Wellspring R1 release (let's just forget all about that Fox Lorber thing). I'm a big fan of Chris Marker, and the documentary is very good (though I don't care for it quite as much as his Tarkovsky one).

One note about the transfer (and I believe this is more of a hardware issue for me): my Toshiba SD4900 misreads the progressive flags in "AUTO" mode and plays it back as a video-sourced transfer. Force-selecting "FILM" mode on the Tosh solves the problem. I've noticed this on several other PAL discs, and I'm fairly certain it's a hardware problem (and, of course, easily corrected). I mention it here, as there may be others with the ubiquitous Tosh 4900 who find themselves faced with all those jaggies and wonder "WTF?".

Giles:

Both France and the UK use the Studio Canal print for their versions of RAN. This specific print is SUPERB!!

I had a thread quite some time ago when the French first announced the Ran coffret...you might want to check it out (sorry too busy now to dig up the thread).

Ciao,
Pro-B