Amazon.com: Befitting a filmmaker of Akira Kurosawa's masterly stature, this sumptuous limited-edition DVD set pays tribute to Kurosawa's cinematic legacy and Japanese heritage. Like Japanese architecture, the packaging is simple yet elegant, with Ran--Kurosawa's epic reworking of King Lear in feudal Japan--at the center of attention. Kurosawa's 1985 masterpiece was remastered for this set, a clear improvement over the notoriously disappointing Fox Lorber DVD. The transfer is now vividly colorful and crisply detailed, presented in anamorphic widescreen with optional yellow subtitles that are easier to read (though the earlier release probably wasn't as bad as the "old" image used in the restoration demo). The 5.1-channel sound option allows deeper immersion into Kurosawa's painstakingly crafted soundtrack, and film historian Stephen Price's superlative, feature-length commentary track provides engaging and scholarly perspective on Kurosawa's development of theme through composition, camera placement, editing, and highly stylized direction of actors. Another comparatively sparse commentary track by Japanese cultural expert Peter Grilli is worthwhile for its insider's view of Kurosawa's personality and methods. Ran--a tragic, awe-inspiring study of human folly--remains timelessly magnificent, marking the first step in Kurosawa's gradual move from the confines of conventional narrative.
The gatefold packaging includes four glossy, postcard-quality reproductions of Kurosawa's personal storyboard paintings for Ran and Madadayo, as well as a beautiful miniature fold-out shoji screen paying tribute to Ran. (A commemorative Ran miniposter is also included.) While the DVDs of Kurosawa and Madadayo don't differ from their previous releases, their inclusion is fitting: Kurosawa (coproduced by Grilli) serves as a comprehensive study of the director's life and films, and Madadayo--Kurosawa's last and perhaps most personal film--is an evocative expression of the moral themes and unconventional storytelling that emerged in the final years of Kurosawa's legendary career. In honoring the sensei's lifetime of peerless creativity, this boxed set is guaranteed to please. --Jeff Shannon
Overblown Special Edition I went to a lot of trouble to get this item special ordered to the store I work at. When it finally arrived yesterday, it wasn't sealed, so I peaked inside before purchasing, and what I found put me off:
First off, it's in a HUUUUUGE box (bigger than my college calculus book) for only THREE DVDs. BIG. WASTE. OF. SPACE.
Secondly, the fixtures which hold the disks are the kind which too easily let the disks loose, so they'd all come loose in shipping and arrived with the hell scratched outta them. I ran them through the disk resurfacing machine, but they still looked bad.
The extras are cool, but they don't make up for the set's shortcomings--not even with the nice employee discount I would get. I'm going to look for the individual releases instead.
Awful video quality I have actually never seen worse video quality. I looks like they used the lowest grade of home movie transfer equipment. And like they transfered it to VCR and then to DVD. Amazing!
The Grandaddy of Cinema At first glance, it looks like the "Kurosawa DVD Collection" has been bundled together with odds and ends. One documentary, and two of Kurosawa's lesser-known -- but excellent -- films.
At first glance, it's hard to see why they were packaged together. But soon it becomes clear why: The two films are poignant stories from Kurosawa's twilight years, while the documentary explores his lifetime. In a way, it's almost a memorial to the Grandaddy of modern cinema.
"Ran" is a Japanese adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear." Elderly Lord Hidetora decides to retire, handing over the three portions of his kingdom to his three sons Taro, Jiro, and Saburo. The two elder ones like this idea, but the youngest does not. Fighting breaks out among the sons, who have paid little attention to their father's calm philosophies -- with tragic results for the aged warlord.
"Madadayo" was the last film directed by Kurosawa, although other films have been made of his writing. Like "Ran," it studies the present life of an old man -- in this case, German professor Hyakken Uchida (Tatsuo Matsumura), who has decided to retire and become a writer. However, he doesn't get the peace and quiet he deserves: he loses everything in the second world war.
So his students, who care deeply about him, build a cottage for him, and reunite every year to celebrate his birthday. Life goes on, changing around the old man, as he grows older and loses his beloved pet cat. Will he die eventually? "Madadayo!" ("I'm not ready yet!")
Both of these films show Kurosawa in his final years, still a magnificent director with an eye for the poignant. Both films study old men contemplating their lives; Hidetora tries unsuccessfully to pass a torch to an unworthy younger generation, while Uchida lives in peace and quiet, telling stories, jokes and philosophy to the younger people.
Neither film is autobiographical, and neither man is truly Kurosawa. But they do seem to embody parts of his personality, as he approached his own end.
If that isn't illuminating enough, then the "Kurosawa" documentary should shed a little light. This insightful, intelligent study shows us the chronological events of Kurosawa's life, peppered with his artistic work. While no documentary can give a full picture (some of Kurosawa's best films are neglected here), it does give us a fuller picture of Kurosawa as a man and as a filmmaker.
There are insightful interviews with people who collaborated with Kurosawa during his lifetime, examinations of past art, and comparisons to the American counterparts of his movies. For example, the spaghetti westerns that influenced and were influenced by him.
Amazon's "Kurosawa DVD Collection" is a rewarding, bittersweet look at the lifetime and late films of this masterful director. Definitely worth getting.
Please Clarify... it said that this box is an "amazon exclusive". well i have seen this box (and purchased it) with everything that it has in it at stores that sell it for $50. so i dont see whats so great about this supposed amazon exclusive. the set is fun to have, nothing special, but something that a Kurosawa fan would enjoy. and for those looking for Ran on its lonesome, there was a Ran masterworks edition put out in 2003 by Wellspring. Its easily found for $25 and it is a very good transfer.
A great look... ...into a fabulous piece of cinema. This collection really assembles the best of all the tools for understanding Japanese cinema in general, and Akira Kurasawa in particular, good, comprehensible subs, expert commentary, and other extras. RAN is my second favorite Kurasawa film, and the presentation here really enriched my viewing of the film. I read Prince's book, THE WARRIOR'S CAMERA, but his commentary really opened up new windows into the film and its brilliant director.
Granted, greater care could have been taken to protect the discs. Mine did arrive a little worse for the wear.
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