Akira Kurosawa. Criterion. A box set.
The Digital Bits: Celebrating Film on Disc - DVD & Blu-ray
The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Dodes'ka-den (1970), Drunken Angel (1948), The Hidden Fortress (1958), High and Low (1963), I Live in Fear (1955), The Idiot (1951), Ikiru (1952), Kagemusha (1980), The Lower Depths (1957), Madadayo (1993), The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945 - new to DVD), The Most Beautiful (1944 - new to DVD), No Regrets for Our Youth (1946), One Wonderful Sunday (1947), Rashomon (1951), Red Beard (1965), Sanjuro (1962), Sanshiro Sugata (1943 - new to DVD), Sanshiro Sugata, Part II (1944 - new to DVD), Scandal (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), Stray Dog (1949), Throne of Blood (1957) and Yojimbo (1961)
Notice anything missing?
It's worth noting that of the Kurosawa's complete filmography, only The Quiet Duel (1949), Dersu Uzala (1975), Ran (1985), Dreams (1990) and Rhapsody in August (1991) are missing from this set. The U.S. release rights to each is owned by other studios as follows: The Quiet Duel (BCI/Eclipse), Dersu Uzala (Kino), Ran (Wellspring/Genius Products/now Vivendi??), Dreams (Warner) and Rhapsody in August (MGM). All are currently available on DVD separately.
Methinks the whole fiasco of Ran on Blu-ray is turning into a textbook example of how a creative work can become nothing more than a shuttlecock to be bounced back and forth between various corporate concerns. Greenwich/Herald, Orion, Fox, FoxLorber, Wellspring, Weinstein, Studio Canal, Vivendi ... break out the Dramamine.
Follow me on 
Friend me on 
Friend me on 
Also on 
Hope they release the four new ones on DVD. The box set is an awesome product but outside of Dersu Uzala I already have these. Checked the Criterion site which only told me they were releasing Gommorah which is cool but doesn't answer my original question.
[Reply to this comment]
I think the new ones are going to be put into another Eclipse set, which would be fine by me. Even minor Kurosawa is still Kurosawa!
[Reply to this comment]
Leave a comment