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The Greatest DVD Ever.

post #1 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:21pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.image-entertainment.com/d...roductID=57572

One of the most beloved movie epics of all time, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabits hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. This three-hour ride - featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura - seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action into a rich, evocative, and unforgettable tale of courage and hope.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

All-new restored, high-definition digital transfer
Commentary by film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Donald Richie and more
Commentary by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck
50-minute making-of documentary, "Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful To Create"
Two-hour conversation between Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima
New documentary, "Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences"
Theatrical trailers and teaser
New and improved English subtitle translation
Essays by Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Kenneth Turan, Sidney Lumet and more
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post #2 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:22pm
already sold my other version in anticipation of this rerelease
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post #3 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:27pm
Absolutely fucking awesome.
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post #4 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:31pm
Another classic I'll buy sight unseen.
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post #5 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:31pm
Holy crap. I had no idea this rerelease was coming. Best film news I've heard in a long, long time.
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post #6 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:31pm
Holy fuck. Sonufabitch, anybody know of what might be the best non-ebay option to toss the original DVD?


What a lovely cover this bastard has!
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post #7 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ServantOfDagon
Another classic I'll buy sight unseen.
WHAT???!!!!
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post #8 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:35pm
Damn that's nice, and the cover is a nice companion to the Ran cover as well.
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post #9 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:38pm
Damn, even Criterion is double dipping now-a-days.
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post #10 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:42pm
Thread Starter 
Comes out September 5th.
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post #11 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:44pm
It says 3 discs - does anyone know if that means the film itself will be spread across 2 discs?

I agree on the coolness of the cover too - beats out the Kagemusha one, which was my favourite until now.
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post #12 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai Mike
It says 3 discs - does anyone know if that means the film itself will be spread across 2 discs?
I'm pretty sure the film will be spread across two discs for maximum picture and sound quality. There doesn't seem to be enough special features to warrent an extra disc.
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post #13 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Desert_Squirrel
Damn, even Criterion is double dipping now-a-days.
I can live with this - and I kind of hope they rerelease Yojimbo as a 2-disc set, seeing as the first version had no features and cropping issues.

I'm pretty sure the first Criterion double-dip was Wages of Fear.
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post #14 of 81
6/14/06 at 6:53pm
Looks like a great release gets even better. I'm perfectly happy with my original Criterion version. There's little doubt in my mind that this double dip is a preview of when Criterion begins to get into the HD-DVD/BR market.
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post #15 of 81
6/14/06 at 7:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai Mike
I can live with this - and I kind of hope they rerelease Yojimbo as a 2-disc set, seeing as the first version had no features and cropping issues.
Seconded.

This looks fucking awesome. Buying this for sure even though I have the original. Such a brilliant film. So glad the Jeck commentary is included as it is the most informative commentary track these ears have ever heard.
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post #16 of 81
6/14/06 at 7:22pm
While I'll admit to never seeing Seven Samurai, I'm much more hyped for the new version of Amarcord that Criterion is putting out.
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post #17 of 81
6/14/06 at 8:27pm
Sold.
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post #18 of 81
6/14/06 at 8:43pm
Holy fucking shit.
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post #19 of 81
6/14/06 at 9:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai Mike
WHAT???!!!!
Yeah, there was a thread a couple of days ago "Classic movies you haven't seen" and mine's quite extensive.
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post #20 of 81
6/14/06 at 9:49pm
Nice but is it just me or is Criterion losing some of its pedigree? Used to be, as far as I know, Criterion dealt exclusively with classic films i.e. Seven Samurai, Fanny and Alexander, Brazil, etc. Then they let in Dazed and Confused and now Equinox. Don't get me wrong, D&C is a great film and Equinox is OK, but are they really Criterion material? Now they're pulling this double-dipping crap.
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post #21 of 81
6/14/06 at 9:57pm
DAZED & CONFUSED is definitely a Criterion movie. In any case, it's not the movie to start complaining "Oh, Criterion will release anything now." If you were that worried, you should've started when they released ARMAGEDDON.
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post #22 of 81
6/14/06 at 10:38pm
double dip the first 25 or so spines han no extra featureswhatsoever

ther is not a sigle criterion disc I have that is not the complete shit

the care and craft put into fanny and alexander blows my mind

i just sold mine back to BuyBacks the place that tookover CDwarehouse for like 11 something
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post #23 of 81
6/14/06 at 11:53pm
i love this, this release is just one of those that i'll pick up and buy without even a second guess, I don't mind having two versions of this film
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post #24 of 81
6/15/06 at 12:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Brigden
DAZED & CONFUSED is definitely a Criterion movie. In any case, it's not the movie to start complaining "Oh, Criterion will release anything now." If you were that worried, you should've started when they released ARMAGEDDON.
Let's not forget THE ROCK.
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post #25 of 81
6/15/06 at 12:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nighttrap38
Nice but is it just me or is Criterion losing some of its pedigree? Used to be, as far as I know, Criterion dealt exclusively with classic films i.e. Seven Samurai, Fanny and Alexander, Brazil, etc. Then they let in Dazed and Confused and now Equinox. Don't get me wrong, D&C is a great film and Equinox is OK, but are they really Criterion material? Now they're pulling this double-dipping crap.
Well it's probably something to do with the fact they don't make movies like Seven Samurai anymore. Criterion is all about "important" films, not just vintage classics and foreign stuff.

You can argue the importance of Armageddon of course.
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post #26 of 81
6/15/06 at 3:45am
I think part of what happened to Criterion is that everybody else is getting into the premium DVD releases these days. When every other movie that's released gets an audio commentary, documentaries and deleted scenes, it makes a Criterion release that much less special. They used to be the only game in town for that sort of thing. So with all this new competition, they have to lower their standards a bit to make money. Personally, I was pretty disgusted when they released a Criterion edition of Armageddon and a collection of Beastie Boys videos. After that double punch to the gut, I can't really be surprised anymore.
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post #27 of 81
6/15/06 at 6:20am
If you're gonna bitch about Criterion, then Armageddon is the obvious target. That film is nuthin but trubble. The problem they have is that most truly worthy films already get the five-star treatment by the studios. Criterion is then reckoned with some random leftovers.

How about Criterion pulling together a hi-def transfer of Star Wars or Empire, since Lucas can't be bothered with paying for the hassle? Then we'd see how badly the fans want the real deal.
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post #28 of 81
6/15/06 at 6:30am
Maybe the guys at criterion thought Armageddon was fucking awesome?
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post #29 of 81
6/15/06 at 6:37am
Fucking awsomely shit.
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post #30 of 81
6/15/06 at 6:44am
Well if they did, then they need to go back to the School for The Fucking Awesome.
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post #31 of 81
6/15/06 at 6:52am
Maybe we should be thankful it wasn't Godzilla?

The only Criterion i've seen is The Battle Of Algiers, which is just an extraordinary release, so i'm sure Seven Samurai will join the list of amazing things I do not have the money to buy.
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post #32 of 81
6/15/06 at 7:08am
Yeah $49.95 is steep. It works out to about NZ$80, which is what I paid for the original version in an import store. Not factoring postage in.

But having Criterions is the ultimate in film twattery
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post #33 of 81
6/15/06 at 7:17am
Does anyone know the actual reason why Crierion did Armageddon? Was it to test out some new technology that Armageddon was the first to use? Did the makers of the film ask them nicely? Was it just to have a guaranteed seller?
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post #34 of 81
6/15/06 at 7:23am
I've been under the impression that it was purely a business decision. Criterion wasn't doing that great financially and they needed to sell more discs.
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post #35 of 81
6/15/06 at 7:45am
Apparently Michael Bay makes a case for why Armageddon was released by Criterion on the commentary track. As I haven't heard it, I don't know the details. My guess, like Timo said, is that Criterion needs to pay the bills. If they need to release a few Bay films to be able to make great DVD's of smaller films, I say go for it. And there might be some licensing business involved with Buena Vista, releasing The Rock and Armageddon might've granted Criterion access to other Buena Vista titles.

Or who knows, maybe the folks at Criterion are just good friends with Bay.
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post #36 of 81
6/15/06 at 7:58am
Thread Starter 
It was a deal Criterion had with Touchstone/Disney, which allowed them to release ARMAGEDDON, ROYAL TENENBAUMS, RUSHMORE, LIFE AQUATIC, and THE ROCK. I'm not sure if they still have that deal working.

And to the above poster who's bitching about the Beastie Boys Criterion... that's a fantastic disc and well worthy of the Criterion name.

I can't argue about ARMAGEDDON or THE ROCK, but those are two discs out of an exemplary catalog of several hundred. Don't be that guy. You know... the "I ain't watching SPIDER-MAN because of the organic webshooters!" guy.
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post #37 of 81
6/15/06 at 8:01am
I hate ARMAGEDDON, but I'm more prepared to argue about their outrageous prices. They do some fine discs, but at the price they come, you should expect them to.
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post #38 of 81
6/15/06 at 8:14am
The limited market, licensing fees and extensive restoration means a higher price. It's not like Joe Six-pack is going to pick up Nanook of the North at the local K-Mart. Criterion probably likes to turn a profit every now and then.
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post #39 of 81
6/15/06 at 8:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordling
Don't be that guy. You know... the "I ain't watching SPIDER-MAN because of the organic webshooters!" guy.
I don't think we have many of those people here. Do they really exist?
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post #40 of 81
6/15/06 at 8:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alobek
The limited market, licensing fees and extensive restoration means a higher price. It's not like Joe Six-pack is going to pick up Nanook of the North at the local K-Mart. Criterion probably likes to turn a profit every now and then.
I weep for them. But if I have to choose between the BFI RULES OF THE GAME and the Criterion, I'll choose the BFI, because it's about ten pounds cheaper.
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post #41 of 81
6/15/06 at 10:46am
50 bucks is pretty steep for any movie, and even though I can afford this disc, I'd probably still feel guilty for buying it. No matter how good a movie is, spending 50 bucks on it makes me think about what I should have done instead with that cash, especially if I already own the flick, like I do with Seven Samurai. I hope that doesn't make me a lesser movie fan.

I'd also like to second that the Beastie Boys collection was a great purchase.
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post #42 of 81
6/15/06 at 12:28pm
That Beastie Boys disc is one of the most prized DVD's in my small collection.

I always thought it was kind of strange that such an important film had such a skimpy Criterion disc. Think I'll just stick with the original, though.
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post #43 of 81
6/15/06 at 3:14pm
I'm really interested to see how the transfer turns out because the current one leaves alot to be desired.
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post #44 of 81
6/15/06 at 3:35pm
You know what action film Criterion needs to release? Fist Of Legend. Every DVD version of that film is lacking in some seriously deficient way. And its a fucking awesome movie.
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post #45 of 81
6/15/06 at 4:26pm
Agreed on Fist of Legend. Also Swordsman II if possible.
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post #46 of 81
6/15/06 at 8:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Brigden
I weep for them. But if I have to choose between the BFI RULES OF THE GAME and the Criterion, I'll choose the BFI, because it's about ten pounds cheaper.
BFI is a good company, I wish I'd bought their Yojimbo and Sanjuro releases instead of Criterion's. Also, their discs of The Hidden Fortress and Rashomon are beautiful.

Has anyone seen the BFI Seven Samurai disc? How does it compare to the Criterion?
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post #47 of 81
6/15/06 at 8:14pm
I will preorder this sucker next paycheck.
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post #48 of 81
6/15/06 at 10:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai Mike
Has anyone seen the BFI Seven Samurai disc? How does it compare to the Criterion?
I have it, it's a good disc. It's probably not as good as this new one, because it's about five years old now, so it has an older different transfer.
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post #49 of 81
6/15/06 at 10:57pm
Have they done Drunken Angel yet? Cause the only copy I ever saw was really shitty.
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post #50 of 81
6/15/06 at 11:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Brigden
I have it, it's a good disc. It's probably not as good as this new one, because it's about five years old now, so it has an older different transfer.
I'm pretty sure my university's library has it, so I think I'll check it out.

One other thing, at least this new Criterion disc won't have the same cover that's MISSING ONE SAMURAI. Where the hell is Gorobei?!

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