On September the 5th this year Criterion will release a new edition of Seven Samurai, and this one looks like it will finally be the definite one. Certainly better than Criterion’s previous releases, the 3 DVD packet comes with loads of extras, including two commentary tracks. Here are the finer details:

Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai)

Catalogue number: CC1649DDVD

Length: 207 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Picture: “All new restored, high-definition digital transfer”

Language: Japanese
Subtitles: English (”new and improved”)
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono

Discs: 3
DVD layering: Dual

Special features:

• 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 Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima
• New documentary, “Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences”
• Thetrical Trailers and a teaser
• Essays by Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Kenneth Turan, Sidney Lumet, and more

Sources: Image entertainment, Cinema Fusion.