Comments on: Postwar Kurosawa Collection from Criterion’s Eclipse

By: Jeremy Quintanilla

Jeremy Quintanilla — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:36:27 +0000

It is great that Criterion does get some very good translators, to translate the movie with as little loss as realistically possible, as Japanese doesnt easily translate to English.

I too wish Criterion will get a hold of Dersu Uzala, but this is the most unlikely of the movies to ever get done.

By: Brent

Brent — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:55:23 +0000

Great news! If only it was in time for Christmas.

I can live with some dust scratches in the film. More important to me are well-written and accurate subtitles. I rented “I Live in Fear” on DVD a few years back, and the subtitles made it unwatchable.

I’m as so glad to hear these movies are getting some much needed attention.

The only Kurosawa film I’m still waiting to see Criterion tackle is Dersu Uzala. None of the DVDs available give it the treatment it deserves.

By: Vili Maunula

Vili Maunula — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 08:07:19 +0000

You are most welcome, Fabien. It will be good to see you around!

By: Fabien

Fabien — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 18:35:24 +0000

Thanks for the precision.
(By the way, many thanks for your website, a very interesting one, which, sadly, I discovered only recently, though I’m interested in Kurosawa’s works since several years; I think I will stick around.)

By: Vili Maunula

Vili Maunula — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:34:44 +0000

For a number of reasons, but perhaps mainly because he wasn’t so keen to co-direct it in the first place, Kurosawa himself didn’t consider Those Who Make Tomorrow a part of his oeuvre. Consequently, it is usually not counted into the list of his canonical works.

I have, however, listed it in the “Other Movies with Kurosawa’s Involvement” section. Whatever happened to the film, I don’t know, but according to Stuart Galbraith IV, the movie has never been shown in Japan after its initial release, and was probably never screened outside of Japan, either.

By: Fabien

Fabien — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:24:59 +0000

25 movies available on DVD in France too (but not the same ones than in the U.S.).
I already ordered several 40s movies at Mei Ah and others are available in reasonable/good quality french editions (Scandal, The Idiot, I Live in Fear), but this Postwar Kurosawa box is relevant to my interest.

I was wondering… don’t you count Those Who Make Tomorrow in the complete movie list?
Is’nt there any viewable edition of this one, even in Japan?

By: Laurence Watson

Laurence Watson — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 20:38:55 +0000

There’s 21 out in the UK… the only ones left being Dreams, The Lower Depths (still can’t believe this isn’t out) and all the pre-Mifune films. Rhapsody in August has been out of print for ages though.

I’m gonna jump for joy if Criterion actually manage to get Dodesukaden out there like the rumours suggest.

By: Ben

Ben — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:16:47 +0000

Yup, it is 25 exact with this set and DA coming.
All that is left are Sanshiro Sugata 1 & 2, The Most Beautiful, Tiger’s Tail, and Dodesukaden.
Not bad considering it is such a long filmography and the fact that it is the U.S. and a foreign director. Plus 20 out of the 25 are available on Criterion, which means decent to great additions.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:36:08 +0000

with the addition of these five and Drunken Angel, the good DVD count in the U.S. is somewhere around 25. It is almost time to start a list/count of movies that are left for release on DVD