Studio Canal seems to be about to release a High Definition (HD) DVD of Kurosawa’s Ran on March 5th, 2007. I may be wrong here, but this might just be the first HD-DVD release of Kurosawa’s material.
Details are scarce, and Studio Canal’s website doesn’t seem to mention the DVD at the moment.
Thanks to Master Thief for digging this up and bringing it to my attention. I’ll keep you updated if something new pops up.
Update: Master Thief notes (scroll down to comment #6) that the release has been delayed until May 21. Note also that the release has no English subtitles.
Personally dont see the point, although film from that time, would allow to take advantage of the increased resolution. I dont believe it will be noticeable over its DVD counterpart from Criterion or the original Studio Canal version. Even with some re-mastering work, I dont think Ran has the critical focus, contrast or color to benefit from a HD version.
It seem to me that the older films being released to HD, is simply to add to the library, rather then for the benefit of a better picture. I’ll purchase new movies on HD, but dont think its make sense to do so with older movies, unless it offers something new such a commentary.