Criterion has set November as a release date for a Drunken Angel DVD. Newly digitally restored, the film comes with a 30-minute commentary by Donald Richie, a 30-minute “making of” documentary, a booklet, as well as something they call a “new video piece that looks at the challenges Kurosawa faced in making Drunken Angel”.
The quality freaks among you may also be interested to know that:
The picture has been slightly window-boxed to ensure that the maximum image is visible on all monitors. This new high-definition digital transfer, created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35 mm fine-grain master positive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System. To maintain optimal image quality through the compression process, the picture on this dual-layer DVD-9 has been encoded at the highest-possible bit rate for the quantity of material included.
The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from an optical print. Audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss, and crackle. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signal will be directed to the center channel on surround sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.
All this information can also be obtained from Criterion’s ‘Drunken Angel’ page.
I’m doing a dance of joy right now!
Funny how I checked Criterion yesterday to see if they had put up November releases… Day early.