2 Seven Samurai

[Martha]

Seven Samurai

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/182/2_box_348x490_w128.jpg[/img] [img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/2998/2_BD_box_348x490_w128.jpg[/img]

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 inhabitants 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 EDITION THREE-DISC SET FEATURES

- All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer (with the original uncompressed monaural soundtrack and an optional DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
- Two audio commentaries: one by film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie; the other by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck
- A 50-minute documentary on the making of Seven Samurai, part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
- My Life in Cinema, a two-hour video conversation between Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima produced by the Directors Guild of Japan
- Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences, a new documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that impacted Kurosawa's masterpiece
- Theatrical trailers and teaser
- Gallery of rare posters and behind-the scenes and production stills
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, Kenneth Turan, Stuart Galbraith, Arthur Penn, and Sidney Lumet and an interview with Toshiro Mifune

Original DVD:
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New DVD:
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Blu-ray
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[Lino]

Buy this one as of next week!

[Pinback]

Any word on the running time of this edition? I assume it's the same as the Criterion (i.e. full length), since the Jeck commentary is included. If the subtitles are up to scratch this might be worth investing in...

[Steven H]

For anyone interested in Criterion revisiting this, here's an article that contains a clue (and some great information concerning digital clean up):

During evaluation, the DVNR was utilized for restoration on a 1950's English movie, The Browning Version, which had 'very bad dirt and developing problems in the remaining film elements', as well as the film Seven Samurai. Lee Kline, Technical Director at Criterion, comments, "We really liked what the DVNR was doing, and that we could see exactly what it was doing - it was more obvious what it was removing - and we were able to really fine tune the movies and clean them up in a way that we couldn't do previously. It does what we want to do - but better."

[Gordon]

The current Seven Samurai transfer benefitted from MTI restoration, so the reference may be in regard to work done in 1998.

I'm reckon that Criterion are working towards creating a flawless hi-def transfer of the film, but we won't know how far ahead they are until we hear an official announcement or a strong piece of evidence, like the new subtitles info. I'm not expecting a 2005 release, however.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The current Seven Samurai transfer benefitted from MTI restoration, so the reference may be in regard to work done in 1998.

DVNR is from Digital Vision, not MTI. They're two different systems from two different companies.

[unclehulot]

God, I hope Criterion isn't using DVNR now, it's pretty much a nightmare when applied to animated material, erasing all sorts of essential detail that it considers "noise"!

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Criterion has yet to release an animated film on DVD, so that doesn't seem particularly relevant here. Even for animation, DVNR isn't too bad provided it's applied right. In any event, I doubt Criterion is ditching MTI entirely, since DVNR and MTI's DRS (Digital Restoration Services) serve two different functions -- DVNR being more of an automated process and DRS being better suited for frame-by-frame adjustments (the "manual phases" Kline refers to in the press release).

[unclehulot]

Of course it's relevant if it's possible to misuse it! All I was saying was that the examples I've seen involve animated material. If someone could demonstrate the misuse of DVNR on live action films with examples online, I would point to it. Just to pick one example, I've heard DVNR was overused on the problematic DVD transfer (on Image) of Dreyer's "Vampyr", and it certainly seems to have the fingerprints of it.

Any semi-automated process can be problematic (such as the terrible misuse of the No-noise process on audio tracks, which has been applied with a heavy hand by many DVD and CD producers). I certainly have more confidence in Criterion's ability to strike the right balance in the video area (as opposed to their hit and miss track record with audio restoration tools), but it does make me nervous!

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I agree with you on semi-automated processes, but the MTI process Criterion has been using until now is semi-automated as well. I don't know what if any problems or artifacts can be introduced by MTI's process -- it doesn't seem to be as widely used as standard noise reduction, so the pool of potentially problematic titles is probably smaller -- but I very much doubt the process is fail-safe.

I think the waters have been muddied somewhat by the fact that many (I include myself in this) have used DVNR to refer to noise reduction in general, when in fact DVNR also refers specifically to Digital Vision's system, which does other things besides noise reduction (despite the name) and is, from my understanding, at the higher end of such systems, allowing significant manual control on a scene-by-scene or even shot-by-shot basis. I would be willing to wager that many of the more grevious abuses of noise reduction that have been documented over the years were not even committed with Digital Vision's system; if they were, it would probably be attributable to inexperienced operators who don't bother using the system's manual functions and don't even know what to look for. It's worth noting that Criterion used DVNR back in the dark early days of DVD production; I don't know whether they stopped using it when MTI came in or what.

[Anonymous]

Forgive me if i have missed any previous threads that might discuss this but, cutting to the chase, should we expect Seven Samurai and High and Low to be re-released in '05 or is it more likely that we'll have to wait till 2006?

[Gregory]

Criterion mentioned High and Low as one film that would possibly benefit from a re-release. That was less than 6 months ago, so I'd say it probably won't happen this year -- and maybe not at all. High and Low is one of my favorites so I hate to be bleak but I don't think there are any sure signs at this point. The possibility of a Seven Samurai reissue is much stronger, possibly to coincide with Ran at the end of the year.

[swingo]

Isn't High and Low reissue "confirmed" to the Beav?

I wouldn't find that difficult to happen, alas, I think the Seven Samurai might be at the quality as the M re-issue. or even better.

[Theodore R. Stockton]

As far as anyone can confirm the Beav mention of High And Low reissue is from our own Forthcoming list and is mostly speculation.

[stroszeck]

I've seen about as many Kurosawa movies I can get my hands on: ALL the criterions and the RAN Masterworks.

For some reason, I can't enjoy/stand Seven Samurai. Sure the shots are elegantly composed, it's got some great chunks of dialogue and it's also got interesting action scenes. But the thing is, it drags in many scenes making me wonder why it had to be about a 3 hour film?

This is gonna piss off a lot of people (but believe me I AM a Kurosawa fan, which is why this is bothering me) but I don't understand the genius of this film...and why it's always called one of the Top 10 films of all time? I mean Rashomon is classic, epic, beautiful...Ran is a masterpiece CLEARLY...even Hidden Fortress is great fun with classic moments.

But Seven Samurai nearly put me in a catatonic state the second time I saw it. Rare for a Kurosawa film. Anybody have any feedback?

[jcelwin]

I think Seven Samurai is so highly regarded because it has the best of Kurosawa in one film. All the things you mentioned are in this film, and they are blended beautifully. The story may be considered one of the most (if not the most) 'epic' ever presented in cinema. The direction, acting, cinematography is outstanding.

You mentioned some points about seven samurai that you consider are good, but then say that it drags. For me this is a movie that could probably be even longer without it seeming long. But, the film seems so amazingly created that it feels that it is the perfect length already. For me, every scene seems to be the exact length it should be.

Kurosawa is a film-maker that never seems to place any one aspect of cinema above another, everything seems perfectly placed together. His films seem to be made without an pretention at all, but he still manages to present an intelligent story in an entertaining way. Seven Samurai is prime example of this, arguable his best.

But, of course it is your opinion and I can't argue with that. Besides, I would disagree with many others on this board about some movies that are considered 'great'.

[Michael Kerpan]

...and different people have varying tastes.

I like many of Kurosawa's films, but dislike (or worse) all three of the films YOU cite as particular favorites. I suspect you, in turn, might not like many of MY Kurosawa favorites (Red Beard, Idiot, Lower Depths, Throne of Blood, No Regrets for Our Youth, Stray Dog).

If I liked samurai films more, I might enjoy "Seven Samurai" more -- but (as it is) I like the "boring" portions showing interactions between the characters more than I like the fighting scenes. (Just a matter of personal taste). Even if 7S is not my personal favorite, I found it fascinating, pretty much from start to finish.

[zedz]

In my opinion, Seven Samurai is the greatest action film ever made, tackling the particular challenges of that genre (how to balance exposition, character and spectacle, for example) with far more intelligence than any other film I can think of.

I think this is most brilliantly expressed in Kurosawa's radical structure - a structure hardly any other practitioner has been bold enough to follow. K takes his three hour running time and splits it, dedicating the first half almost exclusively to set-up and the second almost exclusively to pay-off. In the first hour and a half we're treated to leisurely character introductions (crucial for establishing the emotional bonds that will enhance the later action sequences), the establishment of the basic predicament (pretty straightforward, and not belaboured by K), and, most crucially, the delineation of the spatial parameters of the battleground. By the time the action begins, we should, if we've been paying attention, have a keen sense of the layout of the village, its strategic strengths and weaknesses. This kind of careful regard for space is essential to the effective staging of action, and it's probably the most common failing of modern action films. During that first half (which I guess is Michael's favourite), action is fleeting, but potent enough to keep us engaged (e.g. Kambei's almost subliminal disposal of the kidnapper).

And then, when the action starts, it doesn't let up. I can't think of another film with such a sustained, coherent climax. The battle just goes on and on, shifting from one clearly defined stage to another, involving different combinations of characters, constantly building tension. The few quiet spells (as fleeting as the action scenes in the first half) only serve to heighten the tension and build the pace, and the hard-won character stuff from the first half means that we can see through the dynamic spectacle (Kurosawa sure knows how to cut, but, maybe more importantly, he also knows when not to cut) to the underlying relationships. The battle scenes are thus also character scenes, rather than empty set-pieces.

I agree with jcelwin that this film could have been even longer, and I think that's also down to Kurosawa's structure. The second half of the film is so propulsive, and we're so used to more ebb and flow in the pacing of films (Seven Samurai is more like steady acceleration) that the film is over before we realise that this amazing action sequence has been running for over an hour. The ending of the film is comparatively abrupt - we've barely caught our breath - but perfectly appropriate.

Roll on the rerelease!

[Matt]

Please tell me this is not why Criterion is sitting on a remastered Seven Samurai disc.

"Michael Cole shares Bob's and my taste for projects that have both artistic and commercial appeal and has an aggressive business sense," said Harvey Weinstein.

One pic Cole said he was already homing in on for the Weinsteins is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece The Seven Samurai that would mix an ensemble cast of international and domestic stars.

[FilmFanSea]

As classic, "foreign-language" films go, The Seven Samurai is arguably the most popular such film in the English speaking world. It ranks as the #6 film of all time at IMDb, where it has garnered a staggering 37,072 votes and an average rating of 8.9 (out of 10).

[cdnchris]

I think this remake has been in the works for a long long long time. I remember it being mentioned on the first Criterion forum. So I doubt it's getting made anytime soon.

[Matt]

There's a world of difference between using a film as an inspiration for an otherwise original work and doing a straight re-hash. Given the amount of imagination the Weinsteins have shown in the past several years, I'm expecting the latter: a Samurai film with a Wayans and Tchéky Karyo.

[mbalson]

What's the hold up with the Seven Samurai remastered anyway. It's been years in the waiting. Enough already.

[inri222]

NEVER MORE THAN 80 LETTERS

What can I say about Seven Samurai other than what a privilege it was to write new subtitles for one of the greatest films ever made.

Taking my cue from Kurosawa, who milked his actor's spontaneous range for all its comic effect, I took liberties with Mifune's character, maximizing his humor for a Western audience.

My goal is to wring every possible laugh from the audience before the film pits poorly armed villagers and a handful of samurai against a troop of vicious bandits.

In creating characters and setting tone, not to mention conveying humor, I stray brazenly from literal translation.

[Gregory]

I think she then goes on to make a good point that the goal of replicating the experience of a film within the culture that produced it is not best served by always adhering to literal translation. This might set a precedent that could allow for bad liberties to be taken. But when we're in the hands of someone who has extensive knowledge and experience of the culture and really knows what she's doing, I worry about it less.