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Everything is always "part of" or "taken from" the Toho Masterworks series, and I'm just wondering if I can get the whole thing at once, without having to wait for all the Kurosawa releases to come out one by one. Is it for sale anywhere? If so, how much?

You can pick up the sets from Japan, but they'll cost you. In addition, there are some downsides such as:

a) they don't have English subtittles if that is important to you
b) you won't get all of Kurosawas films unless you pick up the Shochiku and Daiei boxes too. These were relased in conjuction with Toho's Masterworks Series. I've found that one of the most reasonable ways to get the complete works is to buy them used on one of the Japanese auction sites like Yahoo auctions. Another possible snag; many sellers will not sell or ship abroad so you may have to get a friend/family member or have a company that specializes in this bid and pay for you (also keep in mind that sellers won't accept dollars and generally can't correspond in English). By the time you pay everyone and add shipping you may have quite an investment on your hands but you'll have all of Kurosawa's films except for Those Who Build Tomorrow which has never been issued on any home video format and only rarely screened in public since the late 1940s.

For all the german speaking members:

Attraction Movies will release ten Kurosawa movies on DVD in Germany throughout 2005:

01. Seven Samurai (Shichinin no Samurai)
02. Ikiru (Ikiru)
03. Record of a Living Being (Ikimono no Kiroku)
04. Drunken Angel (Yoideore Tenshi)
05. Throne of Blood (Kumo no Su Jo)
06. The Lower Depths (Donzoko)
07. The Hidden Fortress (Kakushi Toride no Sanakunin)
08. Yojimbo (Yojinbo)
09. Sanjuro (Tsubaki Sanjuro)
10. Red Beard (Akahige)

Source: KSM website (note: the company advertises its announcement with pictures of the CC DVDs)

mingus wrote:Source: KSM website (note: the company advertises its announcement with pictures of the CC DVDs)

Not anymore. I e-mailed Criterion consulting producer Robert Fischer about that and he asked them to remove the Criterion artwork.

Hi , I was wondering if anyone knows what is the music at the start of the masterworks "it's wonderful to create" doco series on Kurosawa, the series found on the Criterion dvd's. It sounds like Bach or Handle but i really need to know what piece of music it is. Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

JH

hibbo wrote: I was wondering if anyone knows what is the music at the start of the masterworks "it's wonderful to create" doco series on Kurosawa, the series found on the Criterion dvd's. It sounds like Bach or Handle but i really need to know what piece of music it is. Any help would be appreciated.

Small correction: Handel

Cinephrenic wrote:Small correction: Handel

And that orchestral piece is followed by a brief cello solo by...

kinjitsu wrote:

Cinephrenic wrote:Small correction: Handel

And that orchestral piece is followed by a brief cello solo by...

Whoops I noticed that.... So the orchestral piece is Handel ?

hibbo wrote:So the orchestral piece is Handel ?

I'm not sure, but there might be a Baroque expert on the forum.

Does anyone have a complete list of all the episodes of 'Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful To Create'?

I noticed the 'Rashomon' reissue didn't have one. Does this mean there wasn't
an episode produced?

Does anyone have a complete list of all the episodes of 'Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful To Create'?

There's a complete list with running times in Japanese here.

I noticed the 'Rashomon' reissue didn't have one. Does this mean there wasn't
an episode produced?

Rashomon does not have an episode because it was produced for Daiei rather then Toho.

The complete list is as follows:

Sugata Sanshiro
The Most Beautiful
Sugata Sanshiro Part II
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
No Regrets for Our Youth
One Wonderful Sunday
Drunken Angel
Stray Dog
Ikiru
Seven Samurai
I Live in Fear
Throne of Blood
The Lower Depths
The Hidden Fortress
The Bad Sleep Well
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Red Beard
High and Low
Dodesukaden
Kagemusha

Unfortunately, they only seem to appear on the older DVD editions and haven't been ported over for the Japanese bluray releases.

Thanks. Wonder how Criterion will give us access to the titles released on the eclipse sets

Wonder how Criterion will give us access to the titles released on the eclipse sets

Yes, it'd be nice if they found a way to get the rest of them out somehow. I'd also be interested to see the version of Sugata Sanshiro that was featured as an extra on these DVDs which was restored, using extra footage found in Russia, to create a 91 minute version (rather then the current 79 min. version, cut from the original 97 mins.) Presumably the footage wasn't in great shape but it would still be nice to see.

kindaikun wrote: ... I'd also be interested to see the version of Sugata Sanshiro that was featured as an extra on these DVDs which was restored, using extra footage found in Russia, to create a 91 minute version (rather then the current 79 min. version, cut from the original 97 mins.) Presumably the footage wasn't in great shape but it would still be nice to see.

The 2 Sugata Sanshiro films should have been packaged together & given a spine number. Hopefully once all the Kurosawa films are released on BD they'll look at reissuing the eclipse titles as standalone releases. Kurosawa's films are too important to be lost in eclipse boxes