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Originally Posted by g.schweet
I don't see why it has taken this long to see an Audrey movie on Blu, and i'll bet it'll still be a long time before we see another. Good thing I have HD broadcasts of My Fair Lady, How to Steal a Million, and The Children's Hour saved on my DVR to hold me over 'til then.
And I can back PP, the Charade blu looks lovely.
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Actually, I was expecting it on Blu-ray when they released her films via the Paramount Centennial Collections (which were Paramount's Criterion-like releases). They remastered "Roman Holiday", "Sabrina", "Funny Face" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and they did a fantastic job with the special features.
But for some reason, they ended the PCC's ended at #10 (Chinatown) which is a title not that easy to find but it was released (I still haven't found it yet and I hear it's a Big Lot stores recently).
Anyway, I was expecting to see the PCC titles released on Blu but with Paramount losing a lot of their licenses, I don't know what's going to happen.
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Originally Posted by Deviation
I would have sworn that Night Train to Munich had been announced or leaked as a Blu-ray release from Criterion at some point but I can't find anything about it. I think I saw pre-order pages at B&N and Amazon, too. Am I hallucinating?
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Because they didn't release it when the DVD came out, I don't think we are going to see it anytime soon. But anything is possible...
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Originally Posted by giedrys
Will there ever be Spartacus Criterion version BD with all special features? Or they don't own the rights anymore?
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They no longer have the license and even if they were able to get it back, because it was released on Blu-ray already, in my opinion, there is no chance that Criterion will release a Blu-ray version anytime soon.
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Originally Posted by BluLobsta
Just watched Sanshiro Sugata and The Most Beautiful. I thought Sanshiro was a very good and a lot better than some of the reviews I've read. Love the wooden sandals shots...Kurosawa used to wear them every day as a child on his way to kendo practice, school, etc. which were very long walks before dawn and throughout the day. The Most Beautiful made me a bit uncomfortable, but Kurosawa's mother was an incredibly strong woman so I can see the influence in his writing of this film. She started a pot of oil on fire once and she carried it calmly outside into the snow with her bare hands so the house wouldn't burn down  Her hands were bandaged for a month...wow |
For any Kurosawa fan, just the opportunity to watch his earlier work is an amazing treat. And even though his debut film “Sanshiro Sugata” was unfortunately cut by the censors during wartime (as it was deemed as British/American in sensibility), the film still manages to be entertaining and enjoyable in its own right.
The film would spotlight on the unruly Sanshiro Sugata played by Susumu Fujita and Fujita does a tremendous job of playing a man that is conflicted in his emotions of wanting to fight but also knowing his responsibility to obey his elders. The expressions on his face, may it be during a match against a Jujitsu student to his battle with Hansuke Murai speaks volumes. This is a man who loves to fight but at the same time, he values life but ends up in predicaments where he must fight a battle to the death.
In today’s modern world, we have seen plenty of Asian cinema that showcase various martial art styles colliding. Especially in Hong Kong and Chinese films but it is really a treat to see the battle between Judo vs. Jujitsu coming into play throughout the film and to see how the tournaments are executed.
Kurosawa’s vision in conjunction with Akira Mimura’s cinematography work in tandem and both are able to create a sense of intrigue and suspense but also managing to capture beauty. May it be the lotus blooming in the water or the storm clouds rolling in and seeing Sanshiro battle his rival Gennosuke Higaki (played by Ryunosuke Tsukigata) is well-done. It is quite interesting as everyone in the film are in Japanese traditional clothing while the opponent and Sugata’s rival Higaki is dressed in Western/English style of clothing.
In many ways, this is a story of an underdog with a good heart. If trained well, Sanshiro Sugata can accomplish big things but because of his brash personality (albeit having a big heart), realistically Sanshiro Sugata is like a child who had no direction growing up and thus, his special relation to his teacher Yano who has shown him guidance.
Yano knows that Sanshiro can be a difficult student but he knows that he needs to give his new student some tough love in order to have him learn why he is learning judo and that he has a purpose in life.
I hope that one of these days, especially within my lifetime, as many silent film footage is being discovered, Kurosawa’s “Sanshiro Sugata” and its missing 17-minutes of film will somehow be found. Those 17 minutes almost similar to “Metropolis” in which missing footage has to be told by intertitles but you feel those cut scenes could have added more depth towards the film.
“The Most Beautiful” is a film, that many people who are familiar with Kurosawa’s work, would be intrigued because of how different it is from his latest work but also to see how Kurosawa created his film during World War II. His role as a filmmaker and how he would contribute to inspiring Japanese during the war.
But it’s important to note that Kurosawa was a man who believed in nonconformity and “The Most Beautiful” is a film that he did not embrace. In fact, according to the insert, he chastised himself for “doing very little to resist the nation’s descent into militarism”. But yet the film was the most dearest to him because the lead actress Yoko Yaguchi would become his wife.
I’ve had a chance to see look on various forums on a non-Japanese perspective and view towards this film and some who arrive at conclusions dialectically to those who use the film to polemicize the Japanese military and its treatment towards other countries.
For me, “The Most Beautiful” is a film that represents an era and a country who wanted to boost morale for the many women who had to work at the factory. In America, we had “Rosie the Riveter” and I’m sure other countries who took part in a World War, had their own set ways of boosting morale in their country.
But I suppose if one watched this film, its all subjective to the viewer of how all the women come to support their president and to be astonished by her dedication to her country and those fighting the war. And in the final scene, Kurosawa manages to include a contradictory scene involving the main protagonist which in my opinion is a wonderful scene because it shows that no matter how strong she may be and dedicated to her country, she’s also human.
“The Most Beautiful” will probably not be a film that many people will feel is Kurosawa’s best film but for those who want to to step aside from his more well-known films and want to see a much earlier film by Kurosawa during World War II, then definitely gives this film a try.
I enjoyed how he created a film that is like a semi-documentary (it helps that he shot the film in a factory and the women had to partake in the work of the factory in order to make the film more realistic) but also trying to incorporate enough story and scenes to keep the film fun and entertaining. It’s not as deep as his later films nor does it have a lot of layers of complexity. It’s pretty much a straightforward film.
And again, there is no doubt that “The Most Beautiful” is a propaganda wartime film for Imperial Japan and whether or not it did help boost productivity and morale for female factory workers, who knows… but Kurosawa was able to capture that sense of unity and the love for the country and the men who are fighting for that country. He may not have wanted to make this kind of film (originally, he was supposed to direct an action film about Zero fighter planes) but he manages to include a coming-of-age story that helps to define several characters primarily the main protagonist and if anything, he managed to meet the woman he would eventually marry. So, I can see how this film is most dearest to him.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
I was merely trying to stimulate a conversation! 
Michael Shannon in a Herzog movie is awesome though.
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