The Criterion Collection

[BluLobsta]

Originally Posted by ravenus

There was the rather strange romance that appeared in the first sequel:

Oops. 30 years before Game of Thrones no less

[Freeza]

Originally Posted by TheMangyMoose

I posted about scratches on new discs recently but no one said anything. Are they on the outer edge? I think there is a manufacturing issue recently. I ordered Irishman as well, let’s see what condition it is in. Should be here Friday.

During one of the last sales I posted about the state of their quality control where it comes to scratched discs. The amount of new releases from them that have some type of scratching upon opening outweighs those that do not for me. For example, only 4 of the 15 discs in my Fellini set were scratch free, and the cover itself was damaged as if it were 'keyed', though none of the packing materials showed any signs of injury.

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

Oops. 30 years before Game of Thrones no less

Too bad the Wookiee nookie scene is lost forever.

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by ravenus

There was the rather strange romance that appeared in the first sequel:

[

[Show spoiler]IMG]https://img.cinemablend.com/filter:scale/quill/6/5/0/e/c/5/650ec546778b20aa659834ced8b7e7fd30f4ede3.jpg[/IMG

]

Yes but I was referring to the original

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by Bn43

Yeah, don't see that. At all.

[Show spoiler]

He borrowed R2 and C3PO. Most of the rest is superficial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yixG...ature=youtu.be

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by bergman864

He borrowed a lot from The Hidden Fortress including the final scene. It's completely justified for people to point out the influence.

There's a lot of Kurosawa influences in Star Wars, not just the two droids. The cantina scene where Luke encounters a bunch of criminals, and one ends up getting his arm cut off is inspired by the scene from Yojimbo where Mifune encounters a bunch of criminals, and ends up cutting off an arm. The sweeping wipes Lucas used were taken directly from Kurosawa. The term "Jedi" is taken from Jidaigeki, which is a term for period dramas like The Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, and others. Even Bobba Fett was indirectly inspired by Yojimbo, being partly based on Clint Eastwood's character in a Fistful of Dollars (which is a remake of Yojimbo). The working title for RotJ was Blue Harvest, which was inspired by the novel Red Harvest, which Kurosawa used as basis for Yojimbo.

And yes, the scene at the end of Star Wars with the princess on the platform is very clearly inspired by the platform scene at the end of The Hidden Fortess. There's plenty other nods and inspirations throughought the films.

[joy-division]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g8r...ature=youtu.be

[koberulz]

Are WOW not selling Criterion anymore? Basically my entire watchlist got completely removed.

[manunited1]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

There's a lot of Kurosawa influences in Star Wars, not just the two droids. The cantina scene where Luke encounters a bunch of criminals, and one ends up getting his arm cut off is inspired by the scene from Yojimbo where Mifune encounters a bunch of criminals, and ends up cutting off an arm. The sweeping wipes Lucas used were taken directly from Kurosawa. The term "Jedi" is taken from Jidaigeki, which is a term for period dramas like The Hidden Fortress, Seven Samurai, and others. Even Bobba Fett was indirectly inspired by Yojimbo, being partly based on Clint Eastwood's character in a Fistful of Dollars (which is a remake of Yojimbo). The working title for RotJ was Blue Harvest, which was inspired by the novel Red Harvest, which Kurosawa used as basis for Yojimbo.

And yes, the scene at the end of Star Wars with the princess on the platform is very clearly inspired by the platform scene at the end of The Hidden Fortess. There's plenty other nods and inspirations throughought the films.

Indeed.

It even shaped the the very nature of Star Wars in regards to being a "non-science" science fiction in the sense that Lucas did not want to ever explain the world so that you would experience the same feelings he had when he was a boy watching Kurosawa films, having no context of the history or culture of Feudal Japan. Kurosawa would transport him to a tangible living world that he was unfamiliar with but could still understand.

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

Too bad the Wookiee nookie scene is lost forever.

But we still have The Star Wars Holiday Special

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by TheMangyMoose

I posted about scratches on new discs recently but no one said anything. Are they on the outer edge? I think there is a manufacturing issue recently. I ordered Irishman as well, let’s see what condition it is in. Should be here Friday.

I've noticed a similar issue with some recent UK Studio Canal discs I've recently purchased, small specks towards the edge. It's a little annoying but whatever. At the end of the day, getting replacements is a losing battle I think, unless the first disc actually has playback issues. I recently ordered the UK UHD release of Don't Look Now. The included blu-ray had a small harmless speck towards the edge, but I tried for a replacement anyway, and the second copy has an even more noticeable blemish, so sometimes you just have to say f**k it as not everything is meant to be. In short, you're maybe just not meant to have an entirely unblemished copy of every Criterion or boutique disc you own. Of course, if you encounter actual playback issues then by all means try to get another copy.

You inevitably reach a point where you're just desensitised to minor blemishes on sealed discs and just go whatever, so long as there aren't playback issues.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by styrofoamboats

Did it come shipped in the double box?

No, its the set inside its custom made box that was sent to retailors. It's fairly sturdy, but to put that box in another box would have been nice. Mine is in great condition, so I cannot complain.

[Bn43]

Originally Posted by joy-division

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g8r...ature=youtu.be

Like I said, superficial. That video is reaching. It even throws in scenes from a different Star Wars movie to try to justify itself.

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by Bn43

Like I said, superficial. That video is reaching.

Reaching.

If you say so





Adding to your edit, only two scenes from RotJ are in that video compared to all the others

[regeyer]

I have watched an interview with George Lucas where he clearly stated the Kurosawa and Hidden Fortress Influence. There's no question it exists. That doesn't mean that George Lucas doesn't deserve praise for his work. But Star Wars, not just episode 4, was greatly and unquestionably influenced by Kurosawa.

[dcx4610]

Wrapped up Seven Samurai. I'm sure it's no surprise for someone to say it was a masterpiece.

I did feel its length but I was never bored. It's extremely well paced and despite its length, didn't really feel like it had any filler. It needed to play out exactly the way it did.

While it didn't do anything too special musically or cinematography wise (still very competent), what it excelled in more than virtually any movie is characters, writing and storytelling.

All of the characters had a purpose, had unique personalties, had moments to shine and were extremely likable.

Lord Kikuchiyo was hilarious and his charisma jumped off the screen but it was Shimada who really was the glue to the movie for me. His character was so believable, trustworthy and honorable. It was a pleasure watching him act and I'm happy to see he's the lead in another blind buy of mine, Ikiru.

I certainly see what all of the hype was about and it looks like Hidden Fortress might be next on my list of blind buys.

[Bn43]

Originally Posted by regeyer

I have watched an interview with George Lucas where he clearly stated the Kurosawa and Hidden Fortress Influence. There's no question it exists. That doesn't mean that George Lucas doesn't deserve praise for his work. But Star Wars, not just episode 4, was greatly and unquestionably influenced by Kurosawa.

I think I posted that same interview a few pages ago. He said R2 and C3PO were taken from Hidden Fortress, but denies other things. I'm not arguing about Kurosawa influences in general, I'm arguing against this claim that A LOT was taken from Hidden Fortress. They're very different adventure stories.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

Wrapped up Seven Samurai. I'm sure it's no surprise for someone to say it was a masterpiece.

I did feel its length but I was never bored. It's extremely well paced and despite its length, didn't really feel like it had any filler. It needed to play out exactly the way it did.

While it didn't do anything too special musically or cinematography wise (still very competent), what it excelled in more than virtually any movie is characters, writing and storytelling.

All of the characters had a purpose, had unique personalties, had moments to shine and were extremely likable.

Lord Kikuchiyo was hilarious and his charisma jumped off the screen but it was Shimada who really was the glue to the movie for me. His character was so believable, trustworthy and honorable. It was a pleasure watching him act and I'm happy to see he's the lead in another blind buy of mine, Ikiru.

I certainly see what all of the hype was about and it looks like Hidden Fortress might be next on my list of blind buys.

IMO, Seven Samurai is the best movie ever made. Love it. And, yeah, it's long. But it never feels long. I don't think one frame is wasted.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Bn43

I think I posted that same interview a few pages ago. He said R2 and C3PO were taken from Hidden Fortress, but denies other things. I'm not arguing about Kurosawa influences in general, I'm arguing against this claim that A LOT was taken from Hidden Fortress. They're very different adventure stories.

I don't know if that was the same interview I saw. And I wouldn't doubt it that Lucas would try to limit Kurosawa's influence. But it doesn't take a genius to see that influence. Again, Lucas is entitled to praise and credit for his work. But the influence of Kurosawa, and specifically Hidden Fortress, cannot be denied. It's clear as a bell.

[RegressiveScan]

Originally Posted by ravenus

There was the rather strange romance that appeared in the first sequel:

At that point in history, the characters were literally NOT supposed to be brother and sister. Just ask Gary Kurtz.

But to keep this on-topic: I am picking up the Criterion release of Asphalt Jungle this weekend. Looking forward to watching it.