The Criterion Collection

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Also I second the request for Rebel Samurai: Sixties Swordplay Classics boxset to be released on Bluray. Or at the very least Samurai Rebellion which is a brilliant film.

Yes please! That's a pretty good collection of movies.

[ReturnoftheRat90]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

So, it looks like I'm watching Harakiri in the morning after I finish Psycho.

Have you ever seen it before?

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Also I second the request for Rebel Samurai: Sixties Swordplay Classics boxset to be released on Bluray. Or at the very least Samurai Rebellion which is a brilliant film.

Samurai Rebellion and Samurai Spy on Blu-ray would be instant purchases.

[repulsed]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

Samurai Rebellion and Samurai Spy on Blu-ray would be instant purchases.

Don't know how much longer I can hold out for these. Trying to ignore them so I can't get the BDs. I'm buried with the backlog anyway.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by ReturnoftheRat90

Have you ever seen it before?

No, I haven't.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Yeah Sword of Doom was great as well, as was the superb Harakiri.

I'm really happy with my Criterion samurai collection thus far, but we need that boxset on Blu and I'm still deciding if I should buy Zatoichi and Lone Wolf and Cub.

Zatoichi by far. While I enjoyed both, Lone Wolf and Cub is very 70ish, more exploitation, over the top violence (not that is a bad thing )and is lacking a lot of the humor that made Zatoichi such a huge hit. Shintaro Katsu is simply brilliant in the part of Zatoichi and after watching the movies its easy to see why the series is so popular. IMO it's not even close.

Speaking of Shintaro Katsu I wish Criterion would get a hold of the TV series and release that. I've only seen the DVD's of the first two seasons or so and while shorter then the movies they are equally enjoyable.

Also would love to get a Bluray of The Blind Menace. Shintaro Katsu's character of Zatoichi is almost fully formed here in terms of acting blind and his mannerisms and was the reason he got the part. Except he is extremely evil here. There is a DVD available and it comes highly recommended. Especially to fans of Zatoichi, but the film holds up on it's own. One interesting note: the women he forces to sleep with him to pay off a debt in the movie would later become his wife. The complete contrast between the good Zatoichi and this very evil blind criminal is a blast to watch.

[Arawn]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Or at the very least Samurai Rebellion which is a brilliant film.

Is that the film where nothing remotely interesting happens for over an hour?

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by Arawn

Is that the film where nothing remotely interesting happens for over an hour?

Nonsense this is a amazing film. Never slow with tons of tension building up to a great climax. Plus amazing performances by Nakadai and Mifune. One of the best films in the collection.

[nitin]

Samurai Rebellion is close to perfection.

[SeanJoyce]

Does Lady Snowblood "fit" with these samurai classics we're all discussing, or is it something else entirely?

[SeanJoyce]

We're also in need of Goyokin and Hitokiri.

[Richard--W]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

I know that this is not Criterion news, but I also know that there are a lot of posters here that appreciate Melville. It is a clip from the new 4K restoration of When You Read This Letter (1953.)

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=23819

Thanks for posting this news.

The trailer looks like a noir buff's dream come true. I'm excited to see this restoration of the "lost" Melville film. Hope it comes to bluray soon. Something to look forward to.

If you don't mind I will copy your post to The Official Film Noir thread.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Does Lady Snowblood "fit" with these samurai classics we're all discussing, or is it something else entirely?

For me the late 50's early 60's Samurai films are near perfection. Unlike a lot of Hollywood films at the time they don't play down to the audience with countless exposition and really hold up by even today's standards. Plus it seems more was able to pass through the censors as well. Some amazing cinematography and use of widescreen in the later films. Many of which take a lot of cues from Kurosawa's masterpiece Seven Samurai.

The 70's films like Snowblood are more exploitation films. Lots of use of colors, over the top violence and sadism, any excuse for nudity. Really a late 60's and 70's mix that was very popular at the time with the younger audiences. They are good films for sure, but no where near the caliber of the earlier samurai films IMO.

To me it's like comparing gangster films and comparing Goodfellas next to Foxy Brown. That is kind of a over exaggeration, but while the earlier Samurai pictures were refined the later exploitation movies seemed more content to shock then focus on high production values and technical artistry.

Just watch the ending of Harakiri and the use of camera, framing and angles along with reduced vocal & SFX track and a raised musical track. Pure brilliance. The overwhelming sense of dread and amazing set production values of Throne of Blood. I could go on and on, but I think its fairly well know this period was the golden age of Japaneses Cinema and not just for the Samurai, or Chanbara, period films. One film not yet released by Criterion fits this bill Onibaba. Not a Samurai picture but a very beautiful artistic and haunting creation. Not even touching on other more contemporary films of this period from the likes of Ozu, Imamura, Kobayashi, Oshima, Naruse and other directors whose output in those years was phenomenal before the money dried up due to TV adoption. Or even little know directors, atleast in the west, like Eiichi Kudo whose use of handheld to create chaotic battle sequences was refreshing if not disorienting. Plus not to leave out Mizoguchi. What else can be said about him that hasn't been. His minimalist approach, while not as rigid as Ozu's, is beautiful to behold and his notorious nature of decorating, and even building, his sets with authenticate period items and resources add's another layer of authenticity to his films IMO.

[regeyer]

My problem with Lady Snowblood is the same problem I have with many movies with a woman as the "hero." I'm sorry. Lady Snowblood probably weighs 100 lbs., and she didn't seem all that coordinated. She just didn't fit the part.

That's not to say woman can't play the hero. Angelina Jolie, for example, always played these roles very well. But Meiko Kaji as Lady Snowblood just doesn't work for me.

[Banned User]

Try Reiko Ike she may only be 100 lbs, but I wouldn't mess with her.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Try Reiko Ike she may only be 100 lbs, but I wouldn't mess with her.

I'm not familiar with her. But it's not just weight. Meiko Kaji just wasn't convincing to me in that role.

[KrugerIndustrial]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

Thanks for posting this news.

The trailer looks like a noir buff's dream come true. I'm excited to see this restoration of the "lost" Melville film. Hope it comes to bluray soon. Something to look forward to.

If you don't mind I will copy your post to The Official Film Noir thread.

I would assume Criterion will release this in the USA somewhere down the road. Has there been any info regarding a possible French re-release? I think the current October 2017 release is sourced from an older master.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

So, it looks like I'm watching Harakiri in the morning after I finish Psycho.

I have been a champion of Harakiri ever since I first watched it four years ago. This masterpiece by Masaki Kobayashi brings many superlatives from me when I gush about it to others, words like: brilliant, grim, devastating, cleverly written, finely acted, breathtaking cinematography. The main character, a proud but poor ronin, seeks to find salvation from the pains and injustices that life's circumstances - and wicked men - have done to him. Being a samurai, he chooses the warrior's ritual suicide seppuku. And that is just the beginning of the film.

Although I had seen and enjoyed Seven Samurai years before I blind bought Harakiri, I did not consider myself much of a samurai movie fan. Harakiri changed all that. The tension is ramped up with exquisite skill; what starts out as a slowly unwinding tale of misfortune and woe becomes bit by bit a dark quest for redemption and revenge. The climax is unforgettable and had me on the edge of my seat. Harakiri is done so well on so many levels. It is an emotionally affecting film, allowing its audience to understand that the greatest beauty in life may be found in the manner of death itself. This is the best samurai movie I have ever seen. I also consider it one of the greatest films ever made. It led me to reevaluate the whole genre and to seek out more of the samurai works of Kurosawa and other directors.

Once you experience Harakiri, you may find yourself hankering for some more samurai goodness.

I also recommend:



It only rarely gets mentioned here. This is epic, a magnificent sword opera spanning three films chronicling the journey of a man as he transforms into a master swordsman. Gorgeous cinematography and vibrant colors are the backdrop to a rousing story. If Japan put up a samurai contender that could stand toe to toe with classic Hollywood epics like Gone With the Wind or Ben-Hur, this would be it. I consider it Toshiro Mifune's greatest role, which is saying a lot considering the man is among my top five favorite actors of all time.

[KJones77]

https://www.criterion.com/films/1400-z

Good news. Costa-Gavras' Z has gone OOP on Criterion's website. It is a Janus title with a restoration a few years back, so this pretty much guarantees its blu-ray upgrade announcement is forthcoming. It is the same thing that happened to Andrei Rublev earlier this year before its blu-ray upgrade announcement as well. It going OOP just means they have exhausted their stock of the old DVD and will not bother printing more until the announcement.

I guarantee re-sellers will try to gouge the unsuspecting. Do not panic buy.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by regeyer

My problem with Lady Snowblood is the same problem I have with many movies with a woman as the "hero." I'm sorry. Lady Snowblood probably weighs 100 lbs., and she didn't seem all that coordinated. She just didn't fit the part.

That's not to say woman can't play the hero. Angelina Jolie, for example, always played these roles very well. But Meiko Kaji as Lady Snowblood just doesn't work for me.

As one who studied martial arts in college, judging somebody's ability to injure another human being based on their size is pure folly. My roommate, and sifu, was a 5'6", maybe 150 pounds wet guy from Palermo, Italy. One night, not long after he'd started teaching me, we were at a night club in Dallas. He had a conversation with a woman at the bar, and later, when we were leaving, her boyfriend and two other guys came out to confront him. One of the guys jumped him, then the other two jumped in. He kicked all three of their arses in under two minutes. The police came, of course. My roomie was pre-med, and would graduate summa cum laude before going into the Marines. Two of the three guys had records. It goes without saying that the cops believed my friend (and I). But he embarrassed those guys. He could have easily killed them. They made the mistake of judging him by his size, and quickly learned that they'd made a huge mistake.