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15 articles from 2009

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What I Watched, What You Watched: Installment #6

30 August 2009 2:58 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

Outside of seeing three films in theaters this week I also took in nine titles at home including films from Akira Kurosawa, Roman Polanski, Claude Lelouch and two from Chan-wook Park. It's a mixed bag going from a movie about a girl with a machine gun arm to a film from the French New Wave. As always, remember you can keep tabs on my personal Netflix queue right here. Now, here's the recap of my week in movies... The Machine Girl (2008) Quick Thoughts: I can't remember which one of the Netflix friends I have had this in their queue, but I saw it and noticed it was on Instant Play and just had to give it a watch. I mean, at 96 minutes who wouldn't want to give a movie about a girl with a machine gun on her arm a chance? Well, I gave it a chance and must say, »

- Brad Brevet

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Blu-Ray Review: Criterion Edition of Akira Kurosawa’s Legendary ‘Kagemusha’

20 August 2009 6:43 AM, PDT | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »

Chicago – Now that he is widely recognized as one of the best filmmakers of all time, it’s almost hard to believe that there was a period in the career of Akira Kurosawa when he couldn’t get financing to make a film. Kurosawa went through a very dark time in the ’70s, punctuated by his disastrous experience with “Tora! Tora! Tora!,” and needed the weight of Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas to help with his comeback, “Kagemusha,” now available in a beautiful Criterion Collection Blu-Ray release.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0 I adore stories like the one behind the making of “Kagemusha” because they reflect the ripple throughout the ages that comes with amazing creativity. In the excellent special feature, “Lucas, Coppola, and Kurosawa,” the interviews draw a definitive line from John Ford (whose “The Searchers” influenced Kurosawa) to Kurosawa’s work to “The Godfather” to “Star Wars” to “Kagemusha,” which itself inspired countless filmmakers. »

- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

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New On DVD This Week

18 August 2009 4:45 PM, PDT | The Flickcast | See recent The Flickcast news »

Here’s a list of some of the new movie and TV shows coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week that we’re looking forward to seeing. Also, there’s some classic movies hitting Blu-ray for the first time this week as well.

Of all the new releases, we’re particularly interested in the Blu-ray version of The Last Starfighter, Dexter Seasons 1-3 on Blu-ray and the debut of season one of Sons of Anarchy on DVD.

Check them out.

Movies

The 5 Deadly Venoms ~ Five Deadly Venoms (DVD)

Hannah Montana The Movie (3-Disc Combo Pack Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) ~ Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lucas Till, and Emily Osment (Blu-ray)

Husbands (Extended Cut) ~ Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, and Jenny Runacre (DVD)

Julia ~ Tilda Swinton (DVD)

Kagemusha – Criterion Collection ~ Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, and Jinpachi Nezu (Blu-ray)

Last House on the Left (2009) ~ Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn »

- Joe Gillis

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This Week On DVD and Blu-ray: August 18, 2009

18 August 2009 4:48 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

DVD Links: DVD News | Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed It's nice to see we have a pretty decent week for new releases after a couple of awful previous weeks. From two new Criterion Blu-rays, to "Dexter" and even The Last Starfighter on Blu-ray in 25th Anniversary format. On top of that, there are a few titles in the new release date section I am sure many of you will be interested in saving up for. Lots to talk about, let's get into it... Criterion Collection Blu-ray

Kagemusha and Play Time It's hard for me not to simply tell you to rush out and buy both of these right now, but if you were to confront me with the question of "Buy? Don't Buy?" that's exactly what I would tell you to do. I just posted my separate reviews for both Akira Kurosawa's samurai feature Kagemusha and Jacques Tati »

- Brad Brevet

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Blu-ray Review: Kagemusha (Criterion Collection)

18 August 2009 4:43 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

When Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha was announced for Criterion Blu-ray I had seen the film for the first time only a couple months earlier and enjoyed it greatly. While it's not the director's greatest film, it is a visual feast that takes full advantage of a high-definition Blu-ray transfer, which I can only assume is the reason it's the first of Kurosawa's films Criterion decided to bring to the new format after their plans to deliver Ran were capsized due to rights issues. Kagemusha is Kurosawa's return to the samurai story and this time in color following his Oscar-winning Dersu Uzala five years earlier. The setting is the warring states of feudal Japan as the powerful warlord Shingen Takeda is fatally wounded, but before dying instructs his closest men to carry on his legacy, while not letting on he has passed away. In an effort to carry out the ruse »

- Brad Brevet

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Akira Kurosawa: The Masterworks Blu-ray Disc Collection

19 June 2009 10:27 AM, PDT | Affenheimtheater | See recent Affenheimtheater news »

After Kadokawa already released a series of Akira Kurosawa’s films (Rashomon, Madadayo, Ran and The Quiet Duel) in a Blu-ray Disc Collection back in February, Toho Studio also decided to honour Japan’s probably most famous director with another collection bearing his name. The Akira Kurosawa: The Masterworks Blu-ray Disc Collection contains Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, Sanshiro Sugata, Sanjuro, Men Who Tread On The Tiger’s Tail, Sanshiro Sugata Part II and The Bad Sleep Well which are also available as single releases on October 23, 2009. Unfortunately Toho also decided to follow Kadokawa’s example and will not include English subtitles.

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- Ulrik

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Criterion Bluray Cover Art for Kurosawa's 'Kagemusha'

30 May 2009 6:30 PM, PDT | GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news »

Akira Kurosawa only made four movies after Kagemusha in 1980. By that point, he was 70 years old and his reputation as easily one of the ten greatest directors of the 20th century had been cemented for years. But Kurosawa continued to make amazing cinema, with this film nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and the follow-up, Ran, earning Kurosawa four Oscar nominations, including his only bid for Best Director.

Kagemusha is one of the master's great samurai movies and it's also the first Kurosawa Bluray released by Criterion, although you can get most of his major works on standard format DVD through Criterion. Here's the artwork, courtesy of DVD Active:

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- Colin Boyd

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Kurosawa's 'Kagemusha' Destined for Criterion Blu-ray

17 May 2009 12:37 PM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

A scene from Kagemusha

Photo: Criterion Collection Back at the end of March it was sadly announced Akira Kurosawa's Ran would not be able to be release on Criterion Blu-ray due to some sort of a rights issue. This meant Criterion's only May Blu-ray release would be The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which -- if you read my review -- was fine with me, but I am more interested in old classics rather than the new ones from Criterion and it now appears a Kurosawa gem is taking the place of Ran, with a much better selection if you ask me. A scene from Kagemusha

Photo: Criterion Collection While I am sure most people would rather see Yojimbo, Rashomon, Ikiru or Seven Samurai as the first Criterion Blu-ray, the just announced August 18 release of Kagemusha is fine by me. A scene from Kagemusha

Photo: Criterion Collection Just look »

- Brad Brevet

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Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha on Blu-ray Disc

16 May 2009 2:27 AM, PDT | Affenheimtheater | See recent Affenheimtheater news »

Akira Kurosawa fans rejoice! To fill the gap in our HD loving hearts that was ripped open after the Criterion Blu-ray Disc release of Kurosawa’s Ran has been canceled indefinitely due to rights issues, the label now announced to release Kurosawa’s Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) on Blu-ray Disc! The Criterion website states August 18, 2009 as the release date. However, the disc will most probably won’t play on European Bd Players since Criterion has so far used region coding on all their recent Blu-ray releases.

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- Ulrik

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This Week On DVD and Blu-ray: April 14, 2009

14 April 2009 1:50 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

DVD Links: DVD News | Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed Wow, what a horrible week for DVD and Blu-ray releases. Sure, some people will be interested in picking up The Reader after it was nominated for Best Picture, beating out poor ol' Dark Knight. I had it at #10 on my Best of 2008 list and I would love to own a Blu-ray version for reasons I will soon tell you, but I think that is a film I will remain in the minority and I would never recommend anyone pick it up on a blind buy. So what does that leave you with? The Spirit? I know a few people will probably be interested in the Blu-ray edition of Pride and Prejudice and the other half might think about buying 8 Mile on Blu-ray, but all-in-all there is really nothing to suggest here. So, while you can still read my mini-capsules »

- Brad Brevet

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Criterion Blu-ray Edition of 'Ran' Pulled from the Release Schedule

31 March 2009 12:42 PM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

If you thought you were going to be picking up Akira Kurosawa's Ran on Criterion Blu-ray on May 12 you better adjust your expectations as I just received the following update: Hello - Criterion's two-disc special edition of Ran is now out of print, and the previously announced Blu-ray edition has been withdrawn from the schedule due to a rights issue. This is a definite bummer and, who knows, it could be a temporary thing and the rights will be squared away and we will find it back on the release schedule, but for now it's a no go. As I mentioned in my On DVD Today article earlier today, I just watched Kurosawa's Kagemusha and after watching it all I could think about was how I couldn't wait to give Ran another viewing and this time on proper Blu-ray format. The only other time I have seen Ran was »

- Brad Brevet

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This Week On DVD and Blu-ray: March 31, 2009

31 March 2009 2:14 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

DVD Links: DVD News | Release Dates | New Dvds | Reviews | RSS Feed As I am typing this up I am completing my tour of the five most recent James Bond Blu-rays released last week. I have already watched Goldfinger, Moonraker, The World is Not Enough and Quantum of Solace and I am watching Never Say Never Again for the first time with plans of watching Thunderball immediately afterward. I am sure many of you know the story and why I will be watching Thunderball, but for those that don't, stay tuned as it will certainly be part of my Bond Blu-ray Round-Up Part Two. If you missed the first one you can read it here. As for what else is on my plate I just received the new Blu-ray copy of No Country for Old Men as well as Doubt. I am also interested in taking a peek at Cecil B. DeMille's Cleopatra, »

- Brad Brevet

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DVD Review: Il Generale Della Rovere (Criterion Collection)

30 March 2009 12:10 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

I had not yet seen a Roberto Rossellini film, which made Il Generale Della Rovere my debut feature from the helmer. No worries, I just queued Rome, Open City, which according to the video essay in the Della Rovere is his only other "big success." That statement, of course, is in reference to Rossellini's box-office prowess, and does not reflect his filmmaking ability or the effect his films had on cinema and his peers. Starring Italian cinema icon Vittorio De Sica (director of The Bicycle Thief) the film is set in Italy during World War II. Germans occupy the city of Genoa and Emanuele Bardone (De Sica) has made a nasty habit of taking advantage of his fellow Italians by exploiting their family losses and conning them into thinking he will help them find (and potentially save) their missing loved ones. As an addicted gambler he continues down a path »

- Brad Brevet

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DVD Review: Akira Kurosawa Returns to Criterion Collection With ‘Dodes’da Ken’

24 March 2009 8:57 AM, PDT | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »

DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0 Chicago – I’m not sure, but I think there are more Akira Kurosawa titles available in the Criterion Collection than any other filmmaker. His classic films like “Ran,” “Rashomon,” “Seven Samurai,” and “Yojimbo” have been critically acclaimed releases for the influential series of DVDs. His 24th title in the Criterion Collection is last week’s “Dodes’da Ken,” one of the greatest directors of all time’s first film in color.

1970’s “Dodes’da Ken” came five years after the great “Red Beard” and five years before “Dersu Uzala” and a decade before “Kagemusha”. The film was made at a tumultuous time in Kurosawa’s personal life and was critically panned in his home country despite being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

Dodes’da Ken was released on DVD on March 17th, 2009.

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

According to some sources, the »

- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

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DVD Review: Akira Kurosawa's Dodes'ka-den (Criterion Collection)

17 March 2009 3:23 AM, PDT | Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news »

When it comes to Akira Kurosawa I have either seen or own all of his name titles including Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ikiru, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, Sanjuro and Ran. I have Kagemusha sitting on my coffee table ready to be viewed for the first time and outside of a few noticeable omissions I am finally ready to venture into his lesser known titles and with Criterion's latest release of Dodes'ka-den I can't think of a better place to start. This isn't to say Dodes'ka-den is any kind of masterpiece, because it's not, but the instances surrounding Dodes'ka-den and how it came to be are utterly fascinating and opened up a side of Kurosawa I had never known. Serving as Kurosawa's first attempt at a color film, Dodes'ka-den also marked his first feature in five years following Red Beard in 1965. In those five years Kurosawa would put in work on »

- Brad Brevet

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15 articles from 2009

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