Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
another blu-ray disaster, 28 Sep 2009
I already owned studiocanal's dvd of Ran - French import. There is zero difference in picture quality between the dvd and blu-ray. Frankly, the blu-ray is a disgrace. What are studiocanal thinking? Ran is probably one of the finest looking films of all time - regardless of how you rate it in Kurosawa's pantheon. Most people who invest in blu-ray do so because they want to see a film as it was intended to be seen - at its highest standard. To rehash a dvd and sell it as a blu-ray is basically ripping off your customers. But studios keep doing this... e.g. Sexy Beast (even in the wrong format...), Gladiator, first blu release of the Fifth element, etc, etc. We are being robbed blind. Unfortunately, this spells disaster for the future of blu-ray. I know many blu-ray owners who are fed up with being screwed. Sony needs to set an exacting standard by which all releases must be beholden. otherwise, people will just give up and stop buying blu discs.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been really good, 28 Sep 2009
Just received this disk, hoping that it would be better than the really grainy Wellspring Masterworks DVD version. Unfortunately it isn't. From the opening titles with the hunting samurai sitting on their horses on the hill you can see lots of artefacts around their heads. It just looks like an upscaled DVD, which is a shame. It does look slightly less grainy then the DVD, but not enough to be worth buying it twice. It may be that the print wasn't that good, but it does look that Canal didn't want to spend the money on a full scale refurbishment (like the Bond blu-ray). I know that Criterion were going to do a release but they had rights problems. My Criterion issue of Kagemusha is so much better than the other one. Personally, if I had been able to view the Canal issue before buying I wouldn't have bothered. I cannot recommend this release, unless you do not have the original Criterion DVD (which is now out of print). I'm sorry Canal, but this should have been alot better, especially for a Kurosawa masterpiece.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't listen to kaede, it's actually really good., 1 Oct 2009
There always seems to be some mass hysteria attached to some Bluray releases if they don't look like they were made yesterday. Cue many bad reviews as everyone jumps on the bandwagon. Some are justified, some aren't. Ran wasn't made yesterday, and I think the picture quality considering is very good.
The film itself is superb, one of Kurosawa's finest. I could go in depth and analyze every point of the film, but I feel that everyone either already knows how good it is, or, it's best to experience it yourself first hand.
Now, the picture. I think it's a very good transfer, and some don't. For me its a 24 year old film, and it's the best ive seen Ran look. Grain was minimal, although more noticable on some bright daytime forest scenes. I didn't see any artefacts around the picture, and more importantly, no use of DNR. The detail on display from Hidetora's anguished face, to the ashen dirt of the plains to some outstanding wide views of the surrounding area, it all looked great to me.
Some are saying that it's no better than the previous DVD releases, however some of those DVD releases were very good anyway. So watching those same releases on an upscaling Bluray player, on an HDTV will obviously make them look better still. Perhaps there's not the massive jump in quality that some people expect/demanded from the Bluray release, but it is better, and it is an improvement, which is no surprise when you consider the previous DVD's were buldging under the films 2hr 42mins running time. Whether you purchase it really depends on your own demands and expectations. I like a transfer the quality of The Dark Knight as much as anyone, but facts are its not always possible. However, I wanted the best looking version of Ran, and I believe I now have it.
Now for the rest of the package. Firstly, it comes in a lovely foldout style digibook. Included is an 18 page booklet which makes a very nice read after the film has finished. I really enjoyed the sound quality of this release as well, the 5.1 DTS Master Audio really allowed you to feel the horses gallop and the thud of the drums. For those interested, other languages available on this disc are, English, Italian, French, German, Castilian and Japanese (obviously). As well as the subtitles for those languages, there are also subs for Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Latin American, Spanish and Sudami.
Plenty of extras too. Well over 2 hours worth in fact. These include, Art of the samurai, Portrait of Akira Kurosawa, Akira Kurosawa: The epic and the intimate, 'A.K': Feature length documentary, The Samurai, and the Trailer for Ran.
If all that sounds good, its because it is. Of course how good will depend on whether you already own the DVD version of Ran, so in the end I guess you'll have to make up your own mind. I think it's a worthy purchase though.
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