Stray Dog: The Criterion Collection (1949) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am not a Japanese film historian, so others can elaborate on that aspect. When it started, I wasn't sure I would take to this film, but it draws you in inexorably. Shot on location in Tokyo, remarkably just 3 or 4 years after the end of WWII, it most reminds me of a Japanese Naked City, with echoes and moments reminiscent of other American gangster films all the way back to Public Enemy and The Roaring Twenties of the 30's.
The location photography alone is fascinating in depicting the Japan of 1948 or 49. And the story progresses as a very young Toshiro Mifune wanders through various levels of that postwar society in search of the thief who stole his Colt. On hand also, is that wonderful actor in Kurosawa's repertory company that was the leader of the 7 Samurai, and here too, is the older & wiser mentor to Mifune.
Finally, the movie wins you over for its own reasons. Though early, Kurosawa's composition, framing, and directorial skill is evident. The performances are fine. The atmosphere and location photography ground the film in reality. And it is a more complex film and story than it first appears. And, like early Ford, there is poetry amid the restrictions of budget and resources. And like early Ford, it presages what was to come. Good stuff if you've a mind for it. 5 stars for those folks.

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A detective whose revolver is stolen goes undercover to locate the thief, sinking to such depths that even his colleagues don't recognize the difference between him and the thief.Genre: Foreign Film - JapaneseRating: UNRelease Date: 25-MAY-2004Media Type: DVD

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Akira Kurosawa: 4 Samurai Classics - The Criterion Collection (Seven Samurai / The Hidden Fortress / Yojimbo / Sanjuro) (1956) Review

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(More customer reviews)That's right, these ARE some of the greatest Japanese films ever made and are especially wonderful samurai movies!
By now you know abouth the movies that are included so let me make some technical reference to the DVDs.
In terms of picture quality, Seven Samurai has been restored to present the best presentation of the film to date. Yojimbo features a fine 2.35:1 non-anamorphic transfer of the film. Don't get me wrong, it is quite good, especially for a film of its age, but you won't be writing home about it. Sanjuro (my favorite of the bunch) is presented in a non-anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect ratio and starts off poor. The film looks worn for the first few minutes and shapes up after that. Overall, a very good transfer. Hidden Fortress has the best picture of the bunch, having been mastered from a pristine interpositive to a high definition transfer!
Sound on the disc is as follows: Seven Samurai features a restored mono track and is a improvement over the old video tape I used to watch! Yojimbo's sound isn't quite as good. There's a hiss throughout the Japanese 2.0 Mono track. To sum it up, it is fair. Sanjuro, happily, doesn't have the hiss present in the Yojimbo track. It is a pleasant Japanese 1.0 mono track. Hidden Fortress gives the viewer the choice of a 1.0 mono track or a 3.0 Dolby Digital track.
Extras? Seven Samurai features audio commentary by Japanese film historian Michael Jeck which offers insights into Kurosawa's work, the film and Japanese culture which combine to make a highly engaging commentary. Also included is a theatrical trailer. Yojimbo is pretty much a bare bones disc, including only the trailer and liner notes. Sanjuro has the same features as Yojimbo. Theatrical trailer and liner notes. Hidden Fortress includes a theatrical trailer and an eight minute interview with George Lucas who discusses Kurosawa's influence on him as a filmmaker.
In conclusion, these are excellent films with presentations that I'm sure are the best we will ever see for them. Don't hesitate to add these to your film library!

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The Leopard: The Criterion Collection (1963) Review

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(More customer reviews)It is incomprehensible to me why this movie has not yet made it to DVD. I think it is easily Visconti's greatest work, and one of the masterpieces of Italian film from a great era in general; and it is also a flawless adaptation of one of the finest Italian novels of the twentieth century. The film is a close study of a noble Sicilian family, and especially of its Prince (played by Burt Lancaster in what I think is also his best role), as they interact with the new middle-class parvenus of revolutionary Italy. The cinematic values of the film itself are stunning, from the vast panoramas of the desolate Sicilian countryside, to the stifling intimacy of the final ball (which lasts nearly an hour on film without once being boring). What is most amazing is the depth of the film. Even small gestures are carefully observed and capture the nuances of an aristocracy in decline. I loved "Death in Venice" as well, but this film should justly be considered Visconti's most tightly controlled and haunting.

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Making its long-awaited U.S. home video debut, Luchino Visconti's The Leopard is an epic on the grandest possible scale. The film recreates, with nostalgia, drama, and opulence, the tumultuous years when the aristocracy lost its grip and the middle classes rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy. Burt Lancaster stars as the aging prince watching his culture and fortune wane in the face of a new generation, represented by his upstart nephew (Alain Delon) and his beautiful fiancée (Claudia Cardinale). Awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival, The Leopard translates Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel, and the history it recounts, into a truly cinematic masterpiece. The Criterion Collection is proud to present the film in two distinct versions: Visconti's original 187-minute Italian version, and the alternate 161-minute English-language version released in America, in a newly restored, three-disc special edition that also features a new hour-long documentary on the making of the film, and more.

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