Customer Reviews

AK 100: 25 Films of Akira Kurosawa (The Criterion Collection)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Congratulations & thank you Criterion for releasing all of their Akira Kurosawa films in a boxset!

Not many people know that they need to pay license fees for the right to release AK movies and movies like Ran have "expired" and that is precisely why it is not included here. At the time of this review, their DVD is out of print. They were scheduled to release the Blu-Ray last August, but since the rights expired, Criterion pulled the title from schedule. Why release it for a few weeks only for it to go out of print? The rights to Ran defaulted back to Studio Canal. Furthermore, Criterion never obtained the rights to the other 4 missing titles:

The Quiet Duel
Dersu Uzala
Dreams
Rhapsody in August

I'm not an insider so I do not know the business decisions (remember they are a business first!) but I have a feeling that it isn't because Criterion didn't try to get the license. It's possible that either the license/copyright owners want too much money or there might not have been a great film print to begin with! It's not like Criterion is sitting around with nothing to do =P. So, it isn't really Criterion's fault for not including every single film Akira Kurosawa directed, i believe this boxset is everything Criterion had rights to!!! They already released every AK they owned! And for that, I am grateful!

Now, onto the set itself, every single film is presented in the usual excellent picture quality and audio presentation! If you have purchased Criterion products in the past before, you already know that they deliver the very BEST technical film presentation than anyone else in the industry. So if you were wondering what if Criterion skimped on quality, I would stop wondering, they did not skimp on anything in this boxset! All grain is preserved and the picture is clear and sharp and audio cleaned up so you can hear everything. Pretty good for 60+ year old film negatives on the early films!

Ok, so there is probably only 1 film that you are wondering how they can squeeze what was once a 2 disc high bitrate release (from the 3 disc edition) down to 1 disc. I'm talking about the Seven Samurai, of course. I have to remind you that Criterion has released that title 3 times (correct me if I'm wrong). The first is the barebone movie only version during the early days of DVDs! The second release, Criterion took the video from the first, cleaned it a bit, and added more bonus/extra. The third release is the definitive remastering of the film negative that is so sharp and awesome they needed 2 discs (it is an almost 4 hour movie after all). Did they do it right by squeezing it into 1 disc? Absolutely. Why? Improvements in MPEG-2 compression knowledge over the years. MPEG-2 is a VERY mature technology by now. It's been 13+ years since DVDs debuted. Every year or so it has improved more and more, squeezing more quality out of less disk space than previously required. So rest assured everything else is golden here.

That brings to me to why I gave this 3 stars. The only Kurosawa Criterion I have is the 3 disc Seven Samurai because I was really waiting for a boxset like AK 100 to come along! The Seven Samurai is my favorite film of all time and Akira Kurosawa is my favorite director of all time, but I never bought AK movies on DVD because I've been waiting for a "definitive" Criterion collection. By that I meant, a boxset of all bonus/extras that have been released TOO! Not just the films themselves!

Which makes me wonder who this set is target. I know one of the audiences they want to bring in are people who have never purchased any AK films. It would seem like I am their target... yet I am disappointed because they didn't include all the PREVIOUSLY released bonus/extras! Before I got this, I assumed that this boxset would include EVERYTHING, my 3 disc Seven Samurai, all of the Criterion AK movies that have been released and previously unreleased material with even MORE bonus material. Instead I'm left with JUST THE FILMS themselves, which isn't bad at all! They are excellent films! It's just I feel cheated now because I'm expected to be brought upto speed w/the rest of the AK collectors (over the years) who have purchased the single disc editions for the bonus/extras. Instead, I'm left with the impression that Criterion is basically saying: "you should have been buying those AK Criterion releases all along, we were never going to include the bonus/extras in a boxset you silly goose!"

The other side of the coin, you've already read the reviews by existing AK collectors. They have most of the releases except the titles missing on this set, which will eventually get their own single title releases.

Which begs the ultimate question, does this mean that when the single movie Criterion releases DO happen (not the Eclipse versions) that they will have bonus/extras for each and every single AK films (even the early ones)? That will basically render this boxset moot because I'd rather get every single movie w/bonus, extras and wait for all that to come to fruition than to have this now and be left without extras in the future.

Meanwhile, I have stopped buying DVDs anyways, I'm moving onto Blu-Rays, I have Kagemusha and plan on grabbing Sanjuro/Yijimbo double pack. The Seven Samurai Blu-Ray should be out this fall or next spring at the latest. I hope they get to a point where they can release a boxset like this in Blu-Ray format WITH all the bonus features from the Blu-Ray. But, I, for one, am going to start grabbing AK on Blu-Ray one by one instead of waiting like I did in the past.

As there is so much written about this Box I want to share my opinion on it too !
First of all you already know that these DVDs are plain film,no extras!For a price around 300 dollars that's absolutely unacceptable,even though the films themself are pure masterpieces!
So my 5 Star-Rating only concerns the films,but not this poor release.
But even if the films don't contain any bonusmaterial,why are they also don't feature optional soundtrack-versions like a few of the individual Criterion-Releases have?
For instance the individual Release of "Rashomon" (Spine No. 138)also contains an optional english dubbed soundtrack.
The individual Criterion-releases of "The Hidden Fortress" (Spine No.116) , "Yojimbo" (Spine No.52) and "Sanjuro" (Spine No.53) also contain an optional 3.0 Soundtrack,while the releases in this box are only monaural. The individual release of "Throne of Blood" (Spine No. 190) contains 2 different subtitles to choose. One from japanese film translator Linda Hoaglund,the other from Donald Richie.The DVD in this box only features the Donald-Richie-Subtitles.
And of course the film "Dodes'ka-den".....While in 1995 released on Criterion-Laserdisc (LD 291)with a 1,66/1 format,the later DVD-Release was cut to a 1,33/1 format (The individual release (Spine No. 465) as well as the DVD in this box)!
And don't let anyone fool you by telling you how good the quality of the picture and sound are.The 4 early films that are released here for the first time ("Sanjiro Sugata part 1 and part 2","The Most Beautiful" and "Those who Tread on the Tigers Tail")have a poor picture and sound quality.In fact even someone who's able understanding the japanese language can't watch the films "Sanjiro Sugata Part 1 and 2" without subtitles.The soundtrack is to poor to understand the whole film.
The 5 films that have already been released as Eclipse Series 7 ,Postwar Kurosawa("No Regrets for Our Youth","One Wonderful Sunday","Scandal","The Idiot" and "I live in Fear") have a better picture and sound then those four films mentioned before,but still not the ultimate.I got better releases of some of these five films from other countries in my collection.

But the other 15 films that are also individually available from Criterion do have a brilliant picture and sound !!!

At last one really positive thing is that this collection contains the 3-hour japanese cut of the film "Kagemusha",not the 2 and a half hour international cut that's avalable all over the world.
Sad Thing is that "The Quiet Duel","Dersu Uzala","Ran" and "Dreams" are not included in this box(I Love those films !).
As some other reviews already stated,the missing of "Rhapsody in August" is Ok.(I don't like That film!)
But those 5 films are individually available.
"Ran" as Criterion-Collection Double-DVD Spine No.316.But if you want the Criterion-DVD then you must be fast ,it's already OOP (Out Of Print).

Akira Kurosawa is one of those directors that requires absolutely no introduction at all... but I'll do it anyway.

In short, Kurosawa was one of the most legendary film directors in cinematic history -- he not only inspired other great directors, but he splintered your basic movie conventions ("Rashomon"), inspired others (the wipe! Slow motion action!) and created the standard for Japanese action, drama and historical movies. "AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa" is basically what it sounds like: twenty five movies by Kurosawa (including some never before released in the U.S.).

It includes all the classic films that Kurosawa is so famous for -- "Seven Samurai," "Sanjuro," "Yojimbo" and "The Hidden Fortress." Kurosawa packs the movies with with brilliant stories of samurai, warlords, feisty princesses, goofy peasants, a wandering nameless ronin who has a penchant for cleaning out filthy corrupt towns, and a band of samurai who are trying to save a village of not-entirely-blameless peasants. The best of them: "Rashomon," in which a woman is raped and a man is murdered, but his killer's identity is the subject of some debate.

And then there are the period movies that people don't usually mention as quickly: "Kagemusha," "The Lower Depths," "Throne of "Blood," "Red Beard," and the Noh-inspired "The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail." With the exception of the last one (a semi-comedic story about a nobleman trying to avoid being killed by his brother), these stories are a bit darker in theme, with lots of cruel warlords, foul Edo apartment buildings, an arrogant young doctor in Edo who clashes with his new boss, and a Japanese-themed retelling of Macbeth. It even includes the brilliant two-part judo saga "Sanshiro Sugata," which were only Kurosawa's first and third movies in his long-ranging career.

Fortunately the box set also emphasizes Kurosawa's movies set in then-current times: it includes darker-hued, gritty movies like "Stray Dog," the propagandic "The Most Beautiful," "I Live In Fear," "Ikiru," "Scandal," "No Regrets For Our Youth," "The Bad Sleep Well," "Drunken Angel," and "High And Low." If anything, these movies have a wider range of topics -- Kurosara delves into darker facets of human nature with stories of revenge, family strife, police work, a dying man's last months, political destruction of people's lives, gangsters and corporate corruption.

But he also strays outside the basic outlines with stories like the lighthearted "One Wonderful Sunday", which focuses on a couple of lovers having a cheap day out in postwar Japan, and "Dodesukaden's" poignant tales of poverty-stricken people in a slum. The most brilliant of the contemporary movies: "Madadayo," the uplifting story of an elderly professor and his students.

"AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa" is basically a big collection of Kurosawa's movies, mostly of his more obscure works (including the early stuff) but containing most of his best-known works as well. Most of these have been released by Criterion before, but there are a few that haven't except as some old VHS tapes -- and the entire collection gives a very comprehensive look at the myriad styles and stories that Akira Kurosawa conjured like a magician.

Even from the earliest movies, Kurosawa imbues his movies with many layers: artistic flourishes that were unique at the time (aiming a camera at the sun), blood-spattering action, sly wit and powerful and insightful direction (the final exquisitely bittersweet scene of "Ikiru"). And he got some truly brilliant actors for these movies, most notable Toshiro Mifune -- he played a wide range of brilliant roles, including a crazed bandit, a "red beard" doctor, a powerful general, a Macbethian warlord, and a brilliant nameless ronin. Among others.

But as for the downsides -- for some reason it's missing films like "Ran," "Dreams" and the underrated "Dersu Uzala." And there don't seem to be many on-disc extras here -- there's new digital transfers, a "remembrance," and a book called "The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa,"

"AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa" shows the considerable range of this legendary director, with movies both famous and obscure -- ideally it would have had a few more, but it's still an outstanding collection.

I'm fortunate to be just starting my Akira Kurosawa collection. With this collection, I get 25 of his 30 movies in one set. I love the Criterion collection and have many titles from them. Great picture quality, sound and lots of extras.

But be aware that this commemorative set contains just the movies but no extras. That means no commentaries, no documentaries and not even a trailer. You do get the original Japanese track plus english subtitles and, of course, the picture at the Criterion standard (excellent). The one bonus is the 96-page book with plenty of pictures, a 10-page essay on Akira Kurosawa by Stephen Prince and a one-page essay on each of the 25 movies. To me, it will be a great introduction.

To compare, the full-version Criterion 'Seven Samurai' set spreads the movie over two dual-layer DVDs to maximize the picture quality and include two commentaries. In this 25-movie collection, the same movie is on only one dual-layer DVD. It is still very good by the way and it depends how much you value extras.

For people of already collected the Kurosawa series, I hope Criterion will release separately the four titles not available out of loyalty to their gentle viewers.

For me, I look forward to the holidays to start my introduction to Kurosawa's 50-year career.

I think it's wonderful that Criterion is honoring AK in this way, but here's my problem. Anyone with an interest in AK's films has probably already shelled out a couple hundred dollars for just the half dozen (or so) films they most treasure, i.e. the best of the lot. That means spending $300 more for the rest, the ones with less value for the purchaser. In a way, those who have never bought a Kurosawa film are in the enviable position of getting a great set at a great price. The rest of us are essentially paying double for the same items. Nothing against Criterion - this is true of most collections on DVD, but especially the ones that confine a new release to a set of readily available discs (I wonder if this will happen with Drive He Said on the forthcoming Jack Nicholson collection?). I would really prefer to honor AK by releasing all these films, sans extras, at something like $10/disc. Then I'd buy a dozen of the ones I want, instead of nothing.

For those of us whose Kurasawa collection was on VHS, this was a terrific bargain. Quality of sound and video surprisingly good. The presentation in a book of the information usually found on the sleeve or case for the DVD's makes sorting out which film to watch easier. It is a shame that it is not the complete works, but it made converting our film library to disc reasonably priced and nearly painless. Great collection.

When this box set came out, I started to sell the DVDs I already had from it (around 9 criterion collection editions, many of them with additional discs and extras) in order to purchase this collection. I decided that the films themselves were enough for me (the DVDs here come with no extras, through the quality of the film restoration is amazing). This set presents the full arc of Kurosawa's career. While some of the films, like No Regrets for Our Youth and the Idiot, are not worth watching more than once in my opinion, there are many gems here, like Scandal and Drunken Angel, that I will no doubt return to again and again. All of my favorites are here too (7 Samurai, High and Low, etc. etc.)

So, if you want the educational aspects of previous criterion releases (such as the great commentary tracks and interviews), stay away from this box set. If you are comfortable enjoying the master's work unadorned, this is a wonderful and economic way to do so.

After reading all of the reviews of this box set i broke down and bought it. I am a blu ray fan, and a criterion fan. I like extras but they are to me exactly what the name implies, there extra. I buy films for the film anything else is nice but not needed. Buying criterion is sometime tough because most criterion is 30$ and higher, but there usually all great films and of high quality. I got this set because i did not own a lot of kurosawa pre-hand and this set not only being cheaper then buying all of the 20 or 30 dollar separate movies is actually quite pretty and skillfully made. The Booklet comes with a nice autobiography and short paragraphs on each film and multiple pictures that any kurosawa fan will enjoy. Every film is in its own beautifully designed box. The final argument for me was that this is not blu ray, and at this point in time about 6 or 7 kurosawa's have been released or are being planned to be released on blu ray. I feel that at least half of these films are so old and there negatives almost all lost that besides the probability of a blu ray release is very very very unlikley, it made not make enough difference, since u cant make a movie shot in the 40's under no budget look that much nicer even in true hd. I did though buy the 2 disc Seven Samurai in Blu Ray because that film i thought to good to not have in blu ray. I even implore the blu ray fans to get this set for its stability in kurosawa films then buy your favorite or favorites separately on blu ray.

Yes, this set has almost all of Kurosawa's great films. However, in my opinion, a set that doesn't contain "Ran" (a MAJOR masterpiece on the King Lear story) and "Dersu Uzala" ( a minor masterpiece in Russian and about a marvelous wilderness guide in pre-revolutionary Siberia) is deficient. Ran is an overwhelming Japanese re-telling of the Lear story and is one of AK's last and best films. Dersu Uzala should be included if only because of the great photography of the Siberian woodlands; it's a good character study also. "Dreams" (another absent film) is a good film, but is a bit quirky. I think that the absence of "Rhapsody In August" is justified, because it's a sentimental mess centered around the A-Bomb and survivors of Nagasaki. That's a compelling frame for a film, but Richard Gere as part Japanese??... puhleeese.
One does not really need this set in order to study AK's style and broad strokes; a few of his famous films suffices. But the absence of "Ran" is ridiculous.

Wonderful Boxed Set. Lovely quality collectable set. Would have really liked the option of commentary during the movie - always interesting to hear about the details. Book very nice.