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By PAUL BRENNER
Seeing the oblong box that houses Wellspring Home Video's 3-disc Kurosawa Limited Edition DVD
Collection, a shudder runs through your veins, as the old ill-packaged Fantasia Collector's Edition laser disc is
recalled, and you think, "Great. Now I have another doorstop on my hands." Then as you open the casket, trinkets abound
-- a booklet, storyboard cards, a board game cardboard trifold, a daintily bounded poster, and a certificate of
authenticity signed by the President and the Vice President of Marketing of Wellspring Video. The three DVDs that
comprise the rest of the collector's box -- "Kurosawa," "Ran," and "Madadayo" -- seems almost an afterthought. Until you
actually watch the films behind it all -- three career topping films from the rich (and enriching) career of Akira
Kurosawa, easily one of the greatest directors in film history.
The first disc is Adam Low's Akira Kurosawa career retrospective "Kurosawa" from 2000. The 115-minute documentary,
narrated by Sam Shepard, with readings from Kurosawa's autobiography by Paul Scofield, is comprehensive and elegant. The
extras include an impressive 90 minutes of bonus interview footage, which rather than merely being unedited interviews
from a documentary (as in most DVD extras), expands upon the interviews in the documentary, assembled thematically and
increasing one's appreciation for Kurosawa the artist, not "Kurosawa" the documentary. The extras also include
filmographies, web links, and "Easter Eggs." The film is presented in 1.85 Letterbox in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.
Kurosawa is in English and Japanese with English subtitles.
The second disc is Kurosawa's career capping epic "Ran," in a restored "masterworks" edition. Kurosawa's take on "King
Lear," "Ran" is the last of the great epic films, before CGI eliminated the need for a cast of thousands. Centering
"King Lear" in 16th century Japan and switching ungrateful daughters to ungrateful sons who fight over the kingdom of
Lord Hidetora (Kurosawa's Lear), "Ran" goes Shakespeare one better in scope, emotional depth, and spectacle --
particularly impressive for a film made when Kurosawa was 75 years old. Also featured in "Ran" is one of the great film
performances of all time, by Mieko Harada, whose trigger-edged malevolence still cuts through the frame like a samurai
sword. The special features include two audio commentary tracks (one with Stephen Prince, author of "The Warriors
Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa," and the other with Peter Grilli, the producer of "Kurosawa"), two trailers for
the film, a restoration demo, a filmography, production notes, and web links. "Ran" is presented in 1.85 and in Dolby
Digital 5.1 Stereo. "Ran" is in Japanese with English subtitles.
Disc three is Kurosawa's final film, "Madadayo," made when Kurosawa was 83 years old. The film is a moving and delicate
tribute to a professor and teacher (played by Tatsuo Matsumara, who was 79 years old at the time) who retires during
World War II. His fawning students look after him and take care of him during rocky times of his old age. The joys of
everyday living shows Kurosawa in a self-effacing Ozu-like mode but the retired professor is clearly modeled upon
Kurosawa himself (at one point, one of his middle-aged ex-students declares, "Our professor is very special. He's not
you or me. His sensitivity and imagination are beyond us"). Still "Madadayo" ("Not yet" in English) not only treats
non-epic occurrences with an epic feel (the last half of the film is devoted to finding a lost cat) but also treats the
elderly hero with honor and respect, certainly an attitude singularly lacking in western culture. The special features
of "Madadayo" include a trailer, storyboards, and filmographies. "Madadayo" is presented in 1.85 Letterbox and Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo. The film is in Japanese with English subtitles.
Despite the hoity-toity box, the films themselves more than compensate for the grandiosity. You can get the poster
framed and when the three discs are over you can raise a glass of beer to your family and friends and shout "Madadayo!" |
