Kurosawa DVD Collection (Individually Numbered Limited Edition) (Amazon.com Exclusive)

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful set of Kurosawa movies
Review: I purchased this box set as a way to dip my toes more deeply into the ocean that is Kurosawa's work. I own and love the Criterion "Seven Samurai" DVD, and so awaited this set with anticipation. It didn't disappoint! I think I'd seen "Ran," but it had been long enough that seeing it again it was like a new movie. The "Ran" DVD is stunning in all its restored splendor, and the story is emotionally gripping. Full of symbolism and compelling performances, I recommend this set for just this movie alone, but in addition, "Madadayo" and "Kurosawa" are both included. Neither is in anamorphic, but they are worthy additions to the set in any case. I'd never seen "Madadayo" and I'm happy to report it's a wonderful movie. It's a character study with a depth and personal warmth that radiates from the movie in waves. The performances are so natural and unassuming, you forget it's a fictional movie, and not a video journal of a real person. "Kurosawa" is an in-depth documentary on the man and his works. It's great stuff!
Last, the only downside to the package is the packaging itself. The DVD's are not held on their spindles well at all. One of mine had fallen off ("Ran") but thankfully had not taken any damage. I wish they'd taken more care with that. The included booklet, screen, and postcards are a nice touch, but I'd have been happy with just the DVD's, frankly, and in a much simpler case. Still, overall I recommend this to film fans and especially Kurosawa fans.

Rating:
Summary: Ran around Sue
Review: I was not a big fan of Kurosawa too high brow I thought. Lone Wolf & Zatoichi were it. Until I experinced living a little more.His choices are as brillant as a sword in Zatoichi's hands! He is a Master! Five stars would be the order...And the transfer and menus could be better. having said that It's a very good collection of films and a very good 'Effort' dispite the criticism. Glad I waited to purchase Ran

Rating:
Summary: Nice boxset but the packaging! Ugh!
Review: I won't go on about the contents of this nice boxset as it has all been addressed already, but I thought I should add that upon receiving my shipment today I was dismayed to find all 3 discs rolling around free from their hubs! This poor packaging virtually guarantees damage to the DVDs...If it wasn't limited I would demand a replacement, but I'm not sending mine back and hope they still have one to replace it. The replacement would more than likely have the same loose DVD problem anyway. Boxset 4 stars, packaging (disc protection rated only) 0 stars. Disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Please Clarify...
Review: it said that this box is an "amazon exclusive". well i have seen this box (and purchased it) with everything that it has in it at stores that sell it for $50. so i dont see whats so great about this supposed amazon exclusive. the set is fun to have, nothing special, but something that a Kurosawa fan would enjoy. and for those looking for Ran on its lonesome, there was a Ran masterworks edition put out in 2003 by Wellspring. Its easily found for $25 and it is a very good transfer.

Rating:
Summary: PT Barnum Set
Review: Looks like a sucker is born every minute. Not Throne of Blood, Kegamusha, Sanjuro, not even Kurosawa's first film Sanjuro Sugata. You only get 2 films, one is great (Ran) and the other is Kurosawa's last film...Nothing from the master's long list of exceptional movies...

Rating:
Summary: Not just hype, this is a terrific set!
Review: Many people have been complaining prior to the release of this set that it looks like a clever way to take money from Kurosawa fans. This isn't the case folks. Yes, it's expensive, I don't deny that. In my view, however, it's worth it. Ran is one of Kurosawa's greatest achievements. Of his entire body of work, I think only Seven Samurai, Ikiru, Rashomon, and Throne of Blood are superior. Ran is terrific cinema, and this 16:9 transfer with yellow subtitles is far better than the previous DVD release which did the picture no justice, and had very atrocious looking subs. The 5.1 channel sound is excellent, my uncle's cinema room was vibrating with every slam of the great gates in the film. The commentaries are great, with Prince's being the better of the two. In short, the Ran DVD is splendid, and vastly superior to the Fox Lorber edition. Madadayo, also included in the set, is not one of Kurosawa's best, but it's still worth owning as it's his last film, and by no means is it as bad as Rhapsody in August or, heaven forbid, Sanshiro Sugata II. It's a quiet little film about an old man who isn't quite ready to leave the world. A bit too sentimental perhaps, but some scenes are rather touching. Definately worth having. The Kurosawa documentary is underrated and overrated at the same time. It has excellent interviews I think, but the narration gets incredibly annoying. However, that may be because I've read Kurosawa's autobiography, and therefore excerpts being read from it seem useless to me. In other words, those who haven't read his book may find the narration incredibly informative. I've only seen one better documentary on Kurosawa overall anyway, so I recommend it. The box is great looking, with the number of your edition on the front along with a logo that says: KUROSAWA. The shoji screen with art from Ran is excellent looking and would make a terrific display. Ditto the mini-Ran 15th Anniversary poster (which I personally prefer to leave untouched, rolled with a seal). There is also an informative little booklet about the filmmaker, well, informative for newcomers to Kurosawa, and an authentication certificate, along with four postcard size Kurosawa storyboards for the two films in this set. Overall, I think this set is a great buy for die hard Kurosawa fans and even casual fans. It's a great way to celebrate his later works.

Rating:
Summary: support yer director
Review: moan and groan. someones always complaining about a dvd not being worthy or just a sales gimmick. oh shut up. i love kurosawa and will buy the same dvd 5 times if i have too. the limited set makes it worthy alone. if you love a director.....support him fully. i know akira is smiling knowing someone is thinking hes worth it....period. oh...and by the way....ill own the individual titles as well as the box set....

Rating:
Summary: Great movies, lousy presentation.
Review: My review here is more about the presentation of the set, and not the movies themselves. The movies are great and the documentary is also good. One of the main problems is that the packaging is terrible. The discs fit loosely in the packaging and as a result moved around a great deal in shipping. In the first set I received the documentary disc was covered in scratches and glue and was completely unplayable (the glue was from the poorly made cardboard case). The Ran disc was also scratched badly. Amazon was good about getting another set out but even in that one the documentary disc was scratched, although it plays for the most part. The "extra" items are cheaply made and not worth the money either. Also, I must agree with another reviewer that complained about the RAN transfer. This is not much of an improvement over the Fox Lorber transfer, and there is a lot of noise at the edges of the "letterboxing". If you already own a copy of Ran or Madadayo don't bother with this set. If you must own a newer transfer of Ran this one is coming out as a single DVD in 2003. This set is just not worth the money, unless you just have to have that cheesy cardboard "miniature shoji screen" or the "mini" Ran poster.

Rating:
Summary: [Poor] packaging ruins another DVD
Review: Once again, creative packaging results in damaged DVDs (remember Columbia's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens set?). All 3 of the DVDs included in this Kurosawa set arrived floating around in the box, covered with scratches, cloudy abrasion marks, and what appeared to be threads of glue. I have no doubt they will have problems with playback. When I tried to put the discs back on their spindles, they came right off. The spindles simply don't hold them. The threads of glue appear in other parts of the packaging as well. I can't recommend this version. Save money and wait until these titles come out in normal DVD cases.

Rating:
Summary: Don't underestimate Madadayo
Review: Outstanding! I new a remastered version of Ran was a must have, but I did not expect to enjoy Madadayo as much as I did. While I agree the packaging does not protect the disks well, I got lucky and had no damage. I wonder how they will handle this issue if they truly only made 5,000?