Rashōmon

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MichaelB
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Rashōmon

#1 Post by MichaelB » Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:58 am

Kurosawa’s influential classic finally comes to Blu-ray in a restored version. Credited with bringing Japanese cinema to the attention of audiences worldwide, Rashômon delves deep into the human psyche to investigate the philosophy of justice and truth, telling the story of a man’s murder and the rape of his wife from four conflicting points of view.
Out in April.

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manicsounds
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Re: Rashomon

#2 Post by manicsounds » Tue Feb 03, 2015 12:09 pm

I guess Optimum/Studio Canal don't have the rights anymore, or do they have the rights to the DVD and BFI has the rights to the Blu-ray?

Bürgermeister
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Re: Rashomon

#3 Post by Bürgermeister » Tue Feb 03, 2015 2:41 pm

Looks like they don't have it.
There's a listing on Amazon for the forthcoming DVD release from BFI.

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Re: Rashomon

#4 Post by Orlac » Tue Feb 03, 2015 4:28 pm

Attn BFI, check the colour space is correct!

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rapta
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Re: Rashomon

#5 Post by rapta » Thu Feb 05, 2015 7:53 am

manicsounds wrote:I guess Optimum/Studio Canal don't have the rights anymore, or do they have the rights to the DVD and BFI has the rights to the Blu-ray?
Well BFI released the DVD before Optimum I think? Maybe there aren't exclusive rights for this title?

Can't wait to get hold of this...hope it's a better restoration than the previous Kurosawa's...this is possibly my favourite of his films. Apparently the BFI themselves are restoring this (I asked them on Twitter).

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Rashomon

#6 Post by What A Disgrace » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:15 am

Amazon lists the following supplements.

• Filmed introduction by John Boorman
• New commentary by Stuart Galbraith
• Rashômon at 65 (Stuart Galbraith, 2015): a documentary exploring some of the key locations fro the film and interviewing former staff from Daiei Studios

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rapta
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Re: Rashomon

#7 Post by rapta » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:43 am

May have to keep the Optimum DVD then for the 'A Testimony as an Image' documentary, but the new commentary and doc are welcome! Stuart Galbraith wrote a book on Kurosawa and Mifune, so will be an expert on the subject...just hope the transfer's up to snuff!

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MichaelB
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Re: Rashomon

#8 Post by MichaelB » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:32 am

Full specs announced:
Rashômon
A film by Akira Kurosawa
Toshiro Mifune and Taskashi Shimura

Akira Kurosawa’s Oscar-winning Rashômon comes to Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, released on DVD and Blu-ray by the BFI on 21 September 2015. Exclusive special features include a newly-produced 34-minute location documentary and a feature-length audio commentary by Kurosawa expert Stuart Galbraith IV. Also included is an extensive booklet with new writing and full credits.

A woodcutter witnesses a horrific series of events – an ambush, rape and murder. In the telling of the tale, however, each of the four participants gives a different view of what actually happened – is anyone telling the truth?

Kurosawa’s masterly and influential film plays on the subjective nature of truth while unfurling a riveting tale of violence and greed.

The first film to alert Western audiences to the riches of Japanese cinema, it was remade in Hollywood as The Outrage, starring Paul Newman, and is credited as a key influence on Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects.

Special features
• Restored in High Definition
• New audio commentary by Kurosawa expert Stuart Galbraith IV
Rashômon at 65 (Stuart Galbraith IV, 2015, 34 mins): documentary visiting some of Rashômon’s key locations, featuring interviews with former staff from the Daiei-Kyoto Studios
John Boorman on Rashômon (6 mins), introduction by director John Boorman (Deliverance, The Emerald Forest)
• Illustrated booklet with a new essay by Stuart Galbraith IV and full credits

Blu-ray product details
RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1206 / Cert 12 (UK and Irish)
Japan / 1950 / black and white / Japanese language with English subtitles / 88 mins Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / BD50 / 1080p / 24fps / PCM 2.0 audio (48k/24-bit)

DVD product details
RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIV2039 / Cert 12 (UK and Irish)
Japan / 1950 / black and white / Japanese language with English subtitles / 85 mins Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / Dolby Digital 2.0 audio (320 kbps)

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hearthesilence
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Re: Rashomon

#9 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:40 am

...credited as a key influence on Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects.
Yeeesh. I don't doubt Rashomon was cited as an inspiration, but the fabrications that make up The Usual Suspects were at the service of a fairly hollow stunt, all style with no substance. Rashomon was far more intriguing and interesting.

Anyway, Rashomon's narrative framework influence is so pervasive, it has most likely lost its novelty now that countless films and television shows have lifted from it. (It was even a common staple among those awful TGIF sitcoms on ABC in America.) But even among the more respected works following its example, few if any of them have retained the same philosophical implications. Most writers use Rashomon's framework as a simplistic lesson in subjectivity - characters lie to make themselves look better. The characters in Rashomon do the opposite. By the film's end, the most important questions are not raised by the legalities of the case, it's raised by how the characters perceive themselves - what they believe are their given roles in society and how that defines them, not just the way they live or what they do, but who they are.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Rashomon

#10 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:45 am

Sorry to hijack MichaelB's promotion for BFI's re-issue though - kudos to them, if it's anything like the transfer Criterion did for the extensive restoration that was finished about 8 years ago, it's sure to be a treat.

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Re: Rashomon

#11 Post by MichaelB » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:58 am

I've had this discussion before, but there's absolutely no point deconstructing promotional marketing blurbs as though they're serious criticism - the primary and indeed sole aim is to intercept people searching for titles like The Usual Suspects and point them in the direction of Rashomon.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Rashomon

#12 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:03 am

Yeah, I realize that, but it still makes me cringe to see that. Not a favorite, but David Fincher's Gone Girl would've been a preferable marketing choice (with a bigger fan base to draw from).

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Re: Rashomon

#13 Post by Zot! » Mon Aug 24, 2015 12:17 pm

Usual Suspects is the thinking man's Boondock Saints. Seriously, people love that movie.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Rashomon

#14 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Aug 24, 2015 12:55 pm

I like most of the cast, I'll give it that.

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domino harvey
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Re: Rashomon

#15 Post by domino harvey » Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:49 pm

The market for people who will buy a copy of Rashomon has far greater overlap with Usual Suspects fans than Gone Girlies

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MichaelB
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Re: Rashomon

#16 Post by MichaelB » Fri Sep 11, 2015 10:06 am


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swo17
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Re: Targets

#17 Post by swo17 » Thu May 05, 2022 1:33 pm

rapta wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 1:20 pm
swo17 wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 11:09 am
Cautiously optimistic that this still shows a 20 June release date. Has it been officially confirmed anywhere that the new restoration is completed and there won't be any further delays?
Extras haven't been confirmed which doesn't look promising...could be one of those long-time delayed BFI releases that are eventually pretty perfect (i.e. Eyes Without a Face, The Wages of Fear, Rashomon).
I never looked into BFI's release of Rashomon. Is it an upgrade over the Criterion?

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dwk
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Re: Targets

#18 Post by dwk » Thu May 05, 2022 2:36 pm

They use the same master, but I have no idea how the extras compare. At this point I'd wait to see if it gets a UHD.

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Re: Targets

#19 Post by ryannichols7 » Thu May 05, 2022 2:55 pm

dwk wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 2:36 pm
They use the same master, but I have no idea how the extras compare. At this point I'd wait to see if it gets a UHD.
not to make this thread about Rashomon but I agree with the latter point. Kadokawa, unlike Toho, is actually pretty good about their 4K restorations and improved masters, so I tend to think Rashomon will be the first Kurosawa title to get a UHD from anyone

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swo17
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Re: Targets

#20 Post by swo17 » Thu May 05, 2022 3:09 pm

ryannichols7 wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 2:55 pm
not to make this thread about Rashomon
My recollection is that this actually is the Rashomon thread :-"

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Drucker
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Re: Targets

#21 Post by Drucker » Thu May 05, 2022 3:30 pm

swo17 wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 1:33 pm
rapta wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 1:20 pm
swo17 wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 11:09 am
Cautiously optimistic that this still shows a 20 June release date. Has it been officially confirmed anywhere that the new restoration is completed and there won't be any further delays?
Extras haven't been confirmed which doesn't look promising...could be one of those long-time delayed BFI releases that are eventually pretty perfect (i.e. Eyes Without a Face, The Wages of Fear, Rashomon).
I never looked into BFI's release of Rashomon. Is it an upgrade over the Criterion?
Has a better audio track, with less noise reduction I believe.

Orlac
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Re: Rashōmon

#22 Post by Orlac » Thu May 05, 2022 4:33 pm

The Stuart Galbraith extras are superb...and he starts his essay with the famous Simpsons line!

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andyli
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Re: Targets

#23 Post by andyli » Thu May 05, 2022 8:19 pm

ryannichols7 wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 2:55 pm
not to make this thread about Rashomon but I agree with the latter point. Kadokawa, unlike Toho, is actually pretty good about their 4K restorations and improved masters, so I tend to think Rashomon will be the first Kurosawa title to get a UHD from anyone
If I remember correctly Rashomon was a 4K scan / 2K restoration. So there's no hope for a UHD based on the current transfer.

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dwk
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Re: Rashōmon

#24 Post by dwk » Thu May 05, 2022 8:54 pm

You are correct. A 4K scan, with the work done in 2K.
The relevant passage from Criterion's booklet:
The basis for the restoration was a 35mm black-and-white print held in the collection of the National Film Center in Tokyo. Made in 1962 from the original camera negative, the print itself was in good physical condition, but the negative from which it had been made was extremely battered due to extensive printing and handling over the years; many shots had started to shrink and warp, and there were numerous scratches and abrasions. Moreover, dust, dirt, and other artifacts from the damaged negative had been photographed into the print.

The print was scanned at 4K resolution at Lowry Digital in Burbank, California. The original scans were then converted to 2K files for extensive image processing and cleanup. Certain damage could be repaired using Lowry's automated software, but many frames had to be cleaned by hand. The warping in some shots and the blurring of every second frame of the film were addressed with customized visual effects tools. Once the image restoration was complete, two 4K digital intermediate 35mm negatives were produced, as well as a complete digital archive of both the raw scan and the restored image files

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