tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post4366430651228014509..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: Kurosawa Week: High and Low (1963)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-77825192475839035502015-03-24T17:20:09.202-04:002015-03-24T17:20:09.202-04:00Jed, He was excellent in that too. I think he'...Jed, He was excellent in that too. I think he's fantastic. And I definitely recommend this film!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-67986623988299872372015-03-24T14:11:19.729-04:002015-03-24T14:11:19.729-04:00Toshiro Mifune is one of the greats. I have not se...Toshiro Mifune is one of the greats. I have not seen this one, but the first time I actually became aware of him by name is a great role as Lord Yoshi Toranaga who became Shogun in the mini-series based on the great novel by James ClavellTennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-29306695093478593012015-03-24T00:33:36.431-04:002015-03-24T00:33:36.431-04:00Well, that's something. :) But the problem re...Well, that's something. :) But the problem really isn't this film. The problem are films like <i>Seven Samurai</i> and <i>Ikiru</i>, which are genuinely hard to watch.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-87218319325372311682015-03-24T00:24:53.405-04:002015-03-24T00:24:53.405-04:00I imagine they're doing the best they can with...I imagine they're doing the best they can with what they're given. For this film, they did the following (from the review):<br /><br /><i>This high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 4K Datacine from a 35mm fine-grain master positive and, for the color sequence, a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used from small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.</i><br /><br />They may not have cleaned up the negative the old-fashioned way, but it looks like the film got a good polish. :-)ScottDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619078842202925064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-24575579624793160942015-03-24T00:21:20.512-04:002015-03-24T00:21:20.512-04:00Scott, Criterion does seem to own all of his work ...Scott, Criterion does seem to own all of his work in the US, and they did as far back as I can recall. In fact, I've got Criterion DVD's of all of them. But I'm not aware of them doing any sort of restoration on his films.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-13881171674085628132015-03-24T00:10:22.294-04:002015-03-24T00:10:22.294-04:00Yeah, I have to put this one on my list, too.
(Da...Yeah, I have to put this one on my list, too.<br /><br />(Dave, see <i>Casablanca</i>! It holds up quite well. Even my film school classmates were surprised by how much they enjoyed it.)<br /><br />Andrew, Criterion has pretty much cornered the market on Kurosawa in this country. I must say the <a href="http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/High-and-Low-Blu-ray/23144/#Review" rel="nofollow">screenshots</a> from the Blu-Ray look particularly great. <br /><br />As far as restorations go, I don't know. But with foreign films, one country might get the restored version on disc while another one doesn't. It's weird when films are owned by different companies, or when studios license home video rights to different labels. (The Arrow Video UK Blu-Ray of <i>Big Trouble in Little China</i> has more extras than the US version from Fox! It's an American movie, dammit!!) :-)ScottDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619078842202925064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-8035880456219921502015-03-24T00:02:23.189-04:002015-03-24T00:02:23.189-04:00Dave, I can't really say that. I don't th...Dave, I can't really say that. I don't think anyone has done a restoration on his films. Or if they have, I haven't seen them. So his films very much feel old. That said, I do know they started a restoration on <i>Rashomon</i>, though I don't know the status on that.<br /><br /><i>High and Low</i> doesn't feel particularly old because the films of the 1960s are in pretty good shape. His later stuff, like <i>Ran</i> also are in great shape. But his early 1950s stuff can be hard to watch.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-35317857880829897992015-03-23T23:58:36.923-04:002015-03-23T23:58:36.923-04:00Kit, Absolutely. This is one of his best. You s...Kit, Absolutely. This is one of his best. You shouldn't miss it.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-12150043018954582832015-03-23T23:43:34.604-04:002015-03-23T23:43:34.604-04:00For as much as I like to consider myself a film bu...For as much as I like to consider myself a film buff, I must confess that I've never seen a Kurosawa movie. (Hell, I've never seen <i>Casablanca</i> all the way through.) Before restorations and digital remastering, older movies in general and older foreign movies in particular were almost unwatchable. They were faded, scratched, dingy, and the subtitles would bleed into the scene so badly that they were virtually unreadable. I'm guessing that the films you're reviewing here look pretty good on DVD or Blu-Ray. <br /><br />Dave Olsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-33386669566781552692015-03-23T23:23:04.700-04:002015-03-23T23:23:04.700-04:00Guess I got to put it on my list. Guess I got to put it on my list. Kithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01453591141757808708noreply@blogger.com