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Criterion Reissues: Seven Samurai and Brazil

721 Views 18 Replies 8 Participants Last post by IAM4UK, Oct 17, 2006

FredProgGH

Discussion Starter · Oct 9, 2006

I know I'm a little behind on both of these but I finally picked them both up and watched them. Seven Samurai looks amazing and frankly the window-boxing is a non-issue for me. It's two inches top and bottom on a 106" screen. It would be nice if they didn't do it, but honestly, I'm not losing sleep over it. The extras are fantastic- the new round table commentary is dry but informative, and the documentaries are very good, especially the two hour interview with Kurosawa himself. This is one of Criterion's best sets.

But the real eye-opener for me is the new anamorphic disk of Brazil. I knew it would look good but actually watching it was like seeing the movie for the first time- I all but wept tears of joy.

I finally feel like I have an idea of what it must have been like to see this in a real theater. I expect when Criterion dips their toes into the Hd-DVD/Bluray waters this may be one of their first releases.

Anyway, if you're a fan of these releases you owe it to yourself to upgrade on both counts.

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1 - 19 of 19 Posts

oink

· #2 · Oct 9, 2006

More concerned about VQ/SQ with SS than extras (which usually don't interest me much).

Is it worth upgraded for that alone?

Tried to watch Brazil once upon a time and, well, I gave up (after significant amounts growling and laughing).

FredProgGH

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 9, 2006

I haven't done a direct A/B with SS yet. It looks stunning on the new disk but it wasn't really that shabby the first time around. They did spread it out over two disks this time which has to help and it seemed to me black level and contrast was a lot better but that's going by memory. Maybe I'll try to get a couple screen caps later and post them.

EDIT- I stand corrected- the difference is night and day. Caps coming soon.

Taperwood

· #4 · Oct 9, 2006

Thank you. This is good to know. Brazil is a movie I have always wanted to own, but without a good anamphorphic transfer available, I have always held off buying.

Doug

Kilgore

· #5 · Oct 9, 2006

The new Seven Samurai transfer is head and shoulders above the older release. The windowbox issue is irrelevant to me, since I use TheaterTek on my HTPC with my projector, so I just enlarge the image using the display editor.

Brazil isn't quite as squeaky clean, but it IS an improved transfer for sure.

FredProgGH

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 9, 2006

OK, here are a couple grabs from the original SS:

http://www.mydocsonline.com/pub/fred...20Original.zip

And here is the new one:

http://www.mydocsonline.com/pub/fred...0ReRelease.zip

These are right out of TheaterTek, no resizing. The amount of detail revealed on the new version is considerable, blacks are better and a ton of dirt and scratches that I never paid much attention to are cleaned up.

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Jon S

· #7 · Oct 9, 2006

Here is a good comparison of the different versions......

DVD Beaver reviews Seven Samurai

IAM4UK

· #8 · Oct 10, 2006

I got the Criterion "Brazil" set, now that it's remastered. What a great DVD release! I had the Criterion laserdisc box, which was probably among the ultimate laserdisc releases ever--right up there with the best Star Wars box.

"Brazil" is a great film on so many levels, and Criterion's treatment adds to the enjoyment of this movie. I highly recommend it.

oink

· #9 · Oct 10, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredProgGH
OK, here are a couple grabs from the original SS:

http://www.mydocsonline.com/pub/fred...20Original.zip

And here is the new one:

http://www.mydocsonline.com/pub/fred...0ReRelease.zip

These are right out of TheaterTek, no resizing. The amount of detail revealed on the new version is considerable, blacks are better and a ton of dirt and scratches that I never paid much attention to are cleaned up.

You are right...much better!

However, I have to give Criterion demerits for the stupid "framing."

Why they thought this was a good idea beats me...

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Mac The Knife

· #10 · Oct 10, 2006

Is the Brazil re-release the complete set or just one of the edits and if just one, which one?

IAM4UK

· #11 · Oct 10, 2006

Mac, the Brazil re-release is in two versions: single-disc and three-disc. The single disc has Gilliam's "final final cut" at 142 minutes. The three-disc box has the complete set with the final cut plus the "LCA" version, plus the outstanding supplements, such as "Battle for Brazil" stuff. The only difference I'm aware of between the three-disc re-release and the original Criterion box is that the final cut version has been remastered and transferred in enhanced-for-widescreen-tv/anamorphic.

FredProgGH

Discussion Starter · #12 · Oct 11, 2006

Yeah, AFAIK disks 2 and 3 of the new Brazil set are identical to the original release, with the "Love Conquers All" Sid Sheinberg cut still non-anamorphic. It was cool of Criterion to put out disk 1 as a standalone so those of us with the old set could replace the main film without the expense of double dipping the whole box.

EDIT- after watching Brazil again the other night I've had a perverse desire to revisit the LCA version to see just how different it actually is- and it's in 4x3!! I had forgotten. It's clearly from some kind of TV broadcast master. So no kind of new transfer would help- not that anyone would feel the need to try, I imagine.

Hesitant

· #13 · Oct 11, 2006

Thanks for the info. Be interesting to see the new R1 vs the R4 Brazil.

FredProgGH

Discussion Starter · #14 · Oct 11, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hesitant
Thanks for the info. Be interesting to see the new R1 vs the R4 Brazil.

I wouldn't be surprised if DVD Beaver has done that comparison as well....

Mac The Knife

· #15 · Oct 16, 2006

I just remembered that the original release of Brazil has a really nasty layer change at the point in the movie when he's entering the elevator to go up to see his friend who is the torturer. This layer change has given every DVD player I've owned problems.

If someone has a copy of the new release, would you please check on the layer change and see if it's seamless?

IAM4UK

· #16 · Oct 17, 2006

Mac, I ported my new copy of "Brazil" over to my HTPC. However, I can pop the disc in the tray tonight and test that layer change, if you haven't gotten an answer by then...

FredProgGH

Discussion Starter · #17 · Oct 17, 2006

All I know is that I didn't notice the layer change when I watched the new one, so on my player at least it's pretty seamless, or I just looked away at that moment

Mac The Knife

· #18 · Oct 17, 2006

If one of you could double check I'd appreciate it. I'm having trouble justifying the double dip to myself since the original set was so expensive. But if there's a chance that they fixed the layer change I might actually go ahead and get the new release.

IAM4UK

· #19 · Oct 17, 2006

Two things, Mac:

1. You can get the final-cut-movie-only on single disc as your double-dip, so it's not so bad.

2. Regardless of the layer change (still haven't checked), the remastered video with anamorphic enhancement is worth the upgrade.

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