Those upset (myself included) that Criterion had to withdraw their planned Blu-ray edition of Ran due to a rights issue can cheer up as the holder of those rights was making the same plans. Lionsgate Home Entertainment in cooperation with StudioCanal are set to release Ran as well as 1955’s The Ladykillers starring Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers and Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt (Le Mépris) on Blu-ray on February 16, 2010.
Unfortunately there isn’t any box art available yet, but below are the list of features for each:
Ran
- 1080P High Definition Widescreen format with Japanese, English, Spanish, French, German and Italian DTS Master Audio
- “A.K.” – the acclaimed feature-length documentary on the making of the film
- “Akira Kurosawa: The Epic and the Intimate” – documentary on the director
- Portrait of Akira Kurosawa by Japanese cinema expert and interpreter Catherine Cado
- “The Samurai” – documentary on Samurai art
- “Art of the Samurai” – an interview with a Japanese art of war expert
- BD-Live
- 20-page collectible booklet
The Ladykillers
- 1080P High Definition Widescreen format with English, Spanish, French and German DTS Master Audio
- Introduction by filmmaker Terry Gilliam
- “Forever Ealing” – a documentary on the famed British studio
- Audio commentary with film historian Philip Kemp
- Interviews with British filmmakers Allan Scott and Terence Davies and writer Ronald Harwood on the film
- BD-Live (that includes a bonus interview with British filmmaker James Mangold)
- 20-page collectible booklet
Contempt (Le Mépris)
- 1080P High Definition Widescreen format with French, English, Spanish and German DTS Master Audio
- Introduction by British film producer and Godard expert Colin MacCabe
- “One Upon a Time There Was…Contempt” – a “making-of” documentary
- “Contempt…Tenderly” – a documentary on Godard’s legacy in film
- “The Dinosaur and the Baby” – a discussion between Godard and director Fritz Lang
- Theatrical trailer
- BD-Live
- 20-page collectible booklet
It looks to me like StudioCanal is trying to get into the Criterion business with these presentations and what they are dubbing the StudioCanal Collection, described as a new series of acclaimed and influential films debuting on Blu-ray Disc with superior picture and sound quality plus unique special features.
