The first time I saw Seven Samurai was just over three years ago. In the three years since I have watched it a couple more times and was eager to return to it once again as it’s one of a handful of films I instantly thought of as soon as Criterion revealed it would begin releasing films on Blu-ray. For me, it was up there with The Seventh Seal and 8 1/2 and go figure, now all three all available in high definition, and each the better for it. I guess it’s time to start a new list…
For those that already own the three-disc DVD edition you aren’t going to find anything new with this release. From the 60-page booklet to a second disc loaded with special features this is the exact same release with one major difference, there is absolutely no comparison when it comes to picture quality.
Retaining an excellent amount of grain, but cleaned to near-pristine quality with spectacular fine detail improvement this film looks immaculate. A comparison to the DVD transfer shows how excellent this transfer really is. Blacks are richer, whites are whiter and the grays are perfectly balanced. It’s a remarkable presentation and the included mono track excels. However, it should be noted the back of the box says there is an optional DTS-HD Master Audio track and this is not the case, all that’s present here is a restored mono track and a 2.0 stereo track. The mono is the more vibrant way to go if you ask me and holds up nicely.
The features, as I’ve already said, are all the same as the DVD edition. The bonus, of course, is the fact the film is now all on one disc as opposed to two. This first disc comes with the two audio commentaries from the previous release, the first with film expert Michael Jeck and the second is described as a “scholar’s roundtable” featuring interview snippets with David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns and Donald Richie. Both tracks are loaded with immense amounts of information, but considering we’re talking about a nearly three-and-a-half-hour film and you have almost four hours of supplemental material on the second disc you may want to take your time in listening.
Speaking of the second disc, it may appear it doesn’t have a ton to offer, boasting only three central features, but with two of them running at 50 and 56 minutes and the third running almost two hours you can rest assured it will keep you busy.
As with all of Criterion’s Kurosawa releases you get the Seven Samurai portion ot Toho’s “Akira Kurosawa – It Is Wonderful to Create” Masterworks series. As always it’s incredibly informative and lends itself well to the 56-minute documentary “Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences”. Both work hand-in-hand, and along with the two commentaries very little is left to explore.
Offering a bit of a reprieve from focusing solely on Seven Samurai, the 116-minute interview titled “My Life in Cinema: Akira Kurosawa” features Kurosawa sitting down to be interviewed by Nagisa Oshima (Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, In the Realm of Senses). Originally recorded in 1993, Oshima approaches the interview from a slightly different perspective, getting answers we may otherwise have never gotten. It’s also fascinating to watch this feature after everything else, if only to hear Kurosawa rehash some of the stories told by others in the other featurettes and hear how similar the telling of each story is. I can only imagine the experience of working on this film is one none of them would ever forget.
Referred to often as “the greatest film in the history of cinema” on this Blu-ray, Criterion has certainly treated it as such. I am not sure where it would fall in terms of order on a list of my top 100 films, but it certainly has climbed up the list since I first wrote about it.
In 2007, Seven Samurai was the first of Kurosawa’s films I had ever seen. Since that time I have seen 16 others, 12 of which I own. He is one of my favorite filmmakers and I expect one day all of his films will be a part of my collection, it’s just a matter of deciding whether I should wait for them to be released on Blu-ray or if I should just begin picking them up now on DVD.
As for this new Blu-ray edition of Seven Samurai I think the choice is obvious, and it’s not a suggestion I typically make with such certainty. But if you love this film, an upgrade to Blu-ray high definition is an absolute must. I’m certain you can get some money for your DVD edition should you feel the need to part with it to save some money on upgrading, but one way or another, Criterion has done their very best to make sure this is worth your dollar.
