Back in June, I posted about the 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai coming out in theaters; here’s the trailer:
I just checked and the 4K version appears to be out on streaming and 4K Blu-ray. The 4K Blu-ray is available from the Criterion Collection and includes a bunch of extra goodies: two audio commentaries, a making-of documentary, “a two-hour conversation between director Akira Kurosawa and filmmaker Nagisa Oshima”, and a documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that helped shape Kurosawa’s masterpiece.
As for streaming, here’s the situation:
There’s a version on Max that might or might not be the recently restored 4K version. I’ve played the beginning and the titles are nice & crisp and there’s no dust & scratches. But the description doesn’t say anything about 4K and you need to subscribe to their top-tier service to get 4K streaming anyway, so who knows. It might just be a 1080p restoration — which still looks really good, to be clear. (Note: Max’s support team confirms that their version isn’t 4K. Boo. Thx @nabil-boutaleb.bsky.social.)
Apple TV appears to have Criterion’s 4K restoration — the listing shows the “4K” icon and Criterion links directly to it from their page. And the trailer is for the 4K restoration.
Amazon may also have the 4K version, but there’s no “4K” icon on their listing. But Criterion does link directly to it from their page.
Streaming services should be better about telling viewers exactly what they are getting. I know most people don’t care and the streamers just want to push content to eyeballs, but this is Seven Samurai we’re talking about here!
Anyway, if there are any big film/streaming nerds out there who can help me sort this out, let me know! I’d love to be as accurate as possible even if Max & Amazon don’t care. (Tbh, this kinda makes me want to buy a 4K Blu-ray player and go back to physical media…)
A 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s epic Seven Samurai is heading to theaters this summer. The film screened at Cannes in May and screenings in the US start in July:
Janus will open the restoration on Friday, July 5 in New York at Film Forum after which a Los Angeles premiere will take place at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre on Sunday, July 7. The film will open wide on Friday, July 12 in Los Angeles at Laemmle Royal.
Here’s the official poster for the restoration:
On a personal note, I’m pretty disheartened there’s a 99% chance this won’t be playing anywhere near me in Vermont. Run Lola Run was rereleased in theaters last week and I couldn’t find it anywhere within a reasonable drive. And the nearest IMAX is 2h15m away. I’m thankful that I can get all sorts of culture pumped into my house at gigabit speeds, but per contemporary wisdom, “we’ve got Seven Samurai’s 4K restoration at home” is just not the same.
In Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon, the story of the murder of a samurai is told from several different viewpoints and each account of the event is different and even contradictory. In real life as in cinema, the Rashomon Effect describes how events can be recalled in contradictory ways by well-meaning but ultimately subjective witnesses. In this short TED-Ed video, the Rashomon Effect and its implications are explained and explored. (via open culture)
After he died, a book containing legendary movie director Akira Kurosawa’s 100 favorite films was published. The list was made by his daughter, arranged chronologically, and limited to one film per director. His daughter describes the selection process:
The principle of the choice is: one film for one director, entry of the unforgettable films about which I and my father had a lovely talk, and of some ideas on cinema that he had cherished but did not express in public.
Some of Kurosawa’s choices: My Neighbor Totoro for Miyazaki, The King of Comedy for Scorsese (?), Annie Hall for Woody Allen, Fitzcarraldo for Herzog, Barry Lyndon for Kubrick (??), and The Birds for Hitchcock. No Orson Welles, Coens, David Lynch, or Malick.
This video looks at the influence of Akira Kurosawa and his films (especially The Hidden Fortress) on George Lucas and Star Wars.
How are Samurai films and a car crash responsible for Star Wars? How did World War II affect the global film industry in the 20th century? Why are Jedi called Jedi?? Give us 8 minutes, and we’ll explain it all…
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