Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Dersu Uzala Blu-ray Movie Review

Into the woods again.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 31, 2023

An unlikely but successful Russian-Japanese co-production that netted the legendary director his first non-honorary Academy Award (Best Foreign Language Film, 1975), Akira Kurosawa's Dersu Uzala now strangely feels like something of a hidden gem in his nearly-bulletproof filmography. Developed only a few short years after the box-office failure of Dodes'kaden and a failed suicide attempt, this deliberately paced wilderness drama was also the director's only non-Japanese-language film and his first attempt at using both 70mm film and six-track surround sound.

Based on the 1923 memoirs of famed Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev (portrayed in the film by established stage and screen actor Yury Solomin), Dersu Uzula begins with a brief flashback of Arsenyev reminiscing about an old, dear friend: the titular character (expertly played by Maxim Munzuk, who was hand-picked by Kurosawa over an actual blood descendent of the real Uzula), whom he met by chance while surveying a vast area of wilderness near the Chinese border with his men. Well-mannered but scruffy from leading a life of solitude in the wilderness after the death of his wife and daughter, Dersu is met with kindness by Vladimir's team and soon joins the group as their guide.

The Russian explorers are taken aback by their new friend's survival tactics and especially his thoughtful, unyielding harmonization with nature, from an indispensable ability as a tracker to his pinpoint accuracy with a rifle and the way he treats total strangers -- Dersu even repairs an unoccupied hut's roof and leaves essential supplies for the next traveler to use. Actions like these set the stage for the crux of Dersu Uzula's humanistic story: living a thoughtful life while practicing the total acceptance of people, regardless of culture. This refreshing sentiment is paired nicely with the unavoidable array of natural dangers that threaten their group: a fierce blizzard, raging rapids (above), and predatory animals like a Siberian tiger. These potentially perilous situations only strengthen the bond between Dersu and Vladimir, who are briefly separated by choice during the film's mid-point but reunite for a second and final expedition.

It's a natural fit for Kurosawa's cinematic sensibilities, with a mostly direct but unhurried pace that lets us drink in Dersu Uzula's rugged but attractively organic cinematography captured on-site in Siberia. As mentioned earlier, this was the director's first (and actually only) film shot in full 70mm, but don't get your hopes up: he was unable to use higher-quality Kodak stock and reluctantly settled for the house brand of Russian studio Mosfilm, who provided all of the necessary funding while thankfully allowing the director almost unlimited creative control. This lower-quality stock not only prevented better color representation, but has deteriorated greatly during the last five decades.

As such, Dersu Uzula's visuals are unavoidably not as robust, colorful, and eye-catching as "Kurosawa in 70mm" suggests, although it's worth noting that Imprint's new 1080p transfer -- which debuted on their first pressing released last September, but is also utilized on this welcome second printing -- presumably features no end-user restoration, looking more like a raw and largely unprocessed scan of rough-looking source elements. It's still leagues better than previous home video editions dating back to Kino's 2003 DVD and, now paired with an outstanding DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio presentation of its original six-track master, carries a decent amount of sensory power at times. Also in its favor is a very nice collection of mostly new and little-seen bonus features, almost all of which add valuable insight that should help new viewers appreciate this excellent comeback film for one of cinema's greatest directors.

Dersu Uzala Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As explained above, Dersu Uzula was captured on the "house brand" 70mm film stock of Russian studio Mosfilm, a cost-cutting measure that prevented Kurosawa from the using the higher-quality stock of a company like Kodak. As such, its visuals can't be compared to the 70mm presentations of films like Ben-Hur or 2001: A Space Odyssey, as it displays fewer fine details and noticeably less robust color replication than anything captured on the superior stock. Of course, it's also worth noting that some of the more obvious deficiencies present in Imprint's 1080p transfer are a result of age-related damage, as the boutique label does not perform any in-house cleanup or other restoration.

Within those narrow boundaries, the visual quality of Dersu Uzala is still quite good at times, and clearly a decent step up from previously available home video editions. The film's organic qualities shine through in its mostly earth-toned palette, although there are obvious signs of color shifting and a semi-persistent flickering that affects most of its darker scenes. Film grain remains largely present, fine as it often is, with detail and texture levels that waver from scene to scene but are at least generally unhampered by excessive noise reduction or edge enhancement. It's an admittedly unimpressive presentation at first glace -- especially if you're not aware of its technical origins -- but your eyes will quickly adjust, allowing viewers to eventually appreciate what's essentially a raw but relatively film-like presentation of less-than-ideal source material. Either way, the careful touch of a skilled restoration team leaves obvious room for improvement in the future; just how much remains to be seen (so take that rating with a grain of salt), but as-is I'd much rather have an image like this than one that's been processed to look artificially smooth and bright.

Dersu Uzala Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Originally recorded in six-track surround (again, Kurosawa's first film in that format), Dersu Uzula's environmentally-driven soundstage makes exceptional use of organic sounds from nature: birds, weather, rustling leaves, and of course human activity to actively fill out the rear channels. It's almost disarming in its opening moments, with a robust sonic presence that often fully envelops the viewer in a convincing way. Music plays its own part with a reasonably strong dynamic range, and the film's front-forward effects are likewise cleanly recorded and easy to distinguish.

Conversations are another story, whether you choose the original Russian or an English dub presumably created for American distribution. Although the Russian narration is cleanly recorded and integrated into the film's overall sonic aesthetic, many of the vocals are somewhat badly overdubbed and rarely match up with their environments. It takes a bit of getting used to... but if you've seen Dersu Uzula before, it's probably not a big deal. Conversely, the reasonably good English dub (which actually sounds a few decibels louder in the rear channels, but is otherwise similar in volume level) actually feels more smoothly suited to its various environments, although there are notable amounts of light distortion during many scenes that I didn't pick up on in their Russian counterparts. The trade-off, of course, is that everyone will be speaking English and the voice actor who plays Dersu goes the "caveman route" in some respects... but considering the less-than-perfect original Russian track, it's actually kind of a toss-up. Yet it's great to have both options, even if again there's clearly some room for improvement in the hands of a careful restoration team.

Optional English subtitles are included during the film, which seem to align with that of a literal Russian translation. Obviously I'd have preferred to have "dubtitles" as well, but this is better than the alternative.

Dersu Uzala Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Imprint's welcome second printing of Dersu Uzula omits the glossy outer slipcase from their first run but this is an otherwise identical package, as it ships in a clear keepcase with the same colorful cover artwork and inner print design. The robust on-disc bonus features are likewise the same and relisted below for your convenience.

• Audio Commentary - This fantastic full-length track features Japanese film expert Stuart Galbraith IV, whom die-hard Kurosawa fans might remember as author of The Emperor and the Wolf. As expected, this is a studious and well-organized track but actually interesting to boot, providing lots of context for the production as a whole while touching upon other areas of the director's personal life and career. It's also supplemented by recorded comments from three other contributors: wildlife author and biologist Jonathan C. Slaght, the first to compile an English translation of explorer Vladimir Arseniev's writings; Smith and Amherst College history professor Sergey Glebov, a historian of the Russian Empire / USSR; and even lawyer-turned-producer Barbara Boyle, who helped lead Roger Corman's New World Pictures and aided in Dersu Uzala's acquisition and release in the United States. This is an essential listen and, at over two hours, almost worth the price of admission alone.

• Mapping Kurosawa: A History of "Dersu Uzala" (23:16) - Created exclusively for Imprint in 2022, this new interview with film writer and historian Michael Brooke covers a wide variety of topics including Dersu's Academy Award win, his career and personal troubles in the early 1970s, securing financing for the film, his previous and later work, his planned English-language debut with a story that would be eventually be made as Runaway Train, shooting in 70mm with six-track surround sound, the film's legacy, and much more.

• Sound of the Taiga (17:59) - Another new piece produced by Imprint, this video essay by music historian David Schecter focuses on the film's score by Isaac Schwarts. In addition to a short biography of the composer, this essay also speaks about the creative processes of both Kurosawa and Schwarts as well as its unique blend of traditional symphonic music and a rugged, nature-driven "sonic background".

• Actor Yur Solomin - Three short, undated video interviews with "Arsenev" about different film-related topics, all obviously taken from an older DVD-era source, presented in Russian with forced English subtitles.

• On Writer Vladimir Arseniev (3:54)
• On Director Akira Kurosawa (9:04)
• On the Film (6:56)

• Making the Film (5:02) - This short behind-the-scenes documentary, presumably made to promote Dersu Uzala around the time of its theatrical release, includes black-and-white footage from the set. Much like the previous three interviews, it's presented in Russian with forced English subtitles.

• Archive Footage of the Real Vladimir Arseniev (0:53) - More black-and-white archival footage, this short piece likewise features Russian dialogue and text with forced English subtitles.

• US Theatrical Trailer (2:26) - "Roger Corman Presents Dersu Uzala". No kidding!

Dersu Uzala Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Akira Kurosawa's Dersu Uzula was a welcome comeback film for the director after an extremely dark period in his career and personal life, with a moving and thoughtful story that's supported by excellent performances and rugged, organic cinematography. Compared to previous home video releases, Imprint's Blu-ray edition -- available as either a first pressingr released last September or this soon-to-be-available second print -- is a very well-rounded package, carrying with it a decent 1080p transfer (under the circumstances) and outstanding 5.1 audio, as well as a host of excellent bonus features. Only the tantalizing prospect of a fully-restored future edition stands in the way of a full recommendation, but die-hard fans and newcomers alike should still seek out this welcome import.