8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Set in medieval Japan, an elderly warlord announces his intention to hand over his empire to his sons. A power struggle ensues between the heirs.
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû, Mieko HaradaDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 98% |
Period | 28% |
War | 21% |
Epic | 14% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French, English, German
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Akira Kurosawa's legendary "Ran" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include new restoration featurette; new interview with cinematographer Shoji Ueda; the documentary film "Akira Kurosawa: The Epic and the Intimate"; Chris Marker's documentary film "AK"; and more. In Japanese, with optional English, French, or German subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Akira Kurosawa's Ran arrives on Blu-
ray courtesy of StudioCanal.
The release is sourced from a new 4K restoration of the film carried out by French laboratory Éclair, under StudioCanal's supervision. The majority of
the restoration work was done manually, frame by frame, with the film's Director of Photography, Mr. Shoji Ueda, approving the color grading.
Density is dramatically improved and as a result fluidity is much better. The harshness and artificial sharpness that plague StudioCanal's previous release of Ran have been eliminated as well. The
high-quality scan has also ensured that the grain is evenly distributed and appears much better resolved. Unfortunately, the new color grading has
produced various anomalies. For example, there are many sequences where the blacks appear unnaturally elevated and actually introduce very
awkward flatness that creates the impression that some sort of a filter has been applied. (Exactly the same anomalies are present on the equally
underwhelming 4K restoration of King Hu's
Dragon Inn). Shadow definition, in particular, can be quite problematic, and in some cases background depth is completely eliminated (see
the effect in screencaptures #16, 17, and 20). The same anomalies can be observed even during the daylight footage (see screencaptures #7 and
18). There is an obvious shift towards warmer primary colors, with light blues, greens, and grays basically overwhelming entire ranges of nuances. As
a result, even though there are some improvements in terms of color saturation and vividness, balance is quite unconvincing and parts of the film that
used to look cold and gloomy now appear suspiciously warm and desaturated. (See the comparisons provided by StudioCanal in the restoration
featurette in screencaotures #24, 25, 26, 27, and 28). Overall image stability is outstanding. Debris, damage marks, scratches, and other age-related
imperfections have been removed as best as possible.
The disc's main menu can be set in English, French, or German. Therefore, I assume that StudioCanal's British and German
releases of Ran are identical.
There are five standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, English DTS-HD
Master Audio 5.1, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English, French, and German subtitles are
provided for the main feature.
I viewed the new restoration with the Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Depth and clarity are excellent. I assume that some specific
optimizations have been performed because the mid- and high-frequencies are much better defined now. This becomes quite obvious before and
during the mass action sequences, as well as during sequences where the minimalistic period score has an important role. The dialog is clear, stable,
and always easy to follow. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report.
NOTE: The main menu of the second disc can be set in English, French, or German. Once the main menu is set in the preferred language, different
subtitling options are available.
BLU-RAY DISC ONE
There is a very interesting new featurette on the Blu-ray release with comments from cinematographer Shoji Ueda and various specialists that worked on the new 4K restoration of Ran that make it quite clear that they all wanted to preserve the film's original period look. Oddly, the final result is very perplexing. The film now has a distinctive modern appearance that does not support the rich and vivid colors Akira Kurosawa favored, and I personally find it quite unconvincing. On the other hand, the old Blu-ray release is even more frustrating because there are all sorts of serious digital anomalies on the master that was used to produce it.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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