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Region 4 Winners and Losers

Region 4 Winners and Losers

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Explanatory Notes
Additions or corrections (Please refer to the Explanatory Notes before emailing an addition or correction to this listing)
Title Best
Ran: Collector's 2 Disc EditionR4

    There are a number of releases of this film available worldwide.

    The first US Region 1 release was from Fox Lorber, and has been roundly condemned as a poor transfer, with burned-in subtitles. This edition featured the US release trailer as an extra.

    The second US Region 1 release is from Wellspring, initially released as part of a 3 disc set of Kurosawa films but now available separately as well. It featured the following not included in the new Region 4 edition:

  • Commentary by film historian Stephen Prince
  • Commentary by filmmaker Peter Grilli
  • Production notes
  • Restoration demo
  • Director filmography
  • European and home video trailers
  • Optional Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track
  • Removable subtitles

    This release had a superior transfer of the film to the Fox Lorber release.

    There is a Russian release from Twister Digital Video that has a better video transfer than the Wellspring, but does not have English subtitles. This also included a trailer and biographies. The audio is Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0, with an optional audio track which is the same but with Russian voice over.

    There is an out-of-print all regions release from Hong Kong. With mono sound and a lack of 16x9 enhancement, and about six minutes of cuts, I cannot imagine this would have been any good.

    The French Region release apparently has the same transfer as the Region 4, but with a choice of stereo or surround Japanese audio, plus the same in French. Optional subtitles are provided, but only in French. The extras on this release include the Marker documentary, plus

  • Documentary on the Samurai
  • Interview with Catherine Cadou, Kurosawa's interpreter and friend
  • Memories of childhood: excerpts from the documentary Kurosawa
  • Short story on a great film
  • Director filmography and biography

    The documentary Kurosawa is scheduled for a 2004 release in Region 4. The extras on the French release have no subtitles.

    The UK Region 2 release from Warner reportedly has a transfer superior to the Twister release. I have this release and I can say that I have never seen the film look better, until I saw the Region 4 which appears to have the same transfer. There are some differences, however. The subtitle translation seems to be almost identical, except that in a couple of places on the Region 2 there are grammatical errors. The font used is different and larger than the Region 4, but the latter is no less readable, and the Region 2 is also non-removable. The Region 2 features a static menu, and the sole audio option is the original stereo mix, which is just as fine as the Region 4 surround mix. The second disc contains the same Marker documentary as the Region 4, except that it is in 1.33:1. It shows less of the image than the Region 4 equivalent, and appears to be from a video master. The video quality is noticeably poorer than the Region 4, which looks to have been taken from original film elements. The subtitles on the documentary are quite different and there are subtle differences in the meaning as a result. For example, on the Region 2 the director tells a mounted vassal to speak with less shrillness as it makes him less authoritative. The Region 2 has him saying to speak with a deeper voice as it gives him more presence.

    The Region 2 does not have the trailer, which is only a minor difference in my opinion, but given the comparative quality of the transfer of the documentary extra, and the absence of the minor problems with the subtitles, the balance is tipped slightly in favour of the Region 4. The only drawback to the Region 4 is that the original audio mix is not offered as an alternative.