It has been a bit of a busy movie week for me. I saw The Bourne Legacy, The Campaign and Samsara (in digital 4K at Seattle’s Cinerama) in theaters. I watched Side by Side and Baraka, both in HD online. Then I watched the new Jaws and The Raid Blu-rays and also watched Musashi Miyamoto, the first film in Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samurai Trilogy on Criterion Blu-ray.
The Raid Blu-ray I already my review) and I will have reviews of the Jaws Blu-ray and Samsara soon.
However, I do want to talk briefly about Musashi Miyamoto. I own Criterion’s previous DVD release of the Samurai trilogy and this new digital restoration is among one of the best I have ever seen. Someone asked me a long time ago, when I first bought the DVD set if they should buy it and I actually suggested they didn’t. The DVDs (released in 2004) were not the best presentation, but wow, wow, wow has Criterion done a phenomenal job restoring these features.
Just from the opening titles I could tell this was an upgrade and all throughout the first film I was impressed. Gone is the ugly tint and lack of clarity. Scratches and imperfections are virtually non-existent outside of a few remaining bits of debris at the bottom of the frame in some scenes, but not in any way distracting. Want evidence of the upgrade? Check out these side-by-side captures courtesy of DVD Beaver.
Come on, how impressive is that? I can’t wait to go back and watch the other two films and, unlike the DVD releases, the two-disc Blu-ray set includes new interviews with translator and historian William Scott Wilson about the real-life Musashi Miyamoto, the inspiration for the hero of the films. If you’re a fan of samurai flicks and/or the great Toshiro Mifune, this is a release to purchase.
And that about does it for me this week. Now it’s your turn, what did you see? What did you like? Also, keep in mind next Saturday, August 18, is currently the target release date for the launch of the redesign… I’m getting pretty excited and hope you like what I’ve put together.
