Lengthy 1993 Video Interview of Akira Kurosawa
Disc Three of the 2006 edition contains "My Life in Cinema: Akira Kurosawa," a Japanese-language interview with the legendary director that clocks in at an hour and 56 minutes. The interviewer was Nagisa Oshima, a filmmaker best known for In the Realm of the Senses. The interview was filmed for the Directors Guild of Japan in 1993 when Kurosawa was about 83 years old.
Kurosawa talks for 10 minutes or so about his family background, including his older brother's suicide, but the main focus is on his long career making movies. He has some interesting thoughts about Japan losing World War II and the changes brought by the American occupation. He claims he never makes concessions to try to appeal to non-Japanese audiences. His advice to aspiring directors: write screenplays.
While I should warn you that this interview is for hard-core Kurosawa fans, I found it fascinating. It's a rare opportunity to listen to an old master, very late in his distinguished career, reflect on his life and work.
Audio Commentary by Five Scholars
The 2006 edition provides a feature-length audio commentary by the same five English-speaking scholars that appear in the "Origins and Influences" documentary. Their comments were recorded separately, and each scholar in turn talks over the film for approximately 40 minutes without interruption. The order of the speakers is: Stephen Prince, David Desser, Tony Rayns, Donald Richie, Joan Mellen. The five scholars obviously took care to avoid duplication of information, either with one another or with Michael Jeck, who is heard on a separate audio commentary track.
Seven Samurai is a complex film, and the different points of view of these experts are illuminating. They point out that even though the movie expresses the need for collective action, its emphasis is nevertheless on individuality. These qualities resonated with 1950s Japanese audiences as the society struggled with the aftermath of losing World War II.
Audio Commentary by Japanese-Film Expert
In addition to the commentary by the five scholars, the 2006 edition has a second feature-length audio commentary track, this one by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck. Jeck's commentary is carried over from the 1998 DVD edition, and in fact, it was recorded in 1988 and was on the laserdisc version of Seven Samurai.
Jeck is strongest in sketching the careers of Kurosawa and the actors appearing in the movie. He's also good on production details. For example, he says the wilderness location shooting took place on the Izu Peninsula, which is only 50 to 100 miles from Tokyo. (This area is now part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.)
Booklet Containing Nine Essays
The 2006 three-disc Seven Samurai DVD set comes packaged with an attractive 56-page booklet. This contains six articles on the movie, one each by film experts Kenneth Turan, Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver and Stuart Galbraith IV. There are also tributes from two directors, Arthur Penn and Sidney Lumet. Finally there is a translation of a 1993 reminisce by lead actor Toshiro Mifune.
DVD Details
Below I have given the details for the Seven Samurai three-disc DVD set.
Release Date: September 5, 2006
Number of Discs: 3
Feature Film Run Time: 3 Hours 27 Minutes
Widescreen (1.33:1), Black-and-White
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Japanese Monaural
Japanese Dolby Surround
English Subtitles
Audio Commentary by 5 Scholars, 40 Minutes Each
Audio Commentary by Japanese-Film Expert Michael Jeck
Making-Of Documentary (49 min.)
1993 Video Interview of Akira Kurosawa (1 hr. 56 min.)
Documentary: "Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences" (55 min.)
Behind-the-Scenes Production Stills
Posters
Trailers (3) and Teaser
56-Page Booklet Containing 9 Essays
Return to Beginning of DVD Review
