Went out and dropped my hard-earned 30 bucks on it yesterday. Glad I finally did.
Gladly paid full list price today and have the copy, unwrapped, in my hands. Arriving home, found this from thedigitalbits:
… but just so you know this is NOT official, so it should be considered Rumor Mill-worthy. It seems that the U.S. home video release rights to the film are owned by Wellspring (who have released it on DVD in the past), the parent company of which is Genius Products, now 70% owned by The Weinstein Company. There have been industry rumors over the last year that Weinstein Co. is in some financial difficulty, so it’s possible the Brothers want a better deal with Criterion (i.e. more or too much money) from Criterion to licence the title for Blu-ray. Hopefully, a deal of some kind will be struck soon, because (I’ll say again) nobody would do better by this title in high-definition than Criterion. We are SO dying to see Kurosawa films in 1080p…
I think I’ll leave this wrapped and wait.
^ Makes sense if it is true. OOP titles typically result from losing or not being able to acquire the rights. I’m sure CC are still trying to work something out, they know that Kurosawa is a huge seller for them and that “Ran” is probably one of his more well known titles to American audiences along with being one of his most recent.
Not much info, but possible confirmation here – http://reassurance.blogspot.com/2009/04/some-re-releases-in-july-bad-news-for.html
Ha, yeah, that’s my blog. The information I got isn’t “official” by any means; it’s just me putting two and two together.
whoever is responsible should be jailed, this is a crime against art.
whoever is responsible should be jailed, this is a crime against art.
blurb from Bill Hunt @ the Digital Bits (4/1/9)
Also today, we’ve learned a little more about Criterion’s cancellation of Ran on Blu-ray, but just so you know this is NOT official, so it should be considered Rumor Mill-worthy. It seems that the U.S. home video release rights to the film are owned by Wellspring (who have released it on DVD in the past), the parent company of which is Genius Products, now 70% owned by The Weinstein Company. There have been industry rumors over the last year that Weinstein Co. is in some financial difficulty, so it’s possible the Brothers want a better deal with Criterion (i.e. more or too much money) from Criterion to licence the title for Blu-ray. Hopefully, a deal of some kind will be struck soon, because (I’ll say again) nobody would do better by this title in high-definition than Criterion. We are SO dying to see Kurosawa films in 1080p…
I have much faith that Criterion is doing everything in their power to get the rights to release this on Blu-ray (and get the DVD back in print). I’m just keeping my fingers crossed until there is official word from Criterion themselves promising that they either will or will not do so.
Double post. Sorry. :x
Raysquirrel, you found a $20 bill, a $50 dollar bill and two quarters in less than two days?!! Even a blind squirrel will a find a nut once in a while but where on earth do you live?!!
Hmmmm, have you seen the movie Pickpocket? . . . . squirrels are like that.
I bought 20 copies from various online sites; please IM me. I’ll be charging a low, low price of $85 including free packaging with the purchase of a second copy.
I’m joking.
Luckily, my Barnes and Noble still had a copy of this, and
Luckily, my Barnes and Noble still had a copy of this. I didn’t think there would be a chance of seeing it there, since it’s supposed to be OOP and all the Criterion-hungry cinephiles have been swarming at B&N since their sale started.
Well, there isn’t too much to worry about since you can even order Ran on Barnes and noble still and get the discount. I do wonder if it will eventually make its way back though. I just noticed Le Corbeau is back in business after a long while as out of print. With Nights of Cabiria going out, I am wondering if Criterion has some re-release schemes or if they are losing business. Perhaps the niche film market is trying to be expanded. I sure hope Kino isn’t behind all of this!
get your copies of RAN @ Barnes & Nobles while they last. The 50% off sale on Criterion’s is still going on til Monday night.
get your copies of RAN @ Barnes & Nobles while they last. The 50% off sale on Criterion’s is still going on til Monday night.
I was at B&N today because of the sale today and held off on buying it. I just watched it on sundance last week, and even though I loved it I wanted to spend the money on something I’d never seen. I ended up buying La Haine, but I still have enough for Ran, so I’ll try and pick it up tommorow.
picked up this, as well as Contempt for this very reason.
no better time to pick it up than 50% off.
Yeah, picked this up today myself along with Throne of Blood. I’ve been on both a Kurosawa and Shakespeare bent recently so the two converged for this purchase. Hope Throne of Blood is great, it’s a blind buy. Big fan of Macbeth, Kurosawa and Mifune so I can’t see how I can go wrong.
Fortunately still available on Amazon.com
Chris – The site does say that. Look up the individual page for Ran, and you will find that it’s OOP. This accounts for it’s absence in the AK 100 set.
I decided to get into Kurosawa not too long ago, with Ran being given to me by a friend before i moved away from my home town. He also gave me Le Samurai, which i highly recommend.
Ray Squirrel has the best story ever. Crack the Sky was an awesome album, and i agree season three of ATHF is the best season.
Shesh! I only have the Fox Lorber edition on DVD (1998), should have gotten the Criterion edition (2005) before it was OOP. I was just surprised when I heard it was recently OOP. :( Anyway, there’s always eBay & Amazon to get the lovely 2-disc Criterion edition new or used. I might find that easier. :)
stewart SFA Adams
Ok does anyone have any answers as to why or how? or how are we going to get it back (WE HAVE TO, IT IS THE GREATEST FILM OF ALL TIME.) I’m surprised Ran, and not something else. How the hell is armagedan and the rock still available but not RAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!