Red Beard [Criterion Collection]

Director: Akira Kurosawa Akira Kurosawa

Overview

Finally available on DVD is Akira Kurosawa's Red Beard as part of the elite Criterion Collection. Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen in black-and-white, the image quality on Red Beard is excellent. Aside of a small amount of grain and dirt in a few scenes, this picture features solid black, gray, and white levels. Overall, Criterion has done a fantastic job of making sure this reproduction looks great. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 4.0 Surround in Japanese and is also top-notch. While directional effects are generally kept to a minimum, overall the soundtrack is free and clear of most all hiss and distortion. Also included on this disc are English subtitles. The extra features on Red Beard are small but substantial. A commentary track by director by Kurosawa and film scholar Stephen Prince provide a wealth of information on the making of the film and what it took to bring it to the screen. Also included on this disc is a non-anamorphic widescreen theatrical trailer for the film.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/16/2002
UPC:	0037429168820
Original Release:	1965
Source:	Criterion Collection
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	3:05:00
Sales rank:	12,920

Special Features

New high-definition digital transfer, with restored image and sound and enhanced for widescreen televisions; Audio commentary by Kurosawa film scholar Stephen Prince ; Notes by Japanese-film historian Donald Richie; Theatrical trailer ; Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Toshiro Mifune	Dr. Kyojô Niide
Yuzo Kayama	Dr. Noboru Yasumoto
Yoshio Tsuchiya	Dr. Handayû Mori
Terumi Niki	Otoyo
Tsutomu Yamazaki	Sahachi
Yôko Naito	Masae,Masae
Reiko Dan	Osuki
Akemi Negishi	Okumi
Kyoko Kagawa	Mental Patient
Kamatari Fujiwara	Rokusuke
Miyuki Kuwano	Onaka
Takashi Shimura	Tokubei Izumiya
Eijiro Tono	Goheiji
Tatsuyoshi Ebara	Genzo Tsugawa
Haruko Sugimura	Kin
Ken Mitsuda	Masae's Father
Kinuyo Tanaka	Yasumoto's Mother
Chishu Ryu	Yasumoto's Father
Yoshitaka Zushi	Choiji
Reiko Nanao	Otoku
Koji Mitsui	Heikichi
Masaru Satô	Composer

Technical Credits

Ryuzo Kikushima

Akira Kurosawa

Masato Ide

Hideo Oguni

Ryuzo Kikushima	Executive Producer,Producer,Screenwriter
Akira Kurosawa	Director,Screenwriter
Tomoyuki Tanaka	Producer,Executive Producer
Masato Ide	Screenwriter
Hideo Oguni	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Yasumoto's Arrival
2. Red Beard
3. Dr. Mori
4. The Mantis
5. "I'll Break Every Rule!"
6. Osugi Chastises Yasumoto
7. Lecture
8. "Please Help Me "
9. Symphony
10. A Doctor's Philosophy
11. "Don't Look Away!"
12. Rokusuke's Death
13. Sahachi Falls Ill
14. Okuni's Sad Tale
15. Concern for Sahachi
16. Blackmail
17. Sahachi's Secret
18. Onaka's Return
19. Sahachi's Confession
20. Yasumoto Dons the Uniform
21. House Call
22. The Brothel
23. Fight
24. Otoyo Is Rescued
25. Intermission
26. Yasumoto Tends to Otoyo
27. Otoyo Learns Kindness
28. Yasumoto Falls Ill
29. Otoyo Cares for Yasumoto
30. Otoyo's Broken Heart
31. A Little Thief
32. Ghobo's Story
33. Suicide
34. Otoyo's New Life
35. Yasumoto Sees the Light
36. Chobo Shames His Family
37. The Wedding Ceremony
38. A New Beginning

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play the Movie
   Chapters
   Commentary
      Play
      Index
         A Pivotal Film/Literary Sources
         Saying Goodbye to Mifune
         The Influence of Western Medicine
         A Series of Tracking Shots
         Toward Long Takes
         A Singular Film Style
         Yasumoto's Moral Awakening
         An Entire Scene in One Shot
         Existentialist Philosophy
         Battling the Human Condition
         "Trial by Fire"
         A Student of the "Red Hairs"
         Referencing Japanese Surgical History
         Illness as Metaphor
         Stylistic Contrasts/Telephoto Lenses
         Multi-camera Shooting
         An Innovator in Sound Usage
         Heigo's Influence
         "Benefit All Mankind"
         Yasumoto's Turning Point
         Societal Critique/Takashi Shimura
         A Tokugawa-era Brothel
         "A Splendid Catharsis"
         A Symbol for Life's Suffering
         Intermission
         Sources for Otoyo's Character
         Left-wing Politics
         Drawing on Personal Experiences
         A Series of Vignettes
         Quotidian Rituals
         Abandoning the Linear Narrative
         Rejecting Suicide
         Telephoto Compression
         Yasumoto Stays
         Three Long Takes
         Coda/Chishu Ryu
         A New Beginning
         Color Bars
   Subtitles
      On
      Off
   Audio Options
      Dolby Digital 4.0
      Stephen Prince Commentary
   Trailer

Editorial Reviews

Perhaps the clearest statement of the humanism that was the guiding force of Akira Kurosawa's career, it was loosely inspired by the Dostoevsky story The Insulted and the Injured. One of the most difficult shoots in the history of Japanese film, its two arduous years of production were marred by a series of skirmishes between Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, which would eventually lead to the end of their long collaboration. On its surface, the dynamics of this master-student plot might seem trite, and indeed the film isn't without the odd moment of cornball sentiment, but on the whole, its exploration of the harrowing journey endured by the haughty young doctor and his subsequent transformation is far closer in spirit to Dostoevsky than Dr. Kildare. Eschewing the visual pyrotechnics and virtuoso editing of his action films, the director opts for stark, austere master scenes better suited to the grim atmosphere of the clinic which is both the sole lifeline of its desperate patients and a medical boot camp for the sullen Yasumoto. While hardly scanting the suffering of these people -- especially a gruesome operation and and the treatment of a sexually abused girl -- Kurosawa makes clear that it is ignorance and poverty which are the true source of their misery. Yuzo Kayama gives a richly textured performance as the sulky intern, and Mifune, whose gruff character remains largely unexplored is as compelling as ever.

All Movie Guide - Michael Costello