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Dersu Uzala Actors: Maksim Munzuk, Yuri Solomin Director: Akira Kurosawa Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Letterbox Format: Color, Widescreen Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Running Time: 140 minutes Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-05-23 Buy from Amazon |
 "Great, memorable human adventure."I just watched this film, and it is superb. The film was cast and directed to perfection (especially the two lead roles), and I think everyone should have it in their DVD collection. Without going over the fine descriptions of the storyline by other reviewers, I'll just say that it is both gripping and heart warming, as well as a great family experience. My only reservation was with the quality of the transfer. Don't get me wrong, Kino did a pretty good job of transferring the film to disk, and I think the DVD is a far better format than VHS, but I would love to see this film on a Criterion DVD. Maybe I'm spoiled, but a Criterion DVD looks like it was shot on the latest film, and transferred with utmost care to preserve every subtlty. The Kino DVD still shows the occasional hair and film bubble inherent to a well used film reel after 25+ years in a box. Contrast and color saturation are probably not up to par compared to a proper restoration, but I didn't see any real problems here. Maybe the latest disks are better than the early ones, as I cannot agree with the reviewer who panned the film as something awful. This DVD isn't bad, it's just that there are some who could have done it better. Buy it, enjoy it.  "Wonderful movie and profound art."I don't agree with the complaints about picture quality. Our copy had excellent picture and sound except for the first 30 seconds or so. The cogent subtitles were highly visible yellow below the wide screen picture. We have the "Delux Letterbox Edition". Maybe the bad picture quality was in earlier Kino releases. The story is intriguing. I was moved to laughter, joy, and almost to tears throughout this wonderful film. The themes of aging, friendship across cultures, loyalty, and individual and societal transformation are handled with typical Kurosawa profundity, insight, and pathos. Perhaps more than any other director, Kurosawa gets the little details right, especially regarding relationships and the way a person's motivation and behavior are determined to a large degree on their history and their quest for wholeness. Dersu Uzala often reminded me of Kurosawa's early films in this regard. The cinematography was wonderful. The Siberian wilderness was shown as a beautiful and compelling Garden of Eden, soon to be destroyed by the evils of civilization. Ironically, one of the protagonists was a surveyor, a decent and caring man whose survey was to be used to destroy the wild paradise he and Dersu traveled through. Rent it, and then buy it. If you love Kurosawa's work, just buy it.  "Great Film, Lousy DVD"Kino once again takes a great film and gives it the hatchet treatment. In fairness, I suppose that Kino puts out films that aren't likely to have the popular appeal (and price tags) of those issued by Criterion. But that's no excuse for taking non-anamorphic transfers of 'Scope films from lousy prints. At least they didn't put in hard subs this time. "Visually stunning and great acting."No question Kurosawa was a master director and here he proves it as he masters perhaps his toughest task to date, the wilds of Siberia. Taken from a Russian novel that Kurosawa had wanted to film for quite a while, Dersu Uzala is many things at once. It's the story of man against nature and man against himself while at the same time man fusing with nature and with oneself and the comparisons that can be made inbetween. The character of Dersu is perhaps as unique as any that has ever been included in cinema. He is completely unique from any of his Hollywood 'mountain man' cohorts. The photography in Dersu Uzala is breathtaking. From all the color of autumn to the desolation and bleakness of winter, the cinematography is top notch. The ending of this film will stay with you for a long time afterwards. A very moving film. "Kurosawa was a visionary."Kurosawa was a visionary of world cinema. Few can touch him when his imagination is at his best. 'Dersu Uzala' has mind-blowing scenes which will stay with you for life. |
