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player ready...‘Seven Samurai’
CRITERION, $49.95
Who’s in it: Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Yoshio Inaba
Recap: Director Akira Kurosawa’s early apex, “Seven Samurai” is one of the most influential and imitated films of all time. The movie, about a group of samurai misfits defending a village from bandits, gets cleaned up as a 3-disc set, a must-have for film buffs and those who aspire to be film buffs.
Best extra: At 207 minutes, even an action-packed film can use a guide, which the two trivia-rich and technically inclined commentaries amply and engagingly provide.
Secrets revealed: The new subtitles reveal a heretofore hidden sprinkling of profanity throughout the epic film.
Feature to skip: What’s not to like? This may be the best DVD of the year.
Trivia: “Seven Samurai” was the first DVD released by Criterion, back in 1998.
If you liked this, try: Three other ace Criterion reissues of film classics released this week–Fellini’s “Amarcord,” Tati’s “Playtime” and Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil.”
RATING: 4 PLAYS
‘Gojira’/’Godzilla: King of the Monsters’
SONY, $21.98
Who’s in it: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Raymond Burr
Recap: King Kong may be a misunderstood giant ape, but no one would mistake Godzilla’s malicious intentions in the 1956 “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”–especially not in the meaner (though not leaner) original Japanese cut, “Gojira,” that’s included in this 2-disc set.
Best extra: The Chicago area’s own “Godzilla” expert, Ed Godziszewsi, weighs in with an excellent commentary.
Secrets revealed: “Making of the Godzilla Suit” is a fine feature on the art of creating miniature cities and having a guy in a giant rubber lizard suit destroy them.
Feature to skip: The American version of the movie is more brisk, but the Japanese version is better.
Trivia: In the U.S. version, distracting shots of and narration from actor Raymond Burr were stuck in, as if audiences couldn’t follow the not-terribly-tricky story line, “fire-breathing monster destroys Tokyo.”
If you liked this, try: “Bambi Vs. Godzilla,” the (very, very) short animated cult nugget that pits the helpless deer against the angry lizard.
RATING: 3 PLAYS
BEST OF THE REST
– “Lost–The Complete Second Season” (Buena Vista, $59.99)
– “Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut” (Warner Bros., $19.98)
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– “United 93” (Universal, $29.98)
COMING SOON
IN STORES NEXT WEEK.
– “Grease (Rockin’ Rydell Edition)”
– “The Proposition”
– “The Devil & Daniel Johnston”
– “Stay Alive”