Extras |
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Menus (English) |
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Chapters (32) |
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Trailers: The Bad Sleep Well |
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Toho Masterworks: The Bad Sleep Well
(33 minutes) |
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12 page booklet on the film found in the case |
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Captures |
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Review |
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Anthony Romero |
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Criterion's first Toho disc of 2006, and one
that shows immense promise of things to come in
terms of the care taken in restoring the movie.
In fact, I would go as far as to say that this
is easily the best the movie has ever looked on
home video, as it features a stunning video transfer.
It's a shame that the audio doesn't stack up that
well, but some worthwhile extras help to promote
this disc as another good release from Criterion. |
Video: |
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Criterion
has really outdone themselves with the video presentation
on this film, presenting a transfer that is simply
stunning given that the movie is 46 years old
today. The most noticeable aspect about this release
is simply the level of detail present, as the
movie looks incredibly sharp and lush with detail
in just about every frame. As for noise, there is a very low level of grain present, giving the video a natural look. The print used for
the transfer also looks splendid, sporting hardly
any damage as Criterion's
efforts to restore the movie have paid off wonderfully.
The Bad Sleep Well is presented in
its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and is Anamorphic
for widescreen TVs. |
Audio: |
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The Bad Sleep Well contains one audio
track, which is a 1.0 mono presentation. The overall
quality is good, with the dialogue all being crystal
clear and there being no noticeable distortions.
However, it's unfortunate that the movie's original
stereo presentation, created using Perspecta Stereophonic
Sound, was not included with this release.
The audio can be accompanied with, removable,
English subtitles.
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Extras: |
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This disc doesn't contain a huge amount of
added content, but it's not a bad mix of supplemental
material either. Like with other discs from the
company, the star attraction is easily the documentary
behind the movie, another in Toho's Masterworks
line. This particular one is 33 minutes long and
features numerous interviews with the surviving
cast and crew as they relate stories and endeavors
related to the production. Next up on the disc
is a trailer for the movie that, sadly, is in
very poor condition, looking faded and poorly
compressed like something one would expect to
find on a bootleg release almost. Finally, the
last extra is contained in the booklet, which
is 12 pages long and contains essays by Michael
Almereyda and Chuck Stephens while also featuring
several nice production stills throughout. |
Overview: |
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Bottom
line, it's not the best of Criterion's efforts,
but the amazing video transfer and the worthwhile
Toho Masterworks documentary make this a worthwhile
purchase for Akira
Kurosawa enthusiasts. |
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