Red Beard (Criterion Collection) (US Version) DVD Region 1

In his final collaboration with Akira Kurosawa, Toshirô Mifune portrays Dr. Kyojio "Red Beard" Niide, a gruff but caring head doctor at a 19th-century clinic for the poor. Sorely in need of competent assistance, Red Beard takes on a new intern, the ambitious Noboru Yasumoto (Yuzo Kayama). However, Yasumoto isn't made aware of his appointment until after he's visited the facility and seen its grim conditions and impoverished patients. Initially, the brash young physician rebels against the wise elder and declines his duties, but gradually Yasumoto begins to respect Red Beard and his difficult yet essential work. As Yasumoto slowly acclimates to the clinic, the story also follows the lives (and deaths) of various patients. Truly the end of an era, RED BEARD marks the dissolution of the Kurosawa/Mifune partnership and also Kurosawa's last black-and-white production. Although surprisingly little has been written about the rift between Mifune and Kurosawa, it's likely that tensions were largely due to the film's grueling two-year shoot. Despite the drama behind the camera, RED BEARD remains one of Kurosawa's underrated classics. Although Mifune is best known for his earlier roles as an impetuous youth, here he gives a mature, though no less vital, performance, echoing the mentor character Takashi Shimura played in STRAY DOG, SEVEN SAMURAI, and other Kurosawa movies. (However, Mifune does get one action-packed, YOJIMBO-worthy fight scene.) In turn, Kayama admirably fills the role of the headstrong young intern. A sort of period-piece MASH or ER, RED BEARD is a moving drama that uses doctors and patients to address the timeless notion of trying to be a good person in an often cruel world.

"...Meticulous and perfectionist as ever, Kurosawa had an entire small town constructed for the film..." - Philip, Kemp (Sight And Sound Critic), Sight and Sound, 11/01/2003

"[B]eguiling..." - Andrew, Sumner (Uncut Critic), Uncut, 01/01/2004

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Product Title:	Red Beard (Criterion Collection) (US Version) Red Beard (Criterion Collection) (US Version) Red Beard (Criterion Collection) (US Version) Red Beard (Criterion Collection) (US Version) Red Beard (Criterion Collection) (US Version)
Artist Name(s):	Tsuchiya Yoshio (Actor) | Kayama Yuzo (Actor) | Dan Reiko (Actor) | Fujiwara Kamatari (Actor) | Vilmos Zsigmond (Actor) | Eijirô Tono (Actor) | Chishu Ryu (Actor) | Yôko Naito Tsuchiya Yoshio (Actor) | 加山雄三 (Actor) | Dan Reiko (Actor) | Fujiwara Kamatari (Actor) | Vilmos Zsigmond (Actor) | Eijirô Tono (Actor) | Chishu Ryu (Actor) | Yôko Naito Tsuchiya Yoshio (Actor) | Kayama Yuzo (Actor) | Dan Reiko (Actor) | Fujiwara Kamatari (Actor) | Vilmos Zsigmond (Actor) | Eijirô Tono (Actor) | Chishu Ryu (Actor) | Yôko Naito 土屋嘉男 (Actor) | 加山雄三 (Actor) | 団令子 (Actor) | 藤原釜足 (Actor) | Vilmos Zsigmond (Actor) | Eijirô Tono (Actor) | Chishu Ryu (Actor) | Yôko Naito Tsuchiya Yoshio (Actor) | Kayama Yuzo (Actor) | Dan Reiko (Actor) | Fujiwara Kamatari (Actor) | Vilmos Zsigmond (Actor) | Eijirô Tono (Actor) | Chishu Ryu (Actor) | Yôko Naito
Director:	Kurosawa Akira 黑澤明 黑泽明 黒沢明 Kurosawa Akira
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Release Date:	2002-07-16
Language:	Japanese
Subtitles:	Slovak, English
Country of Origin:	Japan
Picture Format:	NTSC What is it?
Aspect Ratio:	Letterboxed
Color Information:	Black & White
Disc Format(s):	DVD
Region Code:	1 - USA, Canada, U.S. Territories What is it?
Rating:	Not Rated
Publisher:	Criterion Collection
Package Weight:	77 (g)
Shipment Unit:	1 What is it?
YesAsia Catalog No.:	1004414788

Director: Akira Kurosawa

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Single Side - Dual Layer
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1. Stephen Prince - Film Scholar
Trailers - 1. Orginal U.S. Trailer
Text/Galleries:
Notes - 1. Donald Ricie - Japanese Film Historian