Red Beard

[MichaelB]

From the latest BFI press release:

11 May: RED BEARD on Blu-ray

Produced in 1965, this poignant tale of humanity and responsibility features a powerhouse performance by Toshiro Mifune in his final collaboration with the director. As with our recent Kurosawa releases, RED BEARD features new artwork by designer Matt Needle.

[Zot!]

Very nice, anybody have an understanding of why they doing are another 2k restoration of this instead of bumping it to 4k? I think this new one was done by Janus.

[andyli]

Janus does not do Kurosawa restorations. They get what Toho supply. I find it hard to believe BFI did not consult Toho regarding a potentially upcoming 4K restoration before settling for the 2K.

[ryannichols7]

I don't love this film, but since this features a commentary by Kenta McGrath I will absolutely be getting it. he's been a treat so far on quite a few BFI releases, I'm surprised other labels haven't picked up on him

[Zot!]

Janus does not do Kurosawa restorations. They get what Toho supply. I find it hard to believe BFI did not consult Toho regarding a potentially upcoming 4K restoration before settling for the 2K.

That makes sense, and I have only this to go on from late 2025, but it probably just means that Janus is doing the distribution of a Toho restoration...it says that Red Beard and Rashomon are "New 2K restorations"...which seems goofy to me for big name Kurosawa stuff in 2025, but it is what it is.

https://www.siff.net/programs-and-event ... rospective

[hearthesilence]

I know this was often knocked as being too sentimental (or something like that depending on the viewer) but I've come across quite a few reviews over the years that have defended it. Just a couple from a quick search:

As the older doctor, Toshiro Mifune is superb; and though the film has been criticized for its excessive sentimentality by some, it’s a masterful evocation of period and a probing study of the conflict between responsibility and idealism. A mature work that merits the term most apply to it: Dostoyevskian.

This 1965 film, the last of Akira Kurosawa’s collaborations with Toshiro Mifune, is often derided as a soap opera. But the story—of a grizzled nineteenth-century doctor nicknamed Red Beard (Mifune) and the green physician (Yuzo Kayama) who learns humane medical values from him—is actually a masterpiece. Kurosawa somehow manages to imbue every moment of this three-hour-plus movie with the transcendent vitality and intelligence of a great Victorian novel...In Kurosawa’s dynamic yet intimate wide-screen filmmaking, practicality and empathy merge with psychoanalysis and even bits of magic...building to a genuinely inspirational conclusion.

It's one of the few Kurosawa films I haven't seen, but it's tempting to pick this up as a way of seeing it if it doesn't screen here anytime soon.

[Mr Sausage]

This is definitely a populist melodrama, but no more sentimental than the universally lauded Ikiru. It is a swerve away from the horror and nihilism that had become increasingly prominent in Kurosawa's work since the mid 50s (I Live in Fear, Throne of Blood, The Bad Sleep Well, Yojimbo) towards something life affirming, rooted in a kindness and humanness that can act as a bulwark against the misery of life. And there is considerable misery in the movie, on all levels, including and especially medicine itself. Indeed at at the movie's centre is the story of a young girl pulled back from sheer animal existence into an active engagement with life, to the point that she can withstand intense unhappiness without abandoning that engagement. That story serves as the biggest catalyst for breaking our POV character, a young doctor, out of his own protective bubble, ie. his privilege and his ignorance. Everyone grows in humanness amidst pervasive misery. There are some conventions you have to tolerate--wise old mentors, victimized young women, callow youths just waiting to grow into good people. But it's an effective story well told.

What's too sentimental is Kurosawa's subsequent film Dodes'ka-den, a complete fake from top to bottom. Here and there, Kurosawa's previous films could feel like they were using the underclasses just for effect. Well, he expanded those moments into an entire movie. Red Beard, from what I remember, is pretty free of that feeling.

[Michael Kerpan]

Mr Sausage -- One hundred percent agreement. You nicely provided my own reasons for Red Beard being my favorite Kurosawa film and Dodes'ka-den my least.

[Lowry_Sam]

Well I guess I'm in the minority here, but Red Beard is probably my favorite Kurosawa. If the Criterion turns out also to be blu-ray only I will be very disappointed. The Film Forum trailer seemed to suggest that all the Kurosawa restos were 4k. This screening at the Frida also states that Janus' resto is a 4k. So it's odd that the Seattle screening states 2k. Would Janus do a new 2k and 4k restoration within a year of each other or is somebody wrong?

[Black Hat]

Red Beard is my favorite of Kurosawa's films because there's an emotional vulnerability here that I feel is largely absent in the rest of his work. I also think this is Mifune's finest performance with a spectacular tribute scene to their collaboration. It's in a lot of ways the perfect cap to both of their careers.

[andyli]

It's bewildering that Australian label Madman just put a Kurosawa 4K boxset up for preorder, with Red Beard on a UHD from a new 4K restoration (!).

[dwk]

Madman's site says Red Beard is an upscale of the 2K restoration.

[andyli]

Wow, that's a first. Putting an up-scaled 2K transfer on a UHD for an old film.

[ChunkyLover]

Wow, that's a first. Putting an up-scaled 2K transfer on a UHD for an old film.

I believe it's been said that Koch/Plaion's 4K of "Planet of the Vampires" is also a 2K source upscale.

[tenia]

I still wonder what's the point of trying to push for a (more expensive to produce, and more expensive to buy) UHD release for a shot-on-film catalogur movie when all you have is a 2K master, but even more importantly, I wonder how the restoration looks because if it's only 2k while even Stray Dog got a 4k restoration (and a UHD here and there), maybe it's because it's still very rough technically.

[Zot!]

I still wonder what's the point of trying to push for a (more expensive to produce, and more expensive to buy) UHD release for a shot-on-film catalogur movie when all you have is a 2K master, but even more importantly, I wonder how the restoration looks because if it's only 2k while even Stray Dog got a 4k restoration (and a UHD here and there), maybe it's because it's still very rough technically.

product differentiation, I guess? This is just the Wes Anderson 2K upscales discussions again, but technically a UHD upscale done in several passes with pro equipment should be better than your player or TV doing the 2k->4K upscale "on-the-fly". But I would imagine the difference is only incremental. So, yeah I think it comes down to having a unique product they can advertise. There were also plenty of BD upscales from lousy SD sources touted as "High-Def" (even Criterion did a few).

[andyli]

This is just the Wes Anderson 2K upscales discussions again

It's not the same. Those WA films are modern 2K DI finish and up-scaling to 4K in order to issue a UHD is sensible practice, with no viable alternatives. It's such a common practice among other labels and major studios it's not even worth a discussion.

This Red Beard nonsense, along with other rare instances mentioned above, however, has set an undesirable precedent. I don't want to be in a situation that in a few year's time whenever I learned some classic film got released on UHD, I had to first do something detective work to figure out whether a 4K restoration had in fact taken place.

BD upscales from lousy SD sources touted as "High-Def" (even Criterion did a few).

What titles do you have in mind for this claim? Are we not talking about films shot on film (like Red Beard)?

[nitin]

the WA films also benefited from WCG and HDR/DV, tbis is going to be released in SDR and being b&w will also npt benefit from WCG.

As mentioned above there are plenty of UHDs that are upscales of 2k DIs and still of excellent quality.

This is not a comparsble situation.

[tenia]

Just to mention I specifically detailed the kind of situations I was referring to, ie shot-on-film catalogue movies. This is just trying to sell a premium product without having the material to actually support its premium aspects. We have in France a label who announced a UHD of Demme's Something Wild (in Dolby Vision !), and I was surprised because I wasn't aware of a new restoration but they were claiming a world-premiere. Guess what : they'll be upscaling the Criterion HD master.
What is the point of this, except all the wrong commercial reasons ?
I also know how they will upscale this, and it'll introduce yet again another layer of bad ideas.
And then, they upped the ante by announcing they have refined the colors and the contrast of this Director + DP approved master, and weren't able to tell which references they were matching.

No label, no release should ever be produced like this. This is exactly akin to a BD sourced from a SD label. If a UHD would be sold at the same price than the equivalent BD, then yeah why not, but that SDR 2k-sourced UHD of Red Beard just like that 2k-sourced IA-powered upscale of a 15 yo IP scan aren't going to, oh no.

[Zot!]

This is just the Wes Anderson 2K upscales discussions again

It's not the same. Those WA films are modern 2K DI finish and up-scaling to 4K in order to issue a UHD is sensible practice, with no viable alternatives. It's such a common practice among other labels and major studios it's not even worth a discussion.

This Red Beard nonsense, along with other rare instances mentioned above, however, has set an undesirable precedent. I don't want to be in a situation that in a few year's time whenever I learned some classic film got released on UHD, I had to first do something detective work to figure out whether a 4K restoration had in fact taken place.

BD upscales from lousy SD sources touted as "High-Def" (even Criterion did a few).

What titles do you have in mind for this claim? Are we not talking about films shot on film (like Red Beard)?

Several of the Hulot alternate versions are SD upscales for the Box set "Hulot's Holiday" specifically. I know there were others, but that's good enough proof for my dubious claims.

And while I otherwise agree with you that UHDs of film sources should be derived from 4K sources or clearly labeled otherwise the TECHNICAL process of upscaling a 2k resto, or a 2k DI is much the same thing, and could yield similar (minimal) benefits.

EDIT: the technical shortcomings nitin and tenia point out absolutely degrade any possible improvement further. To make myself perfectly clear I am not defending the practice, and specifically bought the BFI BD versions of the Hulot films so I could get the transfers in true native HD. Maybe foolishly, but I don't even believe in upgrading 2K DI originated films (Kill Bill) for any small bump.

[dwk]

Several of the Hulot alternate versions are SD upscales for the Box set "Hulot's Holiday" specifically. I know there were others, but that's good enough proof for my dubious claims.

I think that alternate cuts (or even different films included as an extra in a release) being upscaled is a completely different thing than the main presentation being an upscale. Not ideal, but sometimes that's all you got.

[Zot!]

Several of the Hulot alternate versions are SD upscales for the Box set "Hulot's Holiday" specifically. I know there were others, but that's good enough proof for my dubious claims.

I think that alternate cuts (or even different films included as an extra in a release) being upscaled is a completely different thing than the main presentation being an upscale. Not ideal, but sometimes that's all you got.

Let's not stopping moving the goalposts, in this case that WASN'T all there was, as demonstrated by the superior BFI versions, so sometimes even a prestigious label like Criterion falls short. They really should do something like the SPARS code when CDs displayed various three combination codes (recording, mixing, and mastering) to give a quick reference for how the media was finished.

[dwk]

I fail to see how I'm "moving goalposts." Having a main feature (Red Beard) being upscaled to 4K from a 2K master is something completely different than Criterion having to use SD masters for alternate cuts (the existence of the native HD bfi masters doesn't mean that those masters were available for Criterion to use.)

[Zot!]

I fail to see how I'm "moving goalposts." Having a main feature (Red Beard) being upscaled to 4K from a 2K master is something completely different than Criterion having to use SD masters for alternate cuts (the existence of the native HD bfi masters doesn't mean that those masters were available for Criterion to use.)

The goalpost moving was not just you, but sorry I've grown frustrated by it:
1. It is ok to upscale from 2K DI, but not 2K restos
2. Prove Criterion would ever even do such a thing
3. But...it's acceptable if it's not the main feature.
4. It's acceptable if they can't afford it.
We're all on the same side here, so I don't know how me pointing out some obvious stuff is impinging on the overall argument that it is not best practice to upscale film originated material, in almost any circumstance I can think of. If somebody has a circumstance where it makes best sense for film originated stuff, that I would like to hear about.

[MichaelB]

I fail to see how I'm "moving goalposts." Having a main feature (Red Beard) being upscaled to 4K from a 2K master is something completely different than Criterion having to use SD masters for alternate cuts (the existence of the native HD bfi masters doesn't mean that those masters were available for Criterion to use.)

I try not to wang on about this too often, but 2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of the end of the relatively brief period when the BFI [sic] insisted on calling itself the bfi [also sic], a pointlessly look-at-me bit of late-90s typographical branding that everyone seemed to despise aside from the branding consultant who came up with it, and which failed miserably because people outside the BFI didn't know that the lower-case "bfi" should always be italicised, and in any case as this was in the early days of email it often wasn't possible to italicise it, so even within the BFI people were writing it as "bfi" in internal communications.

Understandably, this was widely mocked, and even found its way into R.L. Trask's book Mind the Gaffe: The Penguin Guide to Common Errors in English (2003) as an example of what not to do:

Finally, it is out of order to refrain from using necessary capitals in ordert to draw attention to yourself. The British Film Institute, which used to be known as the BFI, now formally styles itself the bfi. This is pretentious, irritating, and entirely unnecessary.

Unsurprisingly, that page was photocopied with the quoted part highlighted, and stuck up extensively on internal BFI noticeboards. Revealingly, they weren't swiftly taken down, as normally happened with subversive notices, because I suspect the quote reflected the attitude of pretty much everyone at the BFI at the time.

Thankfully—and I'm proud to have played a role in this myself—sanity returned during a top-to-bottom branding review in 2006, but it's a testament to how pervasive the insanity was that people are still writing an all lower-case "bfi" a full two decades later.