All Night Long (as part of the Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

January 23, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Bold, provocative and controversial are common words to describe a late ’50s through mid-’60s Basil Dearden film. “All Night Long” is a fascinating film about interracial relationships written by American writers but would never fly due to Hollywood’s strict film code and censorship. A magnificent inclusion to Criterion Collection’s latest Eclipse series, “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.

TITLE: Victim (as part of the Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25)

RELEASE OF FILM: 1961

DURATION: 100 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, Monaural, 1:66:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: January 25, 2011

Directed by Basil Dearden

Based on the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare

Originally written by Peter Achilles (Paul Jarrico)

Written by Nel King

Produced by Michael Relph, Bob Roberts

Co-Producer: Basil Dearden

Music by Philip Green

Cinematography by Edward Scaife

Edited by Jonathan D. Guthridge

Art Direction by Ray Simm

Costume Design by Julie Harris

Starring:

Patrick McGoohan as Johnny Cousin

Keith Michell as Cass Michaels

Betsy Blair as Emily

Paul Harris as Aurelius Rex

Marti Stevens as Delia Lane

Richard Attenborough as Rod Hamilton

Bernard Braden as Lou Berger

Harry Towb as Phales

Maria Velasco as Benny

After mastering the mix of comedy, suspense, and horror that helped define the golden age of British cinema, Basil Dearden (along with his producing partner Michael Relph) left the legendary Ealing Studios and struck out on his own. In the late fifties and early sixties, he created a series of gripping, groundbreaking, even controversial films that dealt with racism, homophobia, and the lingering effects of World War II, noir-tinged dramas that burrowed into corners of London rarely seen on-screen. This set of elegantly crafted films brings this quintessential figure of British cinema out of the shadows.

All Night Long – Othello is translated to the world of sixties London jazz clubs in Basil Dearden’s smoky and sensational All Night Long. Over the course of one eventful evening, the anniversary celebration of the musical and romantic partners Aurelius Rex (Paul Harris) and Delia Lane (Marti Stevens), a jealous, ambitious drummer, Johnny Cousin (Patrick McGoohan), attempts to tear the interracial couple apart. This daring psychodrama also features on-screen appearances by jazz legends Charles Mingus, Dave Brubeck, Tubby Hayes, and Johnny Dankworth.

Basial Dearden, may not be one of the bigger names of classic British Cinema but in his 30 year career, the filmmaker has created 35-films.

With each film, Dearden had an emphasis on storytelling and creating an atmosphere and character but also boldly taking on sensitive issues at the time which include racism, homophobia and middle-class malaise.

And while many may not be familiar with the filmmaker and possibly know more about his son James Dearden (director of “Fatal Attraction” and “A Kiss Before Dying”), Basil Dearden along with writer and producer Michael Relph had managed to create a good number of films which many consider today as British cinema classics but unfortunately were not as accessible on video for viewers in America.

That is until now, as The Criterion Collection will be releasing “Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25″, a four DVD set which include his films “Sapphire” (1959), “The League of Gentlemen” (1960), “Victim” (1961) and “All Night Long” (1962).

After their controversial film “Victim” in 1961, both director Basil Dearden and producer Michael Relph would return to work together in a film based on William Shakespeare’s “Othello”.

A screenplay written bey Nel King and Paul Jarico and producer Bob Roberts, Jarico and Roberts were targets of McCarthy-era and thus, Jarico would use the name of “Peter Achilles” and approached Dearden and Relph to direct a film based on interracial relationships, due to their success of Dearden’s 1959 film “Sapphire”.

“All Night Long”, a black and white film, takes place in London with a jazz setting and a surprise one year anniversary party is being held for Paul Harris (played by Aurelius Rex) and Delia Lane (played by Marti Stevens) and held at the home of jazz aficionado Rod Hamilton (played by Richard Attenborough) and attending the party are fellow friends and other fellow jazz musicians.

Because of the jazz music, everyone at the party is mixed race and are good friends. Paul and Delia are an interracial couple, everyone accepts. Paul has a successful jazz band, Delia is a popular singer and both are in love.

But Rex’s drummer, Johnnie Cousin, is the lone-person who is not happy. He is starting a band and through this deal he made with investors, he has promised that popular Delia Lane would come out of her hiatus to sing for his band. But the truth is that Johnnie hasn’t even spoke to Delia about it.

His investor tells him that if he gets Delia Lane to sing for him, he will get the financing for his band. Without her, he gets nothing. And Johnnie is determined to get Delia to join his band. When he does, he confesses his love to her and that he really needs her to sing for his new band but seeing how happy she is with Rex, she has no desire to.

This leads Johnnie to become desperate and now will whatever he can to split Delia from Rex and before the night is over, nothing will ever be the same again.

VIDEO:

“All Night Long” is presented in an aspect ratio of 1:66:1 black and white. The film went through a major restoration back in 2006 and was released on DVD in the UK, while I don’t own that version and can’t provide a comparison, the film does look very good for a 50-year-old film. You do see occasional dust and scratches and it’s important to note that Eclipse Series releases do not get the same attention in clean up as their Criterion Collection counterparts but still, blacks and white levels look very good as do the grays. I felt the presentation of “All Night Long” looked very good!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“All Night Long” is presented in monaural. Dialogue is clear and I didn’t hear any pops, crackle, hiss or any audio problems.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series do not come with special features but included on each DVD case insert is a background of Basil Dearden and how “Victim” was controversial at the time.

“All Night Long” is another take on an interracial relationship between a Black man and white woman.

In “Sapphire”, we had a chance to see the reverse with a half white and half Black woman who looks more like the former and was killed possibly because of her race. “All Night Long” is different because it’s a film that revolves around jazz music and among the listeners of jazz are a mixed group who don’t mind interracial relationships. These people love the music, they love hanging out and partying together. A much different contrast to Dearden’s 1959 film.

Based on Shakespeare’s “Othello”, because the film is a London-based production despite being written by Americans and because of that, they were able to create a film that seemed like an American film and not having to worry about the Hayes Code. This kind of film would never be made in Hollywood. For one, you have an interracial couple, you have people at the party experimenting with drugs, you have violence towards a woman and thus the film manages to maintain a feel of reality without having to be burdened with censorship.

Aurelius Rex and Delia Lane look like a jazz couple who are very much in love. Paul Harris does a wonderful job playing the cool and collected Rex and Marti Stevens is excellent as she plays the darling wife, yet sexy jazz vocalist Delia Lane.

But what is quite interesting to see in this film is watching the wolf in sheep’s clothing, Johnny Cousin (played by Patrick McGoohan), working his way with his poison and striking first at Rex’s manager Cass Michaels (played by Keith Michell), playing upon his addictions and then passing false gossip and making him feel that people are talking about his work. Then he slowly strikes by trying to make Rex believe that Cass and his wife Delia are having an affair. How he does it is quite believable and he manages to play upon the fears of these individuals.

For Rex, he loves Delia with all his life, he knows that their relationship keeps her from performing professionally but she does it for him, because of her love for him.

But Johnny is very methodical in his ways of destroying every sense of trust that Rex has towards his wife and it leads us to this thrilling ending.

Personally, I often wonder how people felt when they watched this film back then. After all, in London and also the United States, racism was still incredibly rampant. There were race riots in both the USA and UK and where “Sapphire” was a statement, I look at “All Night Long” as a film that is able to capture inter-racial relationships, especially the jazz scene in a way that a Hollywood film at that time couldn’t.

Once again, this is a bold and provocative film at that time. Considering how strict Hollywood was with showing any interracial relationship, drug paraphernalia, even for the UK, as the 1958 Notting Hill Race Riot was ignited because of how white youths were upset between seeing a white woman and her Jamaican husband arguing. I don’t know how British audiences felt about the film but “All Night Long” still remains one of the highlights of Basil Dearden’s oeuvre.

Another wonderful inclusion to the Criterion Collection’s “Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #26″, this fourth and final film in the DVD set is definitely worth watching! Recommended!

Note: The review is for the film and not the entire DVD box set for “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.

Victim (as part of the Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

January 21, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Bold, provocative, controversial but yet an important British film that help decriminalize homosexuality. Basil Dearden’s film is British cinema intended on making a difference and it succeeded. A magnificent inclusion to Criterion Collection’s latest Eclipse series, “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.

TITLE: Victim (as part of the Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25)

RELEASE OF FILM: 1961

DURATION: 100 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, Monaural, 1:66:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: January 25, 2011

Directed by Basil Dearden

Screenplay by Janet Green and John McCormick

Produced by Michael Relph

Co-Produced by Basil Dearden

Music by Philip Green

Cinematography by Otto Heller

Edited by John D. Guthridge

Art Direction by Alex Vetchinsky

Starring:

Dirk Bogarde as Melville Farr

Sylvia Sims as Laura

Dennis Price as Calloway

Nigel Stock as Phip

Peter McEnery as Barrett

Donald Churchill as Eddy

Anthony Nicholls as Lord Fullbrook

Hilton Edwards as P.H.

Norman Bird as Harold Doe

Derren Nesbitt as Sandy Youth

Alan MacNaughton as Scott Hankin

Noel Howlett as Patterson

Charles Lloyd Pack as Henry

John Barrie as Det. Inspector Harris

John Cairney as Bridie

David Evans as Mickey

Peter Copley as Paul Mandrake

Frank Pettitt as Barman

Mavis Villiers as Madge

Margaret Diamond as Miss Benham

Alan Howard as Frank

Dawn Beret as Sylvie

Victim – An extraordinary performance by Dirk Bogarde grounds this intense, sobering indictment of early-sixties social intolerance and sexual puritanism. Bogarde plays Melville Farr, a married barrister who is one of a large group of closeted London men who become targets of a blackmailer. Basil Dearden’s unmistakably political taboo buster was one of the first films to address homophobia head-on, a cry of protest against British laws forbidding homosexuality.

Basial Dearden, may not be one of the bigger names of classic British Cinema but in his 30 year career, the filmmaker has created 35-films.

To set the context for his film “Victim” (1961), its important to let the viewer know that since 1885, homosexuality was outlawed in Great Britain. As depicted in Dearden’s film “The League of Gentlemen” shot a year earlier of a homosexual man having to pay blackmail money to one who sought to expose him, this was a common problem in Great Britain. Many blackmail cases at the time were against those who were homosexual and many who had to suffer and pay blackmail money or risk losing their livelihood.

They were seen as sexual deviants and many who could not afford the blackmail, would become informants to assist blackmailers by providing them names of those who were homosexual and those who would go down by them and thus chose to end their life by committing suicide.

Both director Basil Dearden and producer Michael Relph wanted to contribute to the national dialogue and effect change and thus “Victim” was created.

Needless to say, a film about this controversial topic was not going to be easy for the filmmakers. In fact, the film was slapped with an X rating because of the controversial topic. In the USA, the MPAA demanded that the word “homosexual” be removed from the soundtrack. Dearden and Relph refused and thus the film was shunned by the public.

But 50-years later after this film was released, many know how important this film was for British cinema and although controversial and shunned at the time, it was a perfect example of Basil Dearden taking on controversial topics and wanting to make things right in his country. Britain eventually would accept the 1967 Sexual Offences act which decriminalized homosexuality but for many viewers, “Victim” gives today’s audience an idea of how many gay men lived their lives in fear, were blackmailed and the repercussions that they had to face because of the law at the time.

“Victim” revolves around a successful lawyer named Melville Farr (played by Dirk Bogarde). He is married to a beautiful wife named Laura (played by Sylvia Sims) and all seems to go right in his life.

Meanwhile, a young man named Barrett (played by Peter McEnery) seems to be on the run. The young man is wanted by authorities for stealing money and he tries to contact a few friends to ask if he can get money but none have 20 quid to give him that day. When Barrett goes to visit one friend, a heterosexual man who is with his girlfriend, the man’s girlfriend shows disdain towards him. Telling him that he should be around people like himself.

Barrett tries to make a final call to the lawyer Melville Farr but he is not home. But the police are on to him and when Barrett goes to a restaurant, he tries to flush contents of a scrapbook in the toilet but it’s too late, he is caught.

The police learn that the man is being blackmailed because he is homosexual. The police want to know who is blackmailing him but Barrett refuses to speak and that night, in his jail cell, Barrett chooses to commit suicide.

As for the police, they managed to piece together the scrapbook that Barrett was trying to flush and it’s a scrapbook on the lawyer Melville Farr. The police contact Farr and tell him the circumstance about the scrapbook and how the young man died and Farr is shocked.

When the police ask him about his relation to the victim, Farr tells them that he has picked him up and would give him a ride but the man would keep calling him, writing him and that’s when the communication stopped.

Of course, no one would suspect the successful lawyer Melville Farr from being with a young gay man. After all, he is a successful lawyer in the public eye and he has a beautiful wife.

But the truth is that Melville Farr is a gay man behind-the-closet. Knowing the law against homosexuals, he has lived his life living a facade but of course, no one…including his wife should know the truth. Melville cared for Barrett and he will do all it takes to take down the blackmailers who led to his death.

Or will he?

VIDEO:

“Victim” is presented in an aspect ratio of 1:66:1 black and white. The film went through a major restoration back in 2006 and was released on DVD in the UK, while I don’t own that version and can’t provide a comparison, the film does look very good for a 50-year-old film. You do see occasional dust and scratches and it’s important to note that Eclipse Series releases do not get the same attention in clean up as their Criterion Collection counterparts but still, blacks and white levels look very good as do the grays. I felt the presentation of “Victim” looked very good!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Victim” is presented in monaural. Dialogue is clear and I didn’t hear any pops, crackle, hiss or any audio problems.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series do not come with special features but included on each DVD case insert is a background of Basil Dearden and how “Victim” was controversial at the time.

Prior to watching “Victim”, I was not aware that homosexuality was outlawed in Britain. But after watching film, I felt that the efficacy of “Victim was remarkably captured through Dirk Bogarde’s performance and Dearden’s direction. And what makes it things so sad, even 51-years-later, despite homosexuality not being outlawed today, many gay men and women are still bullied and continue to take their own lives.

“Victim” is yet another bold and provocative film by Basil Dearden and producer Michael Relph, but it’s this film that created a nationwide discussion. Slapped with an X-rating and even in the USA, where the MPAA did not want the word “homosexual” to be used, Dearden was aware of what homosexuals were facing under this law and how 90% of all blackmail cases were about homosexuality.

At the time, one who was gay had to make a choice…pay the blackmail the money or lose everything once your outed because homosexuality was a crime and there were harsh jail sentences for breaking the law. So, many chose to take their own lives or live their lives paying their blackmailers.

There are not too many films that have an effect on society but that is what made Basil Dearden so special. He never looked at himself as an activist but he and Relph wanted to make a difference, creating a dialogue and hopefully make things right in their country and possibly create dialogue for countries that screen his films.

The performance by Dirk Bogarde and Sylvia Sims is absolutely wonderful. Bogarde playing the closeted gay man, Melville Farr who tries to create a happy facade that he married to his wife Laura and you can tell when he kisses her, she feels this sort of disconnection. She loves him, he says he loves her but you can tell that she feels incomplete.

The scene when Melville decides to come out and confront his wife about the victim and that he loved the man, you expect to see horror in Laura’s face but you can tell she knew. When she asks him if the victim was alive and was right next to her, who would he pick?

“Victim” is unique, non-formulaic, bold and provocative. It’s a true Basil Dearden film with a touch of noir, not blatantly preachy and a fascinating timepiece of British cinema.

Another film that is a magnificent inclusion to the Criterion Collection’s latest Eclipse series “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.

Note: The review is for the film and not the entire DVD box set for “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.

The League of Gentlemen (as part of the Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

January 21, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

In 1960, two heist films were released… America had “Ocean’s Eleven”, the UK had “The League of Gentlemen” and the latter, Basil Dearden’s heist film is an example of enjoyable, fun but yet provocative British cinema. A wonderful inclusion to the latest Eclipse Series “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.

TITLE: The League of Gentlemen (as part of the Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25)

RELEASE OF FILM: 1960

DURATION: 116 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, Monaural, 1:66:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: January 25, 2011

Directed by Basil Dearden

Based on the novel by John Boland

Screenplay by Bryan Forbes

Produced by Michael Relph

Executive Producer: Earl St. John

Music by Philip Green

Cinematography by Arthur Ibbetson

Edited by John D. Guthridge

Art Direction by Peter Proud

Costume Design by Joan Ellacott

Starring:

Jack Hawkins as Hyde

Nigel Patrick as Race

Roger Livesey as Mycroft

Richard Attenborough as Lexy

Bryan Forbes as Porthill

Kieron Moore as Stevens

Terence Alexander as Rupert

Norman Bird as Weaver

Robert Coote as Bunny Warren

Melissa Stribling as Peggy

Nanette Newman as Elizabeth

Lydia Sherwood as Hilda

Doris Hare as Molly Weaver

David Lodge as C.S.M.

Patrick Wymark as Wylie

Gerland Harper as Captain Saunders

Brian Murry as Grogan

The League of Gentleman – Bitter about being forced into retirement, a colonel (wittily embodied by Jack Hawkins) ropes a cadre of former British army men into aiding him in a one-million-pound bank robbery—a risky, multitiered plan that involves infiltrating a military compound. A delightful cast of British all-stars, including Richard Attenborough, Bryan Forbes, and Roger Livesey, brings to life this precisely calibrated caper, which was immensely popular and influenced countless Hollywood heist films.

Basial Dearden, may not be one of the bigger names of classic British Cinema but in his 30 year career, the filmmaker has created 35-films.

In 1959, Dearden and Relph joined Richard Attenborough, Bryan Forbes, Jack Hawkins and Guy Green to form Allied Film Makers. The first film of Dearden’s for the new production company would be “The League of Gentlemen” shot in 1960 and would star his “Sapphire” lead actor Nigel Patrick, and his fellow Allied Films co-owners Richard Attenborough, Bryan Forbes and Jack Hawkins along with Rober Livesey, Kieron Moore, Terence Alexander and Norman Bird.

The film begins with Lt. Col. Norman Hyde (played by Jack Hawkins) coming out of a manhole at night into an empty street. He gets into a Rolls Royce, drives home and mails out several books of the novel “The Golden Fleece” and inside each novel (which they are supposed to read), a cut in half £5 note with an unsigned invitation from “Co-operative Removals Limited” for lunch at the posh Cafe Royal.

We then see various individuals receiving the book and learn that some of them are bad financial shape and are in some sort of trouble.

The men all show up to the Cafe Royal and are not sure why they have been gathered but they meet up with Lt. Col. Hyde who starts to ask him about what they thought of the book and not everyone can give a good answer as they didn’t read it or didn’t care for it.

Shocked by their reactions, Lt. Col. Hyde identifies each men at the table are crooked in some way:

Major Peter Race (played by Nigel Patrick) is a former transport officer who resigned before his black market ring was discovered. He is poor, gambles and lives at the YMCA.
Major Rupert Rutland-Smith (played by Terence Alexander) is a husband of a wealthy younger woman who pulls his strings because he needs the money but doesn’t like it when she has many affairs with other men.
Captain “Padre” Mycroft (played by Roger Livesey) is a quartermaster dismissed for public gross indecency and loves his porn and is a con artist assuming various disguises primarily as a vicar.
Captain Martin Porthill (played by Bryan Forbes) was dishonorably discharged for killing a suspected member of the EOKA and now a piano-player.
Captain Stevens (played by Kieron Moore) is a fascist who follows Oswald Mosley. He is also a homosexual that owns a gym and pays off a blackmailer who knows his secret that he is gay (which was illegal in the UK at the time).
Captain Frank Weaver (played by Norman Bird) is a formerly of the bomb disposal squad. He tried to diffuse a bomb and accidentally killed his fellow soldiers.
Lt. Edward Lexy (played by Richard Attenborough) is a communications specialist dismissed for selling information to Russians and now owns a struggling shop.

Lt. Col. Hyde tells them that they are all corrupt and why he got them together is for their skills. Hyde tells them that he has no blemish on his record but this time, what he plans to do is illegal and is upset that his career in the army has led a to a life of redundancy and wants to rob a bank, utilizing each of their skills and for each man, they will earn £100,000.

Hyde has been monitoring the delivery of armored money trucks to the banks and offers each man to live at his mansion but will be living a military life. If they do not obey the rules, money will be docked from their pay.

Each man feels that with £100,000, life would be better for them and so they agree to work together to rob the bank.

But first, the group needs supplies and hardware and so, their first job before robbing the bank is infiltrating the army training camp in Dorset to steal arms and supplies. The job would be the perfect first test for the group before they go on to rob a major bank.

Will this group of crooked men be able to pull off a major heist?

VIDEO:

“The League of Gentlemen” is presented in an aspect ratio of 1:66:1 black and white. The film went through a major restoration back in 2006 and was released on DVD in the UK, while I don’t own that version and can’t provide a comparison, the film does look very good for a 50-year-old film. You do see occasional dust and scratches and it’s important to note that Eclipse Series releases do not get the same attention in clean up as their Criterion Collection counterparts but still, blacks and white levels look very good as do the grays. I felt the presentation of “The League of Gentlemen” looked very good!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The League of Gentlemen” is presented in monaural. Dialogue is clear and I didn’t hear any pops, crackle, hiss or any audio problems.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series do not come with special features but included on each DVD case insert is a background on the film and information about Basil Dearden and Allied Films.

For many movie fans, when many think about a heist film with an ensemble cast, many tend to think about “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001). But in 1960, as America had it’s original version of “Ocean’s Eleven” in theaters, the UK courtesy of Basil Deadren had “The League of Gentlemen”.

While the two have similarities in that the characters are from the World War II era, the “Ocean’s Eleven” films were more of a vehicle to showcase America’s top talents working together and was more about the talent than its story.

With “The League of Gentlemen”, these were a group of friends who owned their own production studio and have worked with filmmaker Basil Deadren in the past. And what makes this film so much more exciting is that these characters are not trying to be cool, in fact, what makes the film so enjoyable are the characters because they are flawed. They are criminals, deviants and former military officers who have been disciplined or busted for some reason but yet, they are put together by Lt. Col. Hyde who sees their skills as important to the goal of pulling off the ultimate heist.

Each character has their distinct characteristics and the way that they were written, there is good enough character development to understand these characters, their backgrounds and how they all fit into this complex group that has been formed.

While this film probably would have more of an impact on those who watched it back in 1960 in the UK and saw how Britain has changed but Dearden, never afraid to take on any controversial subjects manages to have characters that are gigolos, a con-man dressed up as a priest, a homosexual (reminding everyone that during this time, homosexuality in Britain was a crime and people used homosexuals by blackmailing them and getting payment in order to not go with threats of making their lifestyle public) and those who were quite literally con-men of the worst kind.

But these were all former soldiers who could not live in society after the war. For some, while in the military, they have done unfortunate things to their own countrymen. The life they lived after their military service was not kind to them and thus they chose to live a life of crime (or a lifestyle that was seen as deviant) or swindle someone for their money.

The primary focus of the film are character relationships and the cast was brilliantly selected. The performances by each of the men are incredible and while many can say that they loved all characters, for me, the performance by Jack Hawkins as Hyde, Nigel Patrick as Race and Roger Livesey as Captain Mycroft are well-done. The storyline is witty but its storyline and ending is convincing and does show that crime does not pay.

The first mission the group has by infiltrating the military camp was quite interesting, especially finding out that they intend to put the blame on the IRA. For those familiar with British and Ireland relations, would understand how shocking that was probably back then.

As for the heist, one again, very intriguing and for me it’s enjoyable of how methodically, and how thorough they go through the planning phase for the actual heist.

Without having to spoil too much of the story, I will say that “The League of Gentlemen” is a wonderful and enjoyable film. Although not one of this films that is primarily focused on polemicizing a hot topic on what is happening in the UK at the time, considering “Sapphire” is focused on racism and “Victim” is focused on homosexuality as a crime, “The League of Gentleman” does touch upon a few things that are hot topics due to the deviant group that have been assembled. Yes, their is anti-homosexual and sexist behavior featured in the film, but it is not as focused on as in other Deadren films (which are fortunately included in the “Basil Dearden’s London Underground” DVD set).

Nevertheless, “The League of Gentlemen” is an exciting film and a great classic of British cinema and I’m quite grateful for its inclusion in this Eclipse Series for Basil Dearden.

Note: The review is for the film and not the entire DVD box set for “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Sapphire (as part of the Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

January 16, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

A bold, progressive movie at its time. “Sapphire” exposed the racism that existed in Britain right after the 1958 Notting Hill Race Riots and a film that was unlike any film created in the UK. A winner of the BAFTA award in 1959 for “Best Film”, Basil Dearden’s “Sapphire” is a magnificent inclusion to the latest Eclipse Series “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.

TITLE: Sapphire (as part of the Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25)

RELEASE OF FILM: 1959

DURATION: 92 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Color, Monaural, 1:66:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: January 25, 2011

Directed by Basil Dearden

Written by Janet Green, Lukas Heller

Produced by Michael Relph

Executive Producer: Earl St. John

Music by Philip Green

Cinematography by Harry Waxman

Edited by John D. Guthridge

Art Direction by Carmen Dillon

Costume Design by Julie Harris

Starring:

Nigel Patrick as Superintendent Robert Hazard

Michael Craig as Inspector Phil Learoyd

Yvonne Mitchell as Mildred

Paul Massie as David Harris

Bernard Miles as Ted Harris

Olga Lindo as Mrs. Harris

Earl Cameron as Dr. Robbins

Gordon Heath as Paul Slade

Jocelyn Britton as Patsy

Harry Baird as Johnnie Fiddle

Orlando Martins as Barman

Rupert Davies as Jack Ferris

Yvonne Buckingham as Sapphire Robbins

Robert Adams as Horace Big Cigar

Sapphire – A beautiful female college student is found dead in a public park; the police soon discover that her murder may have been racially motivated. Basil Dearden’s bold, direct police procedural, starring Nigel Patrick as the detective in charge of the investigation, is a devastating look at the way bigotry crosses class divides, and a snapshot of the increasingly interracial culture of England in the late fifties.

Basial Dearden, may not be one of the bigger names of classic British Cinema but in his 30 year career, the filmmaker has created 35-films.

This latest Eclipse series set focuses on those early sensitive films that Dearden had directed before he went on to create big-scale epics before his unfortunate death in a car accident in 1971.

In 1959, Basil Dearden would create “Sapphire” that would be a response to the 1958 Notting Hill riots in which there was violence against London’s immigrant population. Dearden and Relph were quoted as saying during the production of the film, “We plan to show this prejudice as the stupid and illogical thing it is.”

To set some context of what took place and how it relates to the film, after World War II, many people from the Caribbean migrated to Britain. Meanwhile, many of the whites were not as welcoming to the Black families that began moving into their neighborhood and fascist and racial groups were exploited to “Keep Britain White”. Among the groups were “Teddy Boys”, a group that sported Edwardian clothing which was associated with American Rock and Roll, but many of the individuals who were sporting the Teddy Boy look were part of gangs that wanted notoriety. And in 1958, they got what they wanted.

In the summer of 1958, Caucasian gangs began attacking immigrants violently and by August, a gang started pelting a Swedish woman who was married to a Jamaican man. Later that night, hundreds of Teddy Boys began attacking the houses of West Indian residents and for nearly a week, there were major disturbances and riots that continued every night. This event would be known as the “1958 Notting Hill Race Riots”.

Many in the British African-Caribbean community felt that the Metropolitan Police did not respond to their emergency calls and felt that racial attacks reported were not taken seriously.

This leads us to Basil Dearden’s 1959 film “Sapphire”. A film that received the BAFTA Award for Best Film, an Edgar Award in 1960 for screenwriter Janet Green for “Best Foreign Film Screenplay”.

The film begins with a woman shown lying dead in the ground, she is later found by two children and their mother.

Arriving to the scene to check out the body is Superintendent Robert Hazard (played by Nigel Patrick), who is told by the investigators onscene that the young woman had died of multiple stabbings. Hazard feels that the young woman was killed elsewhere and then dumped into the park Hampstead Heath.

Hazard and his young inspector Phil Learoyd (played by Michael Craig) start to look at her belongings and inside her dress was a dancing dress. For both men, this was rather odd.

As they begin to look into the girl, named Sapphire Robbins’ past and find out that she was engaged to a young man named David Harris (played by Paul Massie), a biochemist who has recently won a scholarship. David tells them that he seen her on the day she died but that night he was studying and came back home late, as he hitched a ride a man who dropped him off near the post office. Apparently, David seems shaken up by his fiance’s death and asks for the Superintendent to contact her brother.

When the two visit her home to search her belongings, they find a cabinet locked up. Inside are clothing that are unlike her and inside was a photo of her dancing and the photo was ripped in half showing only a picture of her.

As Hazard and Learoyd start to think if David may be involved, their investigation changes when her brother arrives and are shocked that Dr. Robbins (played by Earl Cameron) is a Black man. Hazard learns from her brother that their father is white, their mother is Black and that Sapphire was a woman who didn’t have Black characteristics and thus can pass off as someone who is white.

Immediately, Superintendent Robert Hazard notices that his young inspector tends to look at a Black man with disgust but as the two discuss the case, is possible that David may have killed his fiance because she was Black and didn’t know about it? Hazard receives information that Sapphire was also pregnant.

So, the two pay a visit to David’s home and start to meet his family and for some reason, they seem a bit uptight. As Hazard tries to find out where they were that night of Sapphire’s murder, David’s father Ted said he was at a club, his sister Mildred said she was at work at the dairy store and his mother was at home. Ted tells him to check with a constable who can prove that he was there.

When Hazard brings up if they knew Sapphire was Black, the family responded they found out on Saturday (the day of her death) and said it was no big deal.

But when Hazard goes to the constable to confirm if Ted was at a club, the constable verifies it but when he was asked if he knew that Sapphire was Black, the constable is shocked because he said that Ted is a bigoted man and his daughter is like him.

Hazard receives a tip that Sapphire danced with several Black men. While one left back to Nigeria, one was still in town. They interview a wealthy Black man named Paul Slade and try to see his connection with Sapphire and he tells them that they would dance and when asked if he had any relationship with her, Slade balks that his father would not ever let him date a woman that was not all Black.

Meanwhile, Hazard and Learoyd receive new leads that Sapphire used to dance at a club where students of different color and races took part in. The students tell them that Sapphire used to dance with them, that is until she went white. They learn from another source that Sapphire used to date Black men but changed.

As Hazard and Learoyd delve into the murder of Sapphire, both wonder…could her fiance David have killed his fiance after finding out that she was Black? Or did a Black boyfriend kill her because she was marrying a white man?

As Hazard tries to keep to the facts, his young inspector tends to believe that the immigrants, especially the Blacks have caused nothing but trouble in the city and is suspecting that it is probably a Black man who had killed her.

Hazard tries to remind him that anyone of different ethnicities including white have committed crimes and reminds him of their duty.

The two continue their investigation…who killed Sapphire Robbins?

VIDEO:

“Sapphire” is presented in color (1:66:1 aspect ratio). For a 1959 film, the film does contain quite a bit of grain which I didn’t mind. In fact, for a 1959 film, on DVD, “Sapphire” looked pretty good.

Only one scene where I did spot a problem. There was only one scene in which Hazard and Learoyd were talking to a woman who owned an apartment complex in an area where Black and white immigrants live together and we see a bit of discoloration on her face as it shifts from normal skin tones to greenish skin tones. This scene was very short but that was the only moment that caught my attention.

Otherwise, for a 1959 film and a film that did not receive the Criterion Collection remastering, for an Eclipse Series film on DVD, it looked good.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Sapphire” is presented in monaural. I actually preferred to set my receiver for stereo on all channels for a more immersive soundtrack. But dialogue is clear and didn’t hear any pops, crackle, hiss or any audio problems.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series do not come with special features but included on each DVD case insert is a background on the film and information about Basil Dearden and the creation of “Sapphire”.

When it comes to early films that deal with interracial relationships, It was interesting to see the connection between two 1959 films, John Cassavetes “Shadows” and Basil Dearden’s “Sapphire”. Both dealt with interracial relationships and dealt with women who have a more Caucasian look than Black features.

While one focused on racial relationships in America, “Sapphire” was rather interesting because it dealt with racism in Britain. I’m quite familiar with cases and films that dealt with racism in America but I knew nothing about what took place in the UK, nor did I know about the 1958 Notting Hill Race Riots that influenced the making of “Sapphire”.

What I enjoyed about this film is its structure but how it was bold in showing racism from normal individuals to even one of the primary police inspectors. But also seeing the reactions to those who were white and had Black friends. Also, showing a scene in which a Black man was running from a gang that was chasing him and trying to get help from white men to protect him. One calls him the “N” word and to get out, the others were a Black couple who tell them that his kind is what gives them a bad name and to see him being beaten by a gang of white youths. I suppose I was not expecting to see so much racism featured in this film but being portrayed in a way to evoke a response from its viewers.

This was a bold, progressive film for its time.

And as the film won a BAFTA for “Best Film”, I was not surprised to find out that the film elicited many angry notices and that British cinema would become exclusively white for some time afterward. So, in many ways, watching this film and seeing what Dearden and Relph were able to accomplish, they knew they would create a film that would not be welcomed for many whites especially those who supported the violence that was taking place in Britain at the time.

It’s important to note that yes, the film is less radical if shown to people today. In fact, some comments from younger viewers were more focused on the acting of the time. But viewers who are watching this film for the first time should put themselves in the position of a viewer back then in 1959. Violent riots towards immigrants, violence towards interracial relationships… “Sapphire” was amazingly progressive for its time and I can see its importance in classic British cinema.

Whether or not you believe this should of one “Best Film”, it is an important film and worth being a notable film in Basil Dearden’s oeuvre. There is no banality to this film because nothing was like it at the time. No one was daring enough to push the button and expose how bad racism was in their country. Basil Learden did.

A wonderful inclusion to the Criterion Collection’s “Basil Dearden’s London Underground – Eclipse Series #25″.

Note: The review is for the film and not the entire DVD box set for “Basil Dearden’s London Underground”.

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company (as part of The Actuality Dramas of Allan King – Eclipse Series #24) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

December 16, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

For anyone who has a family member suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia or severe memory loss, “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” is a film that I highly recommend!

TITLE: Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company (as part of The Actuality Dramas of Allan King – Eclipse Series #24)

RELEASE OF FILM: 2005

DURATION: 112 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Color 1:78:1 Aspect Ratio, English, Subtitles: English SDH

COMPANY: Allan King Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: September 21, 2010

Directed by Allan King

Produced by Allan King

Executive Producer: Kathy Avrich-Johnson

Associate Producer: Sarah Zammit

Music by Robert Carli

Cinematography by Peter Walker

Edited by Nick Hector

Starring:

Claire Mandell

Sherry Mandell

Jeff Glickman

Sonny Max Glickman

Joanne Glickman

Aaron Glickman

Max Trachter

Sylvia Consky

Bookie Kwart

Ida Orliffe

Fay Silverman

Lionel Silverman

Sandi Silverman

Rachel Baker

Fred Baker

Miriam Baker

Frank Levin

Murray Cornish

Leslie Robbins-Conway

Jennifer Wong

Helen Mosten-Growe

Sandie Ross

Ruth Kogon

Canadian director Allan King is one of cinema’s best-kept secrets. Over the course of fifty years, he shuttled between features and shorts, big-screen cinema and episodic television, comedy and drama, fiction and nonfiction. It was with his cinema-verité-style documentaries, though—his “actuality dramas,” as he called them—that King left his greatest mark on film history. These startlingly intimate studies of people whose lives are in flux—damaged children, warring spouses, the terminally ill— always done without narration or interviews, are riveting and at times emotionally overwhelming. Humane, cathartic, and important, Allan King’s spontaneous portraits of the everyday demand to be seen.

Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company – For four months, King follows the daily routines of eight patients suffering from dementia and memory loss; the result is searing, compassionate drama that can bring to the viewer a greater understanding of his or her loved ones.

Allan King, the Canadian documentary filmmaker associated with Cinéma vérité (or “truthful cinema”). An observational style of filmmaking in which the subject and audience are typically unaware of the camera’s presence.

For Allan King, he has descried his style as “actuality drama – filming the drama of everyday life as it happens, spontaneously without direction, interviews or narrative”. And for more than 50 years, Allan King has been providing his style of films of documentary films and also directing feature films and television to help support his documentaries.

To celebrate the career of Allan King, The Criterion Collection has released their 24th Eclipse Series DVD set titled “The Actuality Dramas of Allan King” which feature “Warrendale” (1969), “A Married Couple” (1969), “Come on Children” (1973), “Dying at Grace” (2003) and “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” (2005).

In 2005, Allan King began filming “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” at Baycrest, a Jewish nursing home in Toronto and follows a group of eight elderly people who are dealing with dementia and other forms of memory loss. Each of the eight show off their love, their humor, their anger and fear of losing their memory or living at a nursing home. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2005 and was voted as Canada’s “Top Ten Films of 2005″.

There are no interviews or voice overs, the footage focuses on various individuals at Baycrest and the viewer witnesses first hand of the severity of memory loss and the families who have witnessed their own parents change due to Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia and other memory loss.

We watch as a counselor at Baycrest talks with each individual and discuss with them of how they are feeling and their state of mind. If anything, to listen to them and give them encouragement.

We meet Claire Mandell, an 89-year-old woman who shares her birthday with her boyfriend and closest friend Max Trachter. Her family visits her and at first, we see no signs of Claire and her memory loss as she talks and reminisces of her husband who was a good man but since living at Baycrest, she has developed a close relationship with Max. Max is a man who has problems walking but he is a man who is full of happiness and loves to sing. He is hard to understand but yet Claire loves him for his companionship. But when tragedy hits Baycrest, we get to see firsthand how bad Claire’s memory loss truly is.

Ida Orliffe is a woman who’s husband was very active in the community and her husband also has a picture inside the hospital. She is often seen consoling her friends at Baycrest but she is also blunt about how she has had a good life but ever since she has moved to Baycrest, she feels that her life is over and is not happy. While watching Ida, we don’t get a sense she has memory loss, that is until we see her on camera each day and realize that she is literally repeating the same things over and over.

Fay Silverman’s story is absolutely heartbreaking. She is so depressed and heartbroken because none of her family have visited her at the hospital and she is lonely. She is often seen crying and is often complaining about how angry she is with her son for not visiting her. Her son is often traveling and can’t be there for her but when he does visit, we see how Fay changes from the depressed and crying mother to the happiest person in the world.

“Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” gives viewers an idea of how significant memory loss can be and how things are in a daily basis for some individuals. In fact, we get to learn from family members of examples of how they found out their parent was suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. With a woman named Helen Mosten-Growe, her daughter explains how her mother was a businesswoman but as she got older, she became violent and abusive and now her mother doesn’t even remember her. We watch as the daughter talks to her mother but her mother thinks she is just a friend. We also see a glimpse of this anger when hospital workers try to give her medication.

Another woman named Rachel Baker who is a former pianist is visited by her children. She doesn’t quite remember their father, nor what has taken place within the last 50 or so years. But she does retain memories of her son (who is in his 50′s) when he was a toddler and the kind of piano she once played and the child she gave it to have (despite being told several times that it burned down in a housefire).

These are just a few of the women and men featured in the “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” but Allan King was able to accomplish filming these people in their highest and lowest moments at the elderly home and not intruding in their life. They don’t look at the camera nor do they talk to Allan. It’s almost as if his presence is not there, they are so used to him being around that he is just like a normal fixture at Baycrest.

Allan King has said the following about his film, “The aged are as sensitive and as rich in humanity as people are at any age. I hope the film will stimulate a major increase in personal care and attention for all people experiencing the dramatic and disturbing effects of change in their cognitive skills.”

“Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” is a fine example of showing the viewers the degeneration of the human mind. People who have held careers, people who were parents and as we see photos of these individuals when they were younger, it’s hard to believe how quickly their memories are lost. How short term memory can easily be forgotten and what is left are just remnants of long-term memory.

VIDEO:

“Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” is presented in color (1:78:1). Filmed digitally, Allan King was able to capture the emotions of the various people suffering memory loss and also the occasional family visiting. Picture quality is good for DVD considering it was shot digitally.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Audio is presented in English stereo and features subtitles in English SDH. For the most part, the audio is clear and easily understandable. There are a few who tend to mumble and are hard to discern of what they are saying but you can manage to understand some of it.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series do not come with special features but included on each DVD case insert is a background on “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company”.

I have to admit that “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” was a difficult actuality film to watch. As impressed as I am with Allan King’s “Cinéma vérité”, this one hits my family pretty hard as my grandfather is suffering from memory loss and my wife’s mother is suffering from dementia.

For me, I have seen many films and TV shows on cable about Alzheimer’s Disease and it’s something we hear about but not many people really know too much about until its hits their own family. For me, I know how things are but I don’t know at what extent the memory loss can be. So, part of the reason for me wanting to watch this film was to know firsthand how memory loss has affected various individuals.

Before I go on, with my review, it’s important to note that there is one spoiler I need to bring up. So, if you do not want to read any spoilers, please do not read any further.

Possibly the biggest surprise for me after watching “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” was to see the character of Claire. She was no different from a grandmother or older parent and sure, it’s one thing to be forgetful but while watching, you never got the sense that anything was wrong with her memory. That was until Max passed away. She was told of his death but forgot it the next day. She was at the memorial for Max but everyday she was reliving the bad news with no memory that she mourned the day before.

I was so shocked because you feel sorry for her that she has found someone to love (again) and he dies. And she relives it day-by-day not remembering that she was at the memorial, not remembering that she was told. The hospital staff remind her that she has been told but she would answer “no, I would have remembered something this big.” But the fact is, she didn’t remember it at all.

Possibly the scene that made me cry was hearing Fay Silverman and how lonely she was. I can’t image now, if you lived with family and then put at a hospital, no friends and you just feel depressed because no one is visiting you. It’s absolutely heartbreaking but the fact is, for many elderly…many children do not visit their parents at the senior home many times a year. And you can hear the anguish in her voice…but also others, who feel like they are better of dead than living at a hospital where life is no longer fun, happy or vibrant. Life is now mundane, repetitive and depressing. Ida talked about how she enjoyed being an assistant to a doctor and being around people. Helping people. Her husband helped people. But now, she’s not happy anymore.

Also, to hear from Helen Mosten-Growe’s daughter talked about the violence and abuse her mother gave when she had Alzheimer’s Disease. I have only heard of this once before and that was with actress Rita Hayworth who died of Alzheimer’s Disease at the young age of 68 and her daughter Yasmin Aga Khan (the president of Alzheimer Disease International) was interviewed about how her mother who became forgetful and also became violent but back then, there was no name for the problems that she was going through. But now we know it’s a symptom of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Speaking of Helen, there was a scene where Faye was in joy and happiness about her son visiting her but then we see Helen countering with the rudest, hateful comments. And I doubt that she understands what she is saying. But the more I have researched Alzheimer’s Disease, the more I realize that anger is a normal phase with the sickness. But it’s interesting how not everyone has the anger symptom but it does happen. Everyone has a different behavior. Some are calm, some are depressed, some are tearful, some are angry but it’s all part of the normal phase of Alzheimer’s.

“Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” was a very good actuality film by Allan King. If anything, watching this film was more therapeutic for me and my wife (note: I watched it in its full entirety but for my wife, hearing those suffering from memory loss and seeing the families discussing their parents was too much for her to take in). Although, I watched this film objectively and it was an eye-opener, I know Alzheimer’s Disease is such a difficult topic for many families but I do recommend watching this film.

“Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company” was well-shot and once again, the camera and King’s presence was not obstructive because even the people sitting down rarely look at the camera. It’s like he was not even there. So, it really captured the raw emotions of everyone that was being filmed. You are seeing the truth in reality and it’s one thing that Allan King excels at.

Overall, if you have a love one who is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia or severe memory loss, I highly recommend watching “Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company”.

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

July 24, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The “Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa” is a wonderful collection of Kurosawa’s earlier work and if you are a Criterion Collection collector who is missing his earlier work in your collection (and have no intention of purchasing the awesome “AK100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa” set), then this latest Eclipse series Kurosawa DVD set is literally a must-have and is definitely recommended!

TITLE: The Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa

DURATION: Sanshiro Sugata (79 minutes), The Most Beautiful (85 minutes), Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (82 minutes) and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (59 minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio, Monaural, Japanese with English subtitles

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: August 3, 2010

Years before Akira Kurosawa changed the face of cinema with such iconic works as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Yojimbo, he made his start in the Japanese film industry with four popular and exceptional works, created as World War II raged. All gripping dramas, those rare first films—Sanshiro Sugata; The Most Beautiful; Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two; and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail—are collected here and include a two-part martial arts saga, a portrait of female volunteers helping the war effort, and a kabuki-derived tale of deception. These captivating films are a glorious introduction to a peerless career.

Akira Kurosawa, one of the most highly revered filmmakers of all time.

A career which began in the 1930′s up to his final directorial work in 1993, The Criterion Collection is known for celebrating Kurosawa’s oeuvre through multiple DVD releases including the most recent collection titled “AK100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa”. But if there was one collection that many have clamored for many years, it was his earlier films.

And now the Criterion Collection has presented us with another Kurosawa Eclipse Series set titled “Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa” which includes his first four films: “Sanshiro Sugata” (1943), “The Most Beautiful” (1944), “Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two” (1945) and “The Men Who Tread On the Tiger’s Tail” (1945).

All four films were previously featured in the “AK100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa” DVD set but for those who have been collecting the Akira Kurosawa DVD’s via the Criterion Collection individually and those who previously purchased the “Postwar Kurosawa” Eclipse Series #7 set, this latest DVD Eclipse Series set is a welcomed addition to the Eclipse Series and a must-have for your Akira Kurosawa Criterion collection.

Here are our reviews for each of the films included in this DVD set:

Sanshiro Sugata (Sugata Sanshiro)

The Most Beautiful (Ichiban Utsukushiku)

Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (Zoku Sugata Sanshiro)

The Men Who Tread On the Tiger’s Tail (Tora no o wo Fumu Otokotachi)

For any Akira Kurosawa fan, the Criterion Collection has provided us fans with quality DVD and Blu-ray releases for many years now. And for many Kurosawa fans, once you start watching one film, buy one DVD or Blu-ray, more than likely you will want to watch more and more and if you are a hardcore fan, you will more than likely want to purchase everything Kurosawa.

With that being said, I will say that the “Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa” is most definitely worth it. For one, Kurosawa’s earliest films are not as easy to find and the fact that you can get his first four films that he directed in one set is fantastic!

But if you are a person who does not own any Kurosawa films or very few of the Criterion Collection releases, the set that you want is Criterion’s “AK100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa”. For 25 films, you get your bang for your buck but it’s also important to note that this set does not included the special features for the films that were released on the individual Criterion Collection DVD’s.

But this set is primarily for those looking for Kurosawa’s earliest films, the hardcore Kurosawa and Criterion fans (who must own everything), especially for those who have purchased the Criterion Collection DVD’s and the “Eclipse Series #7: Postwar Kurosawa” set and just need this remaining set to complete their collection.

As for the “Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa”, you get Kurosawa’s directorial debut and his first four films. “Sanshiro Sugata” were enjoyable films, “The Most Beautiful” gave us a glimpse of female factory workers during World War II and “The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail” gave us an early preview of what would come in the future for Kurosawa’s Jidaigeki films.

Although I do not feel that these four films are his best films, these four films included in this set are important but also entertaining. But also you got to see how Kurosawa handled a variety of situations that was asked of him during wartime, you got to see how he set up his shots and how thorough he was not only as a director but also as a writer.

It’s important to emphasize that this set is Kurosawa’s earlier work. The first two films were created as propaganda films during World War II (and “Sanshiro Sugata” had 18-minutes cut from the original film), the third film was a sequel which he reluctantly did at the request of the studio and his fourth film was created because there was not enough resources during wartime to commit to a major film. Also, the fourth film “The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail” was banned by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) General Douglas MacArthur because the film promoted traditional Japanese values and would not be released until after 1952 when the Treaty of San Francisco was signed (the treaty officially marked the end of World War II and the end of Japan’s position as an imperial power).

Also, it is important to note that because these films are part of an Eclipse Series release, you’re not going to get the Criterion Collection high-level remastering and restoration. In fact, a few of these films do sport quite a bit of dust, scratches, film warping and some have problems with darkening issues. But by no means are these films unwatchable nor should the condition of the film impede one’s enjoyment of these four films. For films that are over 60-years-old, these films are watchable, quality differs depending on the film but I am quite grateful that we are getting these older films released on DVD.

These films are easily accessible, enjoyable and entertaining but when compared to Kurosawa’s later work, it’s like comparing apples and oranges. But at the same time, as a fan, one can see the potential in Kurosawa’s earlier work and how it would lead him to the path of making incredible and fantastic cinema.

Overall, the “Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa” is a wonderful collection of Kurosawa’s earlier work and if you are a Criterion Collection collector who is missing his earlier work in your collection (and have no intention of purchasing the awesome “AK100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa” set), then this latest Eclipse series Kurosawa DVD set is literally a must-have and is definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (as part of the Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

July 21, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Akira Kurosawa is not known for creating sequels but he did created a sequel to his first film “Sanshiro Sugata”. Sanshiro returns with a new nemesis but also learning first-hand of how his fights have affected others, not in a good way. A more action-driven film and grateful this 65-year-old film was included in this Eclipse Series DVD set.

TITLE: Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (as part of the Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa)

DURATION: 82 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio, Monaural, Japanese with English subtitles

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: August 3, 2010

Based on a novel by Tsuneo Tomita

Written and Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Produced by Seiichi Suzuki

Cinematography by Takeo Ito

Edited by Akira Kurosawa

Production Design by Kazuo Kubo

Starring:

Denjiro Okochi as Shogoro Yano

Susumu Fujita as Sanshiro Sugata

Yukiko Todoroki as Sayo Murai

Ryunosuke Tsukigata as Gennosuke Higaki

Akitake Kono as Genzaburo Higaki

Shoji Kiyokawa as Yujiro Toda

Masayuki Mori as Yoshima Dan

Seiji Miyaguchi as Kohei Tsuzaki

Ko Ishida as Daisuburo Hidarimonji

Kazu Hikari as Kihei Sekine

Kokuten Kodo as Buddhist Priest Saiduchi

Ichiro Sugai as Yoshizo Fubiki

Osman Yusuf as American Sailor

Roy James as William Lister

Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two – Kurosawa’s first film was such a success that the studio leaned on the director to make a sequel. The result is a hugely entertaining adventure, reuniting most of the major players from the original and featuring a two-part narrative in which Sanshiro first fights a pair of Americans and then finds himself the target of a revenge mission undertaken by the brothers of the original film’s villain.

Akira Kurosawa, one of the most highly revered filmmakers of all time.

With the success of “Sanshiro Sugata” in 1943, the movie company wanted a sequel. But for Kurosawa, creating sequels had never been part of his equation as a filmmaker and creating new and different films was what he wanted to do. According to Donald Richie’s book “The Films of Akira Kurosawa”, Kurosawa said, “This film did not interest me in the slightest. I had already done it once. This was just warmed-over.”

But he reluctantly accepted to create a sequel and all principal cast members returned in 1945 for the sequel “Zoku Sugata Sanshiro” (續姿三四郎).

Unfortunately, the sequel would not do as well as the first. Primarily because the majority of the theaters in Japan were bombed and only a few theaters were able to show the film.

The story continues two years later as Sanshiro Sugata (played by Susumu Fujita) continues his travels throughout Japan in 1887. He continues to learn more about life around him but also learn about himself. His name has spread throughout Japan as the man who learned the martial art of Judo defeating those who have practiced Jujitsu.

And while traveling, he discovers many Westerners in Japan. Some who are drunken, some who are rude and beat on Japanese. While traveling to one city, he sees an American sailor beating on a Rickshaw runner and in order to protect him, Sanshiro comes to the rescue and easily defeats the sailor. When a Japanese boxing promoter finds out that Sanshiro is in the area, he offers him a chance to be part of a match to take on a champion American boxer named William Lister.

Sanshiro can’t see why the Americans get so excited of people pounding away at each other and also how loud they are when these men compete. As he has enough of what he had seen at a boxing match, he finds out that a Japanese will be taking on the boxer. Sanshiro is shocked and when he tries to stop the Japanese from participating (because it’s not the Japanese way), the competitor tells him that he must fight for the money because of what Sanshiro Sugata did to jujitsu. With him beating the Jujitsu martial artists, it has put them out of a job.

Sanshiro is crushed by this. He never expected that people would hate him for winning in competitions, nor did he think he would crush people’s dreams, let alone seeing them going hungry and having to resort to such activities for money.

So, Sanshiro Sugata returns back home to his dojo and wanting to renounce judo. But his teacher Shogoro Yano (played by Denjiro Okochi) explains to him that their path is not to be fight, nor is it to make sure judo is the best martial art, it’s about continuing and promoting Japanese martial arts and respecting it.

Sanshiro is comforted by this and his return back to the dojo has brought him some sense of peace, that is until the brothers of Gennosuke Higaki (the antagonist of the first film) come to Tokyo and challenge Sanshiro in a duel to the death.

The brothers Tesshin and Genzaburo are people who have no respect for Japanese martial arts but their own Higaki style of karate and are driven by revenge for their brother Gennosuke who is sick and ill and blame Sanshiro for humiliating him. In fact, these brothers are quite insane and crazy, especially Genzaburo who appears to suffer from seizures and afterward can go insanely made.

His teacher tells Sanshiro that he will not fight, nor will anyone from the dojo. But the Higaki brothers are sure to remind Sugata that they will be coming back after him.

As Sanshiro listens to the rules of his teacher of not to fight without his permission or to take part in any competitions that would humiliate Japanese martial arts, Sanshiro becomes deeply burdened as many students from the dojo are attacked and beaten severely by Tesshin and Genzaburo Higaki.

Sanshiro’s heart tells him that he must fight them but he knows that his teacher has set up strict rules that prevent him from doing so and the last thing that Sanshiro wants to do is go against the teachings of his teacher.

Will Sanshiro fight the Higaki brothers and renounce his martial arts school or will he follow his teacher’s strict rules and uphold the tradition of Japanese martial arts?

VIDEO:

“Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two” is presented in black and white (1:33:1 Aspect Ratio) and where the first film had some issues of darkening and of course, was trimmed down by Japanese censors, the second film doesn’t suffer from any censoring but does have quite a bit of print damage compared to the first film.

I also did notice a editing error in which a Rickshaw runner is talking with Sanshiro and the dialogue is repeated twice. Not sure if that was an original splicing error or an oversight.

Similar to the first film where the picture gets dark at the beginning of Yano’s fight, there is a crucial battle in which the fighters look like they are silhouettes fighting in white. It is known that during World War II, resources by the film industry in Japan were a bit scarce and filmmakers had to work with less resources around that time. But I’m not sure if the darkening is due to the film’s degradation or because of the lack of resources during wartime.

Unfortunately, within the last 60 years, there has not been a better print and so what viewers have seen is a film that has a lot of scratches, dust, warping and unfortunately, some major darkening issues. Granted, this is not throughout the whole film. The film is definitely watchable but where the first film, the darkening happens fairly early, this time around it happens at the final battle.

But considering that this is the only print of the film, this is probably the only way we can enjoy “Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two”.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two” is presented in Japanese monaural with English subtitles. Although, dialogue is clear and understandable for the majority of the film, there is sign of dropdown in dialogue and hissing in the background.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series releases do not come with special features but included in the cover insert is information about the making of the film.

I found the first “Sanshiro Sugata” to be quite enjoyable and despite the film created for the purpose of Japanese propaganda, it was created in a manner that didn’t seem like it. It was primarily a battle between dueling Japanese martial arts but also a story about Sanshiro trying to find himself. Sure, there was symbolism in the first film with the antagonist Gennosuke Higaki sporting Western clothes and being the man who would challenge the hero Sanshiro Sugata. But for the sequel, things are much more different this time around.

It is clear from past interviews that Akira Kurosawa did not like making sequels and for “Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two”, it was a sequel he did not want to do. But as a director just starting out, he reluctantly became the director once again.

When watching “Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two”, you watch a film that has elements of a hero who defends the weak and who does what he can to promote Japanese culture and tradition, most of all, following his teacher in promoting Japanese martial arts. Of course, this time around, things are not as subtle as we see an American sailor bossing around a Japanese rickshaw runner, a boy who can’t even defend himself. But coming to the rescue of the boy is Sanshiro Sugata, a man who has created his own legend, many stories told and of course, like the first film of the children signing a song of “stay away from Sanshiro Sugata”.

Of course, these stories and songs are exaggerations that were created during Sugata’s first battle (seen from the first film) as he underestimated his power and in defense threw his opponent who’s head ended up slamming on the boards and died. But the fact is that people believed those stories and the fact that Sanshiro has come to their village and to see this mysterious Japanese hero beat this rude, mouthy American sailor should have been inspiring to the Japanese viewer at the time. If anything, for us non-Japanese, what an exciting beginning in seeing Sanshiro defeating a mouthy jerk.

As we see Sanshiro disgusted by the loudness and barbarism of American boxing, and as the boxer beating on the Jujitsu challenger. One can expect Sanshiro to come to the rescue once more, but that would be too easy if Kurosawa followed a cliche path. Kurosawa is not that type of director. If anything, he takes the torment that Sanshiro has seen for himself. Defeating opponents but the outcome was not as expected. If anything, he may have popularized judo but for his opponents, they have lost their jobs and now have to take part in such barbarism to put food on the table for their families. Shameful as it may be to the Japanese martial arts, he saw something that his fellow students probably will never see or experience and he is tormented by it.

Since the first film, Sanshiro Sugata has always been a down-to-earth man who has searched in his heart and those around him of the purpose of life. We know he is quick to anger and wants to fight but his teacher has taught him well to know the value of life. The appreciation of Japanese martial arts.

But then we see the broken Gennosuke Higaki. The Japanese martial artist donned in Western garb who was the antagonist from the first film but now as a man who has found the right path once again, who knew he should have furthered Japanese martial arts but instead wanted to exploit it and in the process, lost his match and the disgrace has left him sick and weak. So, now his brothers want revenge.

But these brothers are nothing like Gennosuke. They are unrefined, they are loud and they definitely have no respect for Japanese martial arts. No bowing, no acknowledging the elders, they just want to fight and beat Sanshiro. The main antagonist is Tesshin, who is mad but at least is able to communicate his desire to fight Sanshiro. While the insane younger brother Genzaburo looks as a possessed spirit ala a Noh drama (or modern Japanese horror films) with the long black hair and menacing face. A man who grows mad after a seizure (which we know that seizure to be epilepsy but no medication of course at the time to prevent it) and also is driven by revenge.

These two look much more menacing than Gennosuke ever was in the first film but nevertheless, characters who have done so much wrong and has brought violence against the students of Sanshiro’s school that he is a man who wants to fight but is bound by the rules of his teacher and the school. Can he continue to fight for the sake of Japanese spirituality? For the sake of Japanese martial arts or will his desire for fighting consume him?

“Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two” is a much more different film as the first. With the first, although created as a propaganda film, the tones of the film were there but quite subtle. This time around, its a little more in your face. Also, while all characters made their return for the sequel, their part in the film is much smaller than before with the exception of the teacher and the priest. Sayo does make an appearance but is limited to a few scenes of a woman who installs her faith in Sanshiro (which does ended up saving his life).

Also, the film also has its share of foreigners playing Americans but during World War II, it’s important to note that these foreigners were not American but legal foreign residents of Japan playing American. Nevertheless, the inclusions of many non-Japanese actors in a Japanese film at during wartime was quite interesting to see in an earlier Kurosawa work.

I would imagine that “Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two” was definitely more commercially driven as the company saw how well the first one did, they wanted to repeat its financial success. Unfortunately, due to a few theaters that were able to play the film, the sequel would never achieve the success of the first.

Overall, “Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two” is an enjoyable and entertaining film. Definitely not a great sequel to the first but because of its share of action, it is easily accessible and if anything, it was great to see the talent from the first film back together once again and to the see characters in another film would definitely make fans of the first film excited. I was definitely excited to see the sequel but admit, like many sequels, this one was not as good as the first film.

As mentioned in my video and audio review of this film, the film does have darkening issues, print damage and some audio issues but considering this is probably the only way to watch this 65-year-old film, similar to silent films or early talkies, you just have to be grateful of what we do have in for these older films and be grateful that we are seeing it at all. The film is still enjoyable despite having some issues with the video but not bad enough to hamper the enjoyment of the film.

Another awesome inclusion to the “Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa” DVD set.

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Eclipse Series #21: Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

May 11, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties” is absolutely fantastic and a worthy addition to any cinema fan’s film collection. Highly recommended!

TITLE: Eclipse Series #21 – Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties

DURATION: Pleasures of the Flesh: 91 Minutes, Violence at Noon: 99 Minutes, Sing a Song of Sex: 103 Minutes, Japanese Summer: Double Suicide: 99 Minutes, Three Resurrected Drunkards: 80 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Color & Black and White, 2:35:1 Aspect Ratio, Monaural, Japanese with English subtitles

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: May 18, 2010

Often called the Godard of the East, Japanese director Nagisa Oshima was one of the most provocative film artists of the twentieth century, and his works challenged and shocked the cinematic world for decades. Following his rise to prominence at Shochiku, Oshima struck out to form his own production company, Sozo-sha, in the early sixties. That move ushered in the prolific period of his career that gave birth to the five films collected here. Unsurprisingly, this studio renegade was fascinated by stories of outsiders—serial killers, rabid hedonists, and stowaway misfits are just some of the social castoffs you’ll meet in these audacious, cerebral entries in the New Wave surge that made Japan a hub of truly daredevil moviemaking.

Nagisa Oshima, one of Japan’s most controversial filmmakers. A filmmaker who shocked the world with his 1976 film “In the Realm of Senses” based on the true story of Sada Abe and a film that showcased unsimulated sex and faced major censorship. In fact, even with the Criterion Collection’s Blu-ray and DVD release of “In the Realm of Senses”, viewers today still debate if the film was art or if the film was pornography. If anything, Oshima has caught the attention of many and many have wondered if his other films would ever reach US shores.

One of the founders of the Japanese New Wave, Oshima was known for taking on Japanese taboos and creating films against the status quo, the filmmaker has been doing his style of films since 1959 and working for the studio Shochiku in order to fulfill the studio’s desire of creating edgier material for the youth market. Oshima would go on to create three films which were known as “The Youth Trilogy” (“Cruel Story of Youth”, “The Sun’s Burial”, “Night and Fog in Japan”).

Please click on the following link for a full DVD review of each film featured in “Eclipse Series #21: Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties”:

“Pleasures of the Flesh” (1965)

“Violence at Noon” (1966)

“Sing a Song of Sex” (1967)

“Japanese Summer: Double Suicide” (1967)

“Three Resurrected Drunkards” (1968)

The latest DVD set “Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties” for Criterion Collection’s Eclipse Series featuring filmmaker Nagisa Oshima’s works from 1966-1968 is magnificent!

For any cineaste who is interested in the Japanese new wave but also wondering how Japan’s most provocative auteur would eventually lead up to his highly controversial film “In the Realm of the Senses” can see how he progresses from film to film. Call him rebellious as he goes against the status quo, Nagisa Oshima shows us his daring side through these film films included in the Eclipse Series set.

Taking on sexual destruction, emotional conflict, nihilistic views towards Japanese youth, amorality and touching upon political situations that he saw in Japan (specifically the treatment of Koreans by Japanese) and using films as his platform. We get to Oshima engaged in situations that deal with the Japanese student movement, his feelings opposing the Vietnam War but also seeing that appreciation of Luis Bunuel, the master of surrealism influencing Oshima’s style when he became liberated and avant-garde with his filmmaking.

Perhaps that is the connection of where some would call Oshima as the “Godard of the East” but as you watch each of these films, you start to see how his films showcases the cultural and political tension of postwar Japan. These films were the stepping stones in which Oshima would go all out in controversy for creating films such as “In the Realm of the Senses” and “The Empire of Passion”.

Each film presented in the “Eclipse Series #21: Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties” is indeed fascinating and unique.

“Pleasures of the Flesh” is a film that demonstrates Nagisa Oshima’s strength in showcasing a character’s self-destruction and pushing the boundaries of moral turpitude. For those familiar with Japanese films during the ’60s, especially from Nikkatsu or from various filmmakers at the time, may it be pink films to yakuza gangster films, these films were quite popular for the youth market.

“Violence at Noon” is a film that demonstrates Oshima’s artistic side by using high contrasts but unique in that the film utilized over 2,000 cuts but easily taking on topics such as rape, those protecting a serial killer and also suicide pacts. For three topics that can be seen as dismal and dark, Oshima manages to create a film that is literally artistic and defiant all at once.

In the case of “Sing a Song of Sex”, Oshima’s film which came a year after Tomomi Soeda’s book which studies song as an expression of discontent among the Japanese and their escape into fantasy. Possibly the most surreal film I have seen from Oshima, this is Oshima reaching to Luis Bunuel heights as surrealism and dark comedy is used effectively. It may be too surreal for others but the film’s bizarre form of storytelling to start off Oshima’s Korean trilogy utilizing fantasy without being to upfront was quite fascinating.

1967 was definitely an intriguing year for Oshima fans as it was a year we see a liberation as a filmmaker and “Japanese Summer: Double Suicide” can be looked at Oshima’s way of critiquing Japanese in general and I can see conservatives beginning to become more invidious towards the filmmaker while others outside of Japan perhaps saw a sense of style and a unique oeuvre. This is the filmmaker engaging all various types of Japanese through its bizarre characters and its senseless violence left a blank stare for many watching the film. But this was Oshima daring to take on the Vietnam War through film.

And last, unlike the previous four films, “Three Resurrected Drunkards” brings us those political views of Oshima but presenting it in a more comedic style. Unique in presentation for the filmmaker but yet the comedy is used as a way to engage the viewer towards the treatment of Koreans in Japan and his feelings towards the Vietnam War. A surprising comedy and also another film that one can see as experimental, farcical but within the context of Oshima’s style of filmmaking, it works!

Each film in “Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties” showcasing elements of Oshima defying realism. But with Japanese culture, Oshima manages to take the political and make it art. This is Japanese new wave at its finest.

The Criterion Collection has managed to pick five magnificent films of Oshima, each unique and even 40-years-later, look absolutely great on DVD. Suffice to say, Oshima like Godard, like Resnais and like Bunuel, is not going to be for everyone. For those who enjoyed Oshima’s “The Youth Trilogy” or his more controversial films may find these films to be too avant-garde if they are expecting something similar to the Nikkatsu ’60s films. But I absolutely found this DVD set to be enjoyable, fascinating, thought provoking, artistic and just an all-out wonderful release.

Granted, it’s missing one major key film in the Korean trilogy which is “Death by Hanging”, which I can only hope that this film along with “The Youth Trilogy” will someday be released by Criterion.

But overall, “Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties” is absolutely fantastic and a worthy addition to any cinema fan’s film collection. Highly recommended!

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Pleasures of the Flesh (as part of the Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties – Eclipse Series #21) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

May 5, 2010 by Dennis Amith · 2 Comments

For fans of Nagase Oshima, “Pleasures of the Flesh” receives its Criterion Collection release via the Eclipse Series. The best looking release of the film to date and a film that captures Oshima’s style of portraying a character’s self destruction and immorality. A fantastic inclusion for “Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties”.

TITLE: Pleasures of the Flesh (as part of the Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties – Eclipse Series #21)

DURATION: 91 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Color, 2:35:1 Aspect Ratio, Monaural, Japanese with English subtitles

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: May 18, 2010

Directed by Nagisa Oshima

Based on the novel “Kan no Naka no Etsuraku” by Futaro amada

Screenplay by Nagisa Oshima

Produced by Masayuki Nakajima

Music by Joji Yuasa

Cinematography by Akira Takada

Edited by Keiichi Uraoka

Art Direction by Yasutaro Kon

Starring:

Katsuo Nakamura as Atsushi Wakizaka

Mariko Kaga as Shoko

Yumiko Nogawa as Hitomi

Masako YAgi as Shizuko

Toshiko Higuchi as Mari

Hiroko Shimizu as Keiko

Shoichi Ozawa as Hayami

A corrupt businessman blackmails the lovelorn reprobate Atsushi into watching over his suitcase full of embezzled cash while he serves a jail sentence. Rather than wait for the man to retrieve his money, however, Atsushi decides to spend it all in one libidinous rush—fully expecting to be tracked down and killed. Oshima’s dip into the waters of the popular soft-core “pink film” genre is a compelling journey into excess.

After politics played a part in Oshima leaving Shochiku, the filmmaker would go on to create his own company known as Sozo-sha (Creation Company) and in celebration of his work from his new studio and many fans bombarding Criterion for more Oshima, The Criterion Collection has chosen Nagisa Oshima’s mid-to-late ’60s films to be part of the latest Eclipse Series Collection known as “Eclipse Series 21: Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties”. The DVD box set would include the following films: “Pleasures of the Flesh” (1965), “Violence at Noon” (1966), “Sing a Song of Sex” (1967), “Japanese Summer: Double Suicide” (1967) and “Three Resurrected Drunkards” (1968).

His first directorial film for his new studio would be “Pleasures of the Flesh” (Etsuraku) based on the novel by Futaro Yamada and featuring a screenplay by Oshima.

“Pleasures from the Flesh” revolves around a man named Atsushi Wakizaka (played by Katsuo Nakamura), a tutor for a teenage girl named Shoko (played by Mariko Kaga). Atsushi loves Shoko despite being a few years older than her and she enjoying her company with him, because of his poor status, is unable to have a relationship with her.

Despite Shoko’s happiness towards Atsushi, behind-the-scenes, things are not as happy as Shoko has been repeatedly molested by a man, and worst the man has blackmailed her family. Her wealthy family has had enough and with no one to turn to, they turn to Atsushi in hopes he can eliminate their problem.

Atsushi angered that a man would do such a heinous thing to Shoko, kills the man and when he returns, he is given money by the family but also promises secrecy to never reveal what he had done to Shoko.

It appears to be an easy crime and the murder would go undetected, until a man who works for the government has found where Atsushi lives. He tells him that he knows he murdered the man but he will not reveal the murder to anyone if he follows his rules.

The public official has embezzled 30 million yen and knows he will be caught. The man expects to serve about five years in prison but while he is in prison, he wants Atsushi to keep the money with him and to not spend it. He must stay and live at the same house and if everything goes as planned, he will be safe. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, the public official will tell the authorities of what Atsushi did.

As the public official expected, he was given a five year prison sentence and within the next four years, Atsushi Wakizaka’s life has been turned upside down. He is living poor and Shoko, the woman he loved and murdered for has went off and married a wealthy man. Feeling humiliated, dejected and depressed, Atsushi feels that he has nothing to live for. In his mind, he sees Shoko looking at him and in many ways, we are seeing the self-destruction of Atsushi.

So, he figures instead of killing himself immediately, why not spend the 30 million yen that the public official had left with him and live the life that he wants to. And by the time the official gets out and the year is over, he can kill himself.

So, this begins the beginning of Atsushi’s self-destruction as he starts spending his money by selecting women (that remind him of Shoko) for sex and to be with him. He goes from spending his money on a yakuza boss’s girlfriend, to finding girls from a club esp. a married woman with a husband and child and uses money as a way to make her stay with him, to finding a doctor and a deaf prostitute.

Living life to its excess but as he gets closer to the end of the year of when the public official is to be released, something unexpected happens to Atsushi Wakizaka.

VIDEO:

“Pleasures of the Flesh” is presented in color (2:35:1). The film marks the first widescreen film on Criterion’s Eclipse Series and a film, despite being 45-years-old, looking great on DVD. I expected the film to looked aged, to have some defects, especially with the film not being part of the Criterion Collection series. But the film looks very good, the colors are very strong and you can tell that the original negative must have been taken care of or the Criterion Collection actually did some remastering work because the film looks very good. I didn’t see any significant digital compression artifacting or significant edge enhancement while watching the film. And this is important because there have been previous UK DVD release of “Pleasures of the Flesh” which have looked aged and muddy. So, as of right now, this is the definitive version PQ-wise of this film.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Pleasures of the Flesh” is presented in Japanese monaural with English subtitles. Dialogue is clear and I didn’t hear any clicks or pops during my viewing.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series releases do not come with special features but included in the insert is a background on Oshima and the film.

But one major difference when compared to these other filmmakers is that Oshima continually grabbed people’s attention due to his pushing of the boundaries. Through Oshima’s films, we can easily see him pushing the boundaries from one film to the other and then by the mid-70′s, going full force and challenging censorship like no other filmmaker has done before.

For those only familiar with Oshima’s “In the Realm of the Senses” (which is available now via The Criterion Collection), “Pleasures of the Flesh”, doesn’t show any nudity or sexual scenes but it does focus on one man’s obsession and overall, self-destruction. The characters that you see in this film, in many ways, each can be seen as immoral and unlikeable. This is where Oshima is good at challenging the viewer as you expect to see some ray of light within each character. And the final moment of the film is definitely his way of bashing the status quo.

Overall, “Pleasures of the Flesh” is a very good film and as mentioned in my DVD breakdown, this is the best version of “Pleasures of the Flesh” that has been released. So, if you know about the film and previously enjoyed it, this latest version on the Eclipse Series is the best looking version to date.

And as for the film, definitely fascinating in terms of how Oshima was able to portray these characters and creating the film’s overall pacing. Especially to see how one man is led to self-destruction, how he himself became corrupt and how he ended up corrupting others in the process.

A wonderful first film from the DVD box set “Eclipse Series #21: Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties”.

Filed Under: Asian Cinema DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION

Wings (as part of the Larisa Shepitko – Eclipse Series #11) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

April 10, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“Wings” is a beautiful film by Russian filmmaker Larisa Shepitko. Showcasing her talent and her ability to defy Russian cinema with “Wings”, a film about a woman who yearns for her past and dealing with the generational gap and being a forgotten war hero and relic of the past. A worthy addition to this Eclipse Series set and overall, for its price for two of Shepitko’s breakthrough films, this Eclipse series set is definitely recommended!

TITLE: Wings (as part of the Larisa Shepitko – Eclipse Series #11)

DURATION: 85 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio, Monaural, Russian with English subtitles

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: August 12, 2008

Directed by Larisa Shepitko

Written by Valentin Ezhov, Natalya Ryazantseva

Music by Roman Ledenyov

Cinematography by Igor Slabnevich

Edited by L. Lysenkova

Production Design by Ivan Plastinkin

Costume Design by A. Dokuchayeva

Starring:

Maya Bulgakova as Nadezhda Petrukhina

Sergey Nikonenko as Sergei Bystryakov

Zhanna Bolotova as Tanya

Pantelejmon Krymov as Pavel Gavriloch

Leonid Dyachkov as Mitya Grachov

Vladimir Gorelov as Igor

Yuri Medvedev as Boris Grigoryevich

Nikolai Grabbe as Kostya Shuvalov

Zhanna Aleksandrova as Zinka

The career of Larisa Shepitko, an icon of sixties and seventies Soviet cinema, was tragically cut short when she was killed in a car crash at age forty, just as she was emerging on the international scene. The body of work she left behind, though small, is masterful, and her genius for visually evoking characters’ interior worlds is never more striking than in her two greatest works: Wings, an intimate yet exhilarating portrait of a female fighter pilot turned provincial headmistress, and The Ascent, a gripping, tragic wartime parable of betrayal and martyrdom. A true artist who had deftly used the Soviet film industry to make statements both personal and universal, Shepitko remains one of the greatest unsung filmmakers of all time.

Larisa Shepitko’s stunning first feature after graduating from the All-Russian State Institute for Cinematography was this fascinating character study about a once heroic female Russian fighter pilot now living a quiet, disappointingly ordinary life as a school principal.

Larisa Shepitko, the Russian filmmaker who just became noticed of her filmmaking style and becoming part of the “New Generation” of Russian filmmakers that started to achieve worldwide recognition died at the young age of 40 (Shepitko and five members of her crew were killed while driving to the location to shoot their next film).

Married to another well known filmmaker, Elem Klimov, Larisa studied under Alexander Dovzhenko (one of the well-known, important Soviet Filmmakers) at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow and through her brief directing career which began in 1956, she is known best for her last film, “Voskhozdeniye” (The Ascent) in 1977.

In celebration of Larisa Shepitko’s film career, The Criterion Collection has released an Eclipse Series set featuring two of her films: “Krylya” aka “Wings” (1966) and “Voskhozdeniye” aka “The Ascent” (1977).

“Wings” is my first foray into the Shepitko’s films and was a controversial film in Russia as the film showed conflict between a parent and a child and also its depiction of a war hero.

The film revolves around former pilot Nadezhda Petrukhina (played by Maya Bulgakova), a decorated World War II hero who was shot in battle and now a principal at a school. Seen by many people as a war hero, to the children at the college, she appears to be a tough principal. While preparing for a major commencement, an argument between students breaks out and one of the instigators, a boy is kicked out of the school.

When she arrives home, she talks with her longtime friend about her step-daughter Tanya (played by Zhanna Bolotova) and she finds out that she is marrying an older man. Tanya has never consulted her or even wanted to talk about her marriage to her mother and this has made Nadezhda quite sad.

We then start to see how life is with Nadezhda. On the outside, because she is a war veteran, many people think that a hero’s life is quite good. She has a good job, she’s always busy and a female in a leadership position. But what is reality is quite farther from the truth as Nadezhda is disenchanted with her current life. She knows that the kids at school are scared of her, some resent her. Her own daughter resents her. She’s not married, there is nothing in her life but working hard.

And constantly, she is often thinking about her past when life was so thrilling as a pilot and when she is in the cockpit of her plane, she had escaped reality and had a lot of fun when she was younger but now, to many people, she’s just a relic of yesterday and a person of power that has trouble connecting with the younger people of today. The friends, the love ones that she served in the military are gone… With this build-up of emotions running high inside of her, what will Nadezhda want to do with her life?

VIDEO:

“Wings” is presented in (1:33:1) in black and white. For a 44-year-old print and the fact that this is an Eclipse series release versus a Criterion Collection release, the print for “Wings” is actually pretty good. The film has its moments of looking a bit washed out, some lines showing up and down the film and mild flickering. There is dust and scratches that can be seen if you are looking for it but for the most part, considering no remastering was done to the film, the picture quality for “Wings” is good.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Wings” is presented in monaural Russian with optional English subtitles. The film is Dolby Digital 1.0 and comes through the center channels quite clearly but I chose to watch the film via my receiver set to stereo on all channels.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series do not come with special features but included on each DVD case insert is a background on the film and information about Larisa Shepitko.

Although the controversial impact that “Wings” had toward Russian audiences and media would not affect today’s modern viewers, the fact that this 1966 film dealt with issues that Russians were not used to seeing on film definitely makes Larisa Shepitko’s film quite extraordinary.

There is so much emotional layering built into this film and its main character Nadezhda Petrukhina that you can admire Maya Bulgakova’s acting. When she’s stern, she can play stern. When she’s flirtatious, she can play flirtatious and when she’s emotional, she can play emotional. This is definitely a marvelous performance by Maya and in some way, the storyline can definitely be relevant in today’s world.

As Maya’s biggest connection to her happiest memories are her time as a pilot and the people she cared about at that time, we see this today in social media sites where people can find old friends who are connected to their high school years and the feeling that they are unable to leave that part of their life, that was their happiest time. The same with the character of Maya but it is a bit more severe as she has lived her life as a woman known for her sacrifice for her country, known in her career by being a strong individual but yet that emotional connect of love is not in the present but in the past.

She is unable to understand her daughter, she is unable to understand the children at her school. She is a hero of Stalin’s Russia but in today’s Russia, she is unhappy, she is a forgotten relic of yesterday’s Russia and a film that paints the generational differences. So, she yearns to be in the cockpit. She dreams when she was in the cockpit of her airplane and flying freely as that is her passion.

And the fact that Shepitko was able to make this film not seen in Russian cinema and being part of this new generation of Russian filmmakers that would be different from her predecessors and decades later, would be seen and respected for her work.

“Wings” may not have the depth as her later film “The Ascent” but she does manage to bring out Maya’s performance. The claustrophobic interiors and tight compositions are well filmed especially the aerial sequences. Granted, some may feel these shots are a bit limited but for her earlier work and with the single camera and working on a lower budget, she was able to craft a beautiful, dramatic film.

There is no doubt that Shepitko died at a young age, a lot of potential for more films that could have been made and directed by this wonderful Russian filmmaker. But yet, she did make an impact and the fact that the Criterion Collection has recognized her films and gave her an Eclipse Series release is fantastic.

Overall, “Wings” is a very good film and a great addition to an even more fantastic film “The Ascent”, both included in “Larisa Shepitko – Eclipse Series #11″. For its price and for these two wonderful films, this set is definitely recommended!

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, THE CRITERION COLLECTION