Late Spring – The Criterion Collection #331 (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Late Spring” is a fantastic film that captures the changing of Japanese family life and the clash between traditional and modern perspectives.  But it’s also a film, among many other Ozu films that shows us why Yasujiro Ozu is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.  Captivating and powerful, “Late Spring” is a magnificent portrayal of the changing Japanese family and a film that I highly recommend!

Image courtesy of ©1949 Shochiku Co., Ltd. 2012 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Late Spring – The Criterion Collection #331 (Banshun/晩春)

MOVIE RELEASE: 1949

DURATION: 108 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: B&W, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio, Monaural, Subtitles: English SDH

COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection

RELEASE DATE: April 17, 2012

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

Based on the novel “Chichi to Musume” by Kazuo Hirotsu

Screenplay by Kogo Noda, Yasujiro Ozu

Music by Senji Ito

Cinematography by Yuharu Atsuta

Edited by Yoshiyasu Hamamura

Art Direction by Tatsuo Hamada

Starring:

Chishu Ryu as Shukichi Somiya

Setsuko Hara as Noriko Somiya

Yumeji Tsukioka as Aya Kitagawa

Haruko Sugimura as Masa Taguchi

Hohi Aoki as Katsuyoshi

Jun Usami as Shuichi Hattori

Kuniko Miyake as Akiko Miwa

Masao Mishima as Jo Onodera

Yoshiko Tsubouchi as Kiku

Yoko Katsuragi as Misako

Toyo Takahashi as Shige

Jun Tanizaki as Seizo Hayashi

Ichiro Shimizu as Takigawa’s master

Youko Benisawa as Teahouse Proprietress

Manzaburo Umekawa as Shite

Nobu Nojima as Waki

One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu’s family portraits, Late Spring (Banshun) tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter. Eminent Ozu players Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara command this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan, which remains as potent today as ever—and a strong justification for its maker’s inclusion in the pantheon of cinema’s greatest directors.

Yasujiro Ozu is one of the world’s beloved directors.  Having made many films since the 1920′s up to his final film “An Autumn Afternoon” in 1962, his works have been appreciated by viewers and critics for his family comedies but also his serious family storylines such as “Early Spring”, “Early Summer, “Tokyo Story”, “Floating Weeds”, “The End of Summer” (to name a few).

The Criterion Collection has been one of the major forces in America of bringing Ozu’s films stateside and now they are giving Ozu films the high definition treatment on Blu-ray starting with his 1949 drama film “Late Spring” (known in Japan as “Banshun”).

Based on the short novel “Chichi to Musume” (Father and Daughter) by Kazuo Hirotsu and featuring a collaboration with screenwriter Kogo Noda, “Late Spring” was written and shot during the Allied Powers Occupation of Japan and undergone many changes to fit official censorship requirements.

The film would star Chishu Ryu (who would star in other Ozu films sucha s “Early Summer”, “Tokyo Story”, “An Autumn Afternoon” and the popular “Tora-san” films of the ’70s and ’80s) and Setsuko Hara (“Early Summer”, “Tokyo Story”, “Late Autumn”).

Over 60-years since “Late Spring” was shown in theaters and winning the prestigious Kinema Jumpo critic’s award for “Best Film”, “Best Director”, “Best Screenplay” and “Best Actress”, the film has resonated strongly with Ozu fans all over the world.  Many have regarded “Late Spring” as one of Ozu’s masterpiece and the film has been listed in many “Greatest Films of All Time” polls.

“Late Spring” is also a film that showcases Japanese family tradition and the importance of marriage, but also how Japan would face the issue of tradition and modern views towards marriage and also divorce.  But for Ozu fans, who have watched his silent films and have seen the development of the Japanese family and most importantly Ozu’s honest portrayal of the Japanese family and the sacrifice of the parents for their children (and vice versa).

“Late Spring” is one of those honest films featuring wonderful performances by both Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara, as the father and daughter.

The story features a widower, Professor Shukichi Somiya (played by Chishu Ryu) who has a 27-year-old unmarried daughter named Noriko (played by Setsuko Hara).  In Japan, most women are usually married by their early ’20s but because of World War II and the fact that Noriko had ailing health from the work she had to do years earlier, if anything, Professor Somiya had let Noriko live her life and be happy.

And for Noriko, taking care of the household needs and taking care of her father makes her happy.

One day, as Noriko goes to Tokyo to do some shopping, she runs into her father’s friend, Professor Jo Onodera (played by Masao Mishima), who is a widower like her father but has remarried.  For Noriko, she sees remarriage as something as a bit distasteful and even jokes by calling Professor Onodera “filthy”.  But Onodera understands Noriko and both go back to Noriko’s home, so both Professors can talk to each other.

While Professor Onodera talks to Somiya, he brings the topic of marriage up, if there are plans of Noriko getting married.  And it’s something that Somiya has never thought about, as he feels that he never really pressured her to marry.  If anything, he just wants her to be happy.

But when Somiya’s sister Masa (played by Haruko Sugimura) convinces him that it’s time that Noriko gets married, Somiya realizes that it’s probably the right thing to do.  Especially now that he is getting older, Noriko doesn’t have a job and if anything, he wants to make sure she is taken care of.  And for Noriko’s Aunt Masa, she already has a man named Satake that they can have Noriko meet and marry.

And when Aunt Masa tries to tell Noriko that it’s time for her to marry, she doesn’t want to hear anything of it.  But then she tells him that she is trying to arrange for her father to marry a young widow named Mrs. Miwa (played by Kuniko Miyake) which upsets Noriko.

When both Noriko and her father attend a Noh performance, when she sees her father greeting Mrs. Miwa, immediately Noriko becomes jealous. As she goes to visit her friend Aya (who is divorced), she is also told by her friend that it’s time for her to get married which frustrates Noriko even more than everyone is trying to push her to marriage.  As for Noriko, she’s happy the way things are…taking care of her father and being happy.

And when she confronts her father about it, he tells her that he intends to marry Mrs. Miwa and that she should get married.  For a modern woman, will Noriko choose to marry the man that she has been arranged to meet?  And can she bare the thought of her father being remarried?

VIDEO:

“Late Spring – The Criterion Collection #331” is presented in Black and White (1:33:1 aspect ratio). Having owned the 2006 Criterion Collection DVD release, first it is important for me to say that the film does have its share of scratches and film damage (nothing that prevents a viewer from enjoying the film).  While the film does have scenes with missing frames and also occasional flickering, the film does look improved over the 2006 DVD release with much better contrast with the white and grays, but also the black levels are nice and deep.

According to the Criterion Collection, this high-definition transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35mm fine-grain master positive and a 35mm theatrical print. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI’s DRS while Image System’s Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, jitter, and flicker.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Late Spring” is presented in Japanese monaural (LPCM 1.0).  Compared to the 2006 DVD release, there appears to be much more clarity when it comes to dialogue.  While there are some moments of audio distortion on certain scenes, nothing detrimental and noticeable unless you are really looking for it.

According to the Criterion Collection, the original soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the film’s optical track. Viewers may notice significant distortion inherent in the original surviving soundtrack materials. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube’s integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Late Spring – The Criterion Collection #331″ on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

• Audio Commentary - Featuring audio commentary by Richard Pena, program director of New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center.  This was the original audio commentary from the 2006 DVD release and quite informative as Pena is very familiar with Ozu’s work.
• TOKYO-GA - (92 minutes) Wim Wenders 1985 documentary and tribute to Yasujiro Ozu, the documentary features interviews with Chishu Ryu and cinematographer Yuharu Atsuta.

EXTRAS:

“Late Spring – The Criterion Collection #331″ comes with a 22-page booklet with the following essays: “Home with Ozu” by Michael Atkinson (Village Voice writer), Ozu and Setsuko Hara by Donald Richie (author of many books on Japanese cinema) and Ozu and Kogo Noda, an excerpt from Yasujiro Ozu: The Person and His Art (1964) from Ozu, translated for the original 2006 DVD release of “Late Spring”.

As a person who loves and enjoys Yasujiro Ozu films, “Late Spring” has always been a favorite because of how it confronts Japanese perspective on the traditional marriage but now with a modern perspective, different from Ozu films which relied heavily on themes of the traditional Japanese family.

From the beginning of the film, we realize that the Somiya family are different compared to other families shown in previous Ozu films.  For one, Professor Somiya had not shown great pressure towards his daughter Noriko, possibly because she does so much in taking care of him and the house but yet remains very happy.  The other reason is because Noriko had health problems during World War II and as a father, having lost a wife, the last thing he wanted was to lose his only child and I believe that was his drive for not putting too much pressure on her.  She’s happy and that’s all that mattered.

But of course, what seemed natural to Professor Somiya, the more he started to see how others viewed Noriko being single at home.  This is where the traditional Japanese culture clashes with modernism.  In “Late Spring”, we see Aunt Masa giving her brother and also Noriko the third degree about being married.  It’s her duty to be married and be a happy wife.  But for Noriko, she’s happy the ways she is.

And this is where Noriko is unlike previous Japanese wives featured in Ozu’s films.  She is absolutely beautiful, stylish (in Western wear) and is not wearing a kimono.  She has her set way of thinking, the freedom to think that way as it has gone unchallenged until now…when it comes to marriage.  And with someone who is set in her ways…what can her father do?

And thus, the storyline becomes quite intriguing when we are told that Noriko’s father may be getting remarried to another woman.  And this is enough to set the happy Noriko off.  Remarriage has always been seen indecent to her but from this point on, we see the change that takes place between both characters.  The father submitting to the classic Japanese tradition, even though he was brought up in that tradition of arranged marriage, he himself had seen how his wife reacted to it earlier on.  So, as much as he wants Noriko to find the right man that she wants to marry, the pressure from his sister and others have led him to lead Noriko in the path to marriage.

And for Noriko, we eventually see the change in her, as her father getting married leads her to realize that she may need to get married now, because with her father having a new wife, perhaps she will no longer be needed.

If anything, it’s an intriguing juxtaposition of the Japanese family in 1949.  From traditional to modern, and with the modern, we see Professor Onodera having remarried, while Noriko’s good friend Aya has gotten a divorce (which was made legal in Japan a year prior).  And most intriguing is how Ozu manages to confront these changes in Japanese culture when it comes to marriage.

Bare in mind, postwar changes were in store for Japan after World War II and the most affected were women.  The social status of women was them being subservient towards their husband and after World War II, women not only were granted the right to a divorce, they were also allowed to join the workforce.  So, we started to see more freedom for women after World War II and the importance of family started to decline.  In fact, what I enjoy about “Last Spring” is how it is a time stamp of Japanese culture and the changing of family life which Ozu would feature throughout his career through his films.  And for those familiar with Japanese culture today, from the shrinking of the Japanese population to a country with the lowest birth rate in the world, the Japanese family has changed tremendously and we witness those changes through Ozu’s films.

As “Late Spring” will be an introduction to Ozu’s work for those viewing Criterion Collection films primarily on Blu-ray, another fascination that I have towards Ozu films is his camera technique, using low angle shots and also using non-traditional cinematic methods by avoiding panning, tracking and crane shots.  It’s what separates Ozu from Kurosawa and that the reliance of Ozu to use static compositions and also his use of pillow shots used in “Late Spring” and various shots of symbolism which intrigues me each time I read various historians and critics share their own perspective of what they think those shots are all about.

And as mentioned, the efficacy of this film relies on its characters.  It’s one thing to have a talented Chishu Ryu to play the father, but it’s Setsuko Hara, who absolutely shines in this film with her energy followed by her change of emotion.  For those who watch a lot of early Japanese cinema, you don’t see actresses such as Setsuko Hara play a character and is able to captivate the audience.

Overall, “Late Spring” is a fantastic film that captures the changing of Japanese family life and the clash between traditional and modern perspectives.  But it’s also a film, among many other Ozu films that shows us why Yasujiro Ozu is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.  Captivating and powerful, “Late Spring” is a magnificent portrayal of the changing Japanese family and a film that I highly recommend!

VIZ CINEMA CONTINUES TO SPOTLIGHT ICONIC JAPANESE DIRECTORS IN JUNE WITH SCREENINGS OF CELEBRATED FILMS BY YASUJIRO OZU

Four Classic Films By Influential Director Include Tokyo Story, Early Spring, The Only Son And Record Of A Tenement Gentleman
 
San Francisco, CA, June 3, 2010 – VIZ Cinema and NEW PEOPLE continue to celebrate iconic Japanese filmmakers throughout June with the Untold Legends series and announce four films by director Yasujiro Ozu that will screen at the theatre between Saturday, June 12th and Thursday, June 17th. The series will continue with four films by director Kenji Mizoguchi set to screen Saturday, June 19th – Thursday, June 24th. 
 
Yasujiro Ozu  is one of the most influential film directors of the 20th Century and his Tokyo Story is consistently is ranked among the Top 10 films of all time.  From Jean-Luc Godard to Wim Wenders to Aki Kaurismäki, many of cinema’s most acclaimed filmmakers have been deeply influenced by Ozu. VIZ Cinema proudly presents his four masterpieces – Tokyo Story, The Only Son, Record of a Tenement Gentleman, and Early Spring – in precious 35mm with English subtitles.
 
Tickets, screening times and more details are available at: www.vizcinema.com.
 
Tokyo Story, June 12th – 14th and also June 17th
(1953, 136min, 35mm, with English Subtitles)
Tokyo Story follows an aging couple, Tomi and Sukichi, on their journey from their rural village to visit their two married children in bustling, postwar Tokyo. Their reception is disappointing. Too busy to entertain them, their children send them off to a health spa. After Tomi falls ill she and Sukichi return home, while the children, grief-stricken, hasten to be with her. From a simple tale unfolds one of the greatest of all Japanese films it depicts generational conflict in a way that is quintessentially Japanese and yet so universal that it continues to resonate as one of cinema’s greatest masterpieces.
 
The Only Son, June 13th – 14th and also June 16th
(1936, 82min, 35mm, with English Subtitles)
Yasujiro Ozu’s first talkie, the uncommonly poignant The Only Son is among the Japanese director’s greatest works. In its simple story about a good-natured mother who gives up everything to ensure her son’s education and future, Ozu touches on universal themes of sacrifice, family, love, and disappointment. Spanning many years, The Only Son is a family portrait in miniature, shot and edited with its Ozu’s customary exquisite control.
 
Record of A Tenement Gentleman, June 13th, June 15th and also June 17th
(1947, 72min, 35mm, with English Subtitles)
A man finds a lost boy in a war-torn village and brings him to his tenement. He tries to find someone to take care for him but no-one accepts the responsibility. The child eventually ends up with a sour widow Tané despite her refusal.
 
Early Spring, June 12th – 13th and June 15th – 16th
(1956, 144min, 35mm, with English Subtitles)
In his first film after the commercial and critical success of Tokyo Story, Ozu examines life in postwar Japan through the eyes of a young salaryman who, dissatisfied with career and marriage, begins an affair with a flirtatious co-worker.
 
VIZ Cinema is the nation’s only movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.
 
NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Criterion Collection July Titles – Two Ozu films on home video for the first time! BLACK NARCISSUS & THE RED SHOES BD & DVD Special Editions! THE SECRET OF THE GRAIN & new Eclipse!!!

THE ONLY SON/THERE WAS A FATHER: TWO FILMS BY YASUJIRO OZU
These rare early films from Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story, An Autumn Afternoon) are considered by many to be two of the Japanese director’s finest works, paving the way for a career among the most sensitive and significant in film history. The Only Son and There Was a Father make a graceful pair, bookending a crucial period in Japanese history. In the former, Ozu’s first sound film, made during a time of intense economic crisis, a mother sacrifices her own happiness for her son’s education; the latter, released in the midst of World War II, stars Ozu stalwart Chishu Ryu (Late Spring, Tokyo Story) as a widowed schoolteacher trying to raise a son despite financial hardship. Criterion proudly presents these nearly lost treasures for the first time on home video.

The Only Son: 1936 • 82 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Japanese with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

There Was a Father: 1942 • 87 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Japanese with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DVD SET FEATURES
• New high-definition digital transfers
• New video interviews with Japanese film scholar Tadao Sato and film scholars David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, authors of Film Art, the United States’ best-selling film studies book
• New and improved English subtitle translations
• PLUS: Booklets featuring essays by film scholar Tony Rayns and reprints of pieces by actor Chishu Ryu and scholar Donald Richie

TITLE: The Only Son/There Was a Father: Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu
CAT. NO: CC1916D
UPC: 7-15515-06081-3
ISBN: 978-1-60465-304-5
SRP: $39.95
PREBOOK: 6/15/10
STREET: 7/13/10

BLACK NARCISSUS – DVD & BD
This explosive work about the conflict between the spirit and the flesh is the epitome of the sensuous style of filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (I Know Where I’m Going!, The Red Shoes). A group of nuns—played by some of Britain’s best actresses, including Deborah Kerr (From Here to Eternity, An Affair to Remember), Flora Robson (The Rise of Catherine the Great, Wuthering Heights), and Jean Simmons (Great Expectations, Hamlet)—struggles to establish a convent in the snowcapped Himalayas; isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture page clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad. A darkly grand film that won Oscars for its set design and for its cinematography by Jack Cardiff (The Red Shoes, The African Queen), Black Narcissus is one of the greatest achievements by two of cinema’s true visionaries.

1947 • 101 minutes • Color • Monaural • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Video introduction by French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier
• Audio commentary featuring the late director Michael Powell and filmmaker Martin Scorsese
• The Audacious Adventurer, a 2006 video piece in which Tavernier discusses Black Narcissus and Powell
• Profile of “Black Narcissus” (2000), a twenty-five-minute documentary
• Painting with Light, a twenty-seven-minute documentary about Jack Cardiff’s Oscar-winning cinematography on Black Narcissus
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Kent Jones
TITLE: Black Narcissus (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC1920BD
UPC: 7-15515-06121-6
ISBN: 978-1-60465-308-3
SRP: $39.95
PREBOOK: 6/22/10
STREET: 7/20/10

TITLE: Black Narcissus (DVD EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC1919D
UPC: 7-15515-06111-7
ISBN: 978-1-60465-307-6
SRP: $39.95
PREBOOK: 6/22/10
STREET: 7/20/10

THE RED SHOES – DVD & BD
The Red Shoes, the singular fantasia from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (Black Narcissus, The Small Back Room), is cinema’s quintessential backstage drama, as well as one of the most glorious Technicolor visual feasts ever concocted for the screen. Moira Shearer (The Tales of Hoffmann, Peeping Tom) is a rising star ballerina romantically torn between an idealistic composer and a ruthless impresario intent on perfection. Featuring outstanding performances, blazingly beautiful cinematography by Jack Cardiff (Black Narcissus, The African Queen), Oscar-winning sets and music, and an unforgettable, hallucinatory central dance sequence, this beloved classic, now dazzlingly restored, stands as an enthralling tribute to the life of the artist.

1948 • 134 minutes • Color • Monaural • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and filmmaker Martin Scorsese
• Introductory restoration demonstration with Scorsese
• Profile of “The Red Shoes” (2000), a twenty-five-minute documentary
• Video interview with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, Michael Powell’s widow
• Gallery from Scorsese’s collection of The Red Shoes memorabilia
• The “Red Shoes” Sketches, an animated film made from Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards
• Readings by actor Jeremy Irons of excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes and the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Christie

TITLE: The Red Shoes (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC1906BD
UPC: 7-15515-05931-2
ISBN: 978-1-60465-288-8
SRP: $39.95
PREBOOK: 6/22/10
STREET: 7/20/10

TITLE: The Red Shoes (DVD EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC1907D
UPC: 7-15515-05941-1
ISBN: 978-1-60465-289-5
SRP: $39.95
PREBOOK: 6/22/10
STREET: 7/20/10

THE SECRET OF THE GRAIN – DVD & BD
Winner of four César awards, including best picture and director, Abdellatif Kechiche’s The Secret of the Grain is a stirring drama about the daily joys and struggles of a bustling French-Arab family. It has the texture of a documentary but a classic, almost Shakespearean structure: when patriarch Slimane acts on his wish to open a port-side restaurant specializing in his ex-wife’s fish couscous, the extended clan’s passions and problems explode in riveting drama, leading to an engrossing, suspenseful climax. With sensitivity and grit, The Secret of the Grain celebrates the role food plays in family life and gets to the core of contemporary immigrant experience.

2007 • 154 minutes • Color • Surround • In French and Arabic with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Abdellatif Kechiche, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• New video interview with Kechiche
• Sueur, Kechiche’s captivating extended version of the film’s climactic belly dancing sequence, featuring a new introduction by the director
• New video interview with film scholar Ludovic Cortade
• Excerpt from a 20 heures television interview with Kechiche and actress Hafsia Herzi
• Video interviews with Herzi, actress Bouraouïa Marzouk, and the film’s musicians
• Theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Wesley Morris

TITLE: The Secret of the Grain (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC1926BD
UPC: 7-15515-06311-1
ISBN: 978-1-60465-327-4
SRP: $39.95
PREBOOK: 6/29/10
STREET: 7/27/10

TITLE: The Secret of the Grain (DVD EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC1891D
UPC: 7-15515-05781-3
ISBN: 978-1-60465-273-4
SRP: $39.95
PREBOOK: 6/29/10
STREET: 7/27/10

ECLIPSE SERIES 22: PRESENTING SACHA GUITRY
Sacha Guitry was once a household name. Something of a Gallic counterpart to Nöel Coward, this disarming, multitalented artist served up some of 1930s French cinema’s tastiest dishes. The son of a beloved theater actor, Guitry was devoted to the footlights, first turning to the silver screen as a way of bringing his plays to a wider audience. His films were anything but stage-bound, however: often the director, writer, and star of his popular movies, Guitry brought a witty inventiveness to the cinema and deployed radical tactics with such aplomb and control that he’s considered one of the medium’s first “complete auteurs.” With these four films, American audiences can finally sample Guitry’s creative, comic confections.

FOUR-DVD BOX SET INCLUDES:

The Story of a Cheat (Le roman d’un tricheur)
Considered Sacha Guitry’s masterpiece, this fleet, witty picaresque about a gambler and petty thief is a whimsical delight. Guitry himself stars as the “tricheur” looking back fondly on a life of crime, which he narrates with an effervescence matched by his clever editing and cinematography. With its rapid storytelling and inventive use of voice-over, The Story of a Cheat’s style has influenced filmmakers from Orson Welles to François Truffaut.

1936 • 81 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

The Pearls of the Crown (Les perles de la couronne)
Sacha Guitry plays four roles—including King Francis I and Napoleon—in this multilingual whirlwind of pageantry that investigates the fate of three pearls missing from the royal crown of England. Guitry’s first script written directly for the screen rockets through four centuries of European history with imaginative, winking irreverence.

1937 • 105 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In English, French, and Italian, with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

Désiré
Sacha Guitry exchanges his usual top hat for a uniform in Désiré, in which he plays a cavalier valet embroiled in an awkward flirtation with his new employer (played by the actor-director’s real-life wife, Jacqueline Delubac), who is involved with a stuffy politician. A carefree class farce filled with memorable supporting characters, Désiré blurs the line between upstairs and downstairs.

1937 • 97 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

Quadrille
A sparkling four-way affair overflowing with dialogue that showcases writer-director Sacha Guitry’s wit, Quadrille stars Guitry as a magazine editor whose longtime girlfriend (whom he hopes to make his fiancée) is uncontrollably drawn to a handsome American movie star. Meanwhile, a discerning reporter (Jacqueline Delubac) watches from the sidelines with amusement and provides the final corner of this romantic rectangle.

1938 • 95 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

TITLE: Eclipse Series 22: Presenting Sacha Guitry
CAT. NO: ECL099
UPC: 7-15515-06321-0
ISBN: 978-1-60465-328-1
SRP: $59.95
PREBOOK: 6/29/10
STREET: 7/27/10

I Was Born, But… (part of Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies – Eclipse Series #10) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

Another fantastic family driven silent film by Yasujiro Ozu.  The 1932 film “I Was Born, But…” is an excellent film that depicts childhood bullying, family, career and relationship between parents and children.  An effective story that works well for this silent film due to its talent, acting and editing. One of the three fantastic silent films included in “Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies – Eclipse Series #10″ from The Criterion Collection. Definitely recommended!

Image courtesy of © 1932 Shochiku Co., Ltd. 2008 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: I Was Born, But… (part of Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies – Eclipse Series #10)

DURATION: 90 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, Silent with optional score, Japanese Intertitles with Optional English Subtitles, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: 2008

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

Adaptation by Akira Fushimi

Scenario by Akira Fushimi

Music by Donald Sosin

Cinematography by Hideo Shigehara

Edited by Hideo Shigahara

Art Direction by Yoshiro Kimura, Takejiro Tsunoda

Starring:

Tatsuo Saito as Chichi (father – Yoshi-san)

Mitsuko Yoshikawa as Haha (Yoshi’s Wife)

Hideo Sugawara as Ryoichi (older brother)

Tomio Aoki as Keiji (younger brother)

Takeshi Sakamoto as Juuyaku (Iwasaki, Executive)

Teruyo Hayami as Fuji (Iwasaki’s Wife)

Seiichi Kato as Kodomo (Taro)

Shoichi Kofujita as Kozou (Delivery Boy)

Seiji Nishimura as Sensei (Teacher)

Zentaro Iijima, Shotaro Fujimatsu, Masao Hayama, Michio Sato, Kuniyasu Hayashi, Akio Nomura, Teruaki Ishiwatari as The Boys in the neighborhood

One of Ozu’s most popular films, I Was Born, But . . . is a blithe portrait of the financial and psychological toils of one family, as told from the rascally point of view of a couple of stubborn little boys. For two brothers, the daily struggles of bullies and mean teachers is nothing next to the mortification they feel when they realize their good-natured father’s low-rung social status. Reworked decades later as Ozu’s Technicolor comedy Good Morning, it’s a poignant evocation of the tumult of childhood, as well as a showcase for Ozu’s expertly timed comedy editing.

Yasujiro Ozu is one of the world’s beloved directors. Having made many films since the 1920′s up to his final film “An Autumn Afternoon” in 1962, his works have been appreciated by viewers and critics for his family comedies but also his serious family storylines such as “Late Spring”, “Early Summer” and “Tokyo Story” (to name a few).

The Criterion Collection has been one of the major forces in America of bringing Ozu’s films stateside and not just the popular films, Criterion Collection has now offered a few of his silent films and late films through their Eclipse Series line with “Silent Ozu-Three Family Comedies” and “Late Ozu”.  Although not receiving the Criterion digital remastering or restoration (nor do they include special features), the fact that Ozu fans can now watch these classics with English subtitles is fantastic.  And also, the silents include an optional score by Donald Sosin (a pianist known for his work for silent film scores).

I recently started started my viewing of “Silent Ozu – Three Family Comedies” and absolutely enjoyed “Tokyo Chorus”, this time around, I watched  “I Was Born, But…” (a.k.a “Otona no miru ehon – Umarete wa mita keredo”).   The Eclipse Series #10 box set also includes two other Ozu silent films “Tokyo Chorus” from 1931 and “Passing Fancy” from 1933.

As for “I Was Born, But…”, the film was Ozu’s 24th film and the first of his six films to win a Kinema Junpo Critics Prize.  The film received a loosely made remake in Technicolor by Ozi for the 1959 film “Good Morning” and is regarded as his most popular silent film that continually received circulation since its release.

“I Was Born, But…” focuses on a family from Azabu who has moved to a new home in the Tokyo suburbs.  The Yoshi family which include the two parents – Kennosuke (played by Tatsuo Saito) and his wife (played by Mitsuko Yoshikawa), the older son Ryoichi (played by Hideo Sugawara), young son Keiji (played by Tomio Aoki) and their dog.

Life in a new neighborhood is not easy for the children as Keiji quickly learns when the neighborhood kids start picking on him.  Keiji quickly goes to his brother Ryoichi and tells him how the kids stole his toy and his bread and immediately Ryoichi goes to confront the children but he is outnumbered and the worst part is one of the neighborhood kids is taller and a little older.  And thus, Ryoichi loses the fight.

To make things worst is the kids keep showing up at their front yard taunting both Ryoichi and Keiji and now both fear of going to school as they worry about being bullied.  So, for the first week of school, they lie to their parents and pretend they are attending school while the truth is they just sit and have fun at a nearby field.  Eventually, their father finds out from their teacher that they haven’t showed up to school which angers their father.  Their father continually reminds them that if they can go to school and study hard like he did, they can make something of themselves.

As time passes, eventually things get better for the boys, especially as Ryoichi and Keiji start becoming the toughest in the neighborhood but when they start getting into the discussion of who’s father is better, both brothers don’t understand why their father does everything Taro’s father tells him.

The kids realize for the first time that Taro’s father is much more powerful in status than their father and he is an executive of the company that their father works at and his father is just an employee.

For a child’s perspective, specifically for Ryoichi and Keiji, where they have always thought their father was strong and smart because he went to school and received good grades, Ryoichi can’t bare the thought that their father has a weaker professional status than Taro’s father and is disgusted by that.  There is no way Ryoichi would allow Taro to be the boss of him and so, he can’t understand how his father would let Taro’s father be the boss of him.

“I Was Born, But…” continues Ozu’s well-known storylines of focusing on the Japanese family and in 1932, for a film that would seem complex to cover for a silent film, Ozu successfully pulls it off with good storytelling through actions and emotions and definitely is another wonderful film to be included in this Eclipse Series set.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“I Was Born, But…” is featured in 1:33:1 aspect ratio. The film is black and white and as mentioned earlier, Eclipse series are films that do not receive the CRITERION COLLECTION treatment of restoration and remastering. Thus, the scratches and slight warping of the original film are very visible. The good news is that the film, despite being nearly 80 years old is still watchable and are very enjoyable.

As for audio, this is a silent film but there is an option to have a piano score played by Donald Sosin play throughout the film.   Similar to “Tokyo Chorus”, Sosin does  a fantastic job, as the piano score actually does work with this film and fits the mood throughout the entire film.

Subtitles are in English and are shown during scenes after a dialogue and shows the Japanese intertitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series DVD’s unfortunately do not come with any special features. But with each DVD, there is a single page information (on the interior DVD cover which can be read since the DVD slim cases are clear) on the film.

When it comes to Ozu’s silent films, “I Was Born, But…” is among Yasujiro Ozu’s most popular and is the earliest Ozu print in regular circulation.  As mentioned earlier, Ozu successfully pulls of this film that could be seen as complex but with good pacing, storytelling and acting, are we convinced of the relationships between brothers and family as well as the fear the kids have towards the bullying neighborhood kids.  And even nearly 80 years later, this storyline continues to be prevalent today as many families are no different today than how the Yoshi family are in this film.

The film was loosely remade in 1959 for Ozu’s “Good Morning” but as their are similarities, both films are quite different from each other.  In “I Was Born, But…”, the children are quick to confront their father about his career situation and what makes it so stingily hurt is that the father knows that the children are right.  Even if you give your all in school, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a high level executive and there is this strong connection with the children in this film (especially since television or major technology is not in the forefront of the film).  Whereas in “Good Morning”, the two sons confront their father that other kids own a television set except them and the kids go on a hunger strike to get their parents to recognize their anger.  There is still a family connection but you notice that in “Good Morning”, technology has started to seep into the family culture and you see the children more drawn towards the television set away from their family.   So, both films do have its similarities but also their differences especially of suburban Japan within that 27-year time span.

But what is most interesting is that for Ozu cinema fans, we know how he takes the concept of family especially between parent and children so seriously during the 1950′s and later, so to see something that happened decades earlier in silent form and see where it first started, for fans is quite a treat.  Where in his later films, the dialogue is quite important to feel the pain between parents and children, even in these silent films, surprisingly the viewer can feel the sting through the children’s harsh words to their father.

This is the second of the three silent films that I have watched in this set thus far and both “I Was Born, But…” and “Tokyo Chorus” have been nothing but excellent.  If you are a Yasujiro Ozu fan or curious about Japanese silent films, “Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies – Eclipse Series #10″ is an excellent set worth owning!

Tokyo Chorus (part of Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies – Eclipse Series #10) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

A silent Yasujiro Ozu film from 1931 that is relevant today as it was then.  An educated father who is unemployed, trying to make ends meet and provide for his family.  One of the fantastic silent films included in “Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies – Eclipse Series #10″ from The Criterion Collection.  Definitely recommended!

Image courtesy of © 1931 Shochiku Co., Ltd.  2008 The Criterion Collection. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Tokyo Chorus (Part of Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies – Eclipse Series #10)

DURATION: 90 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, Silent with optional score, Japanese Intertitles with Optional English Subtitles, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio

COMPANY: The Criterion Collection

RELEASED: 2008

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

Adaptation and Story by Komatsu Kitamura and Kogo Noda

Screenplay by Kogo Noda

Cinematography by Hideo Shigehara

Edited by Hideo Shigehara

Set Decoration by Minzo Kakuta, Tsunetaro Kawasaki, Beijiro Tanaka, Yonekazu Wakita

Costume Design by Kurenai Saitou

Makeup Department: Iyono Kikuchi

Starring:

Tokihiko Okada as Shinji Okajima

Emiko Yagumo as Tsuma Sugako (wife)

Hideo Sugawara as Sono Chounana (son)

Hideko Takamine  as Sono Choujo (daughter)

Tatsuo Saito – Omura Sensei

Choko Iida – Sensei no Tusma (Mrs. Omura)

Takeshi Sakamoto – Rou-Shain Yamada (old employee)

Reiko Tani – Shachou (boss)

Combining three prevalent genres of the day—the student comedy, the salaryman film, and the domestic drama—Ozu created this warmhearted family comedy, and demonstrated that he was truly coming into his own as a cinema craftsman. The setup is simple: Low wage–earning dad Okajima is depending on his bonus, and so are his wife and children, yet payday doesn’t exactly go as planned. Exquisite and economical, Ozu’s film alternates between brilliantly mounted comic sequences and heartrending working-class realities.

Yasujiro Ozu is one of the world’s beloved directors.  Having made many films since the 1920′s up to his final film “An Autumn Afternoon” in 1962, his works have been appreciated by viewers and critics for his family comedies but also his serious family storylines such as “Late Spring”, “Early Summer” and “Tokyo Story” (to name a few).

The Criterion Collection has been one of the major forces in America of bringing Ozu’s films stateside and not just the popular films, Criterion Collection has now offered a few of his silent films and late films through their Eclipse Series line with “Silent Ozu-Three Family Comedies” and “Late Ozu”.  Although not receiving the Criterion digital remastering or restoration (nor do they include special features), the fact that Ozu fans can now watch these classics with English subtitles is fantastic.

I recently started started my viewing of “Silent Ozu – Three Family Comedies”, starting with “Tokyo Chorus” (Tokyo no Korasu) which was released in 1931.  The box set also includes two other films “I was Born, But” (Umarete wa mita keredo) from 1932 and “Passing Fancy” (Dekigokoro) from 1933.

As for “Tokyo Chorus”, Ozu’s 22nd film is considered to be a turning point in the career of Yasujiro Ozu as the film would feature his mature style.

“Tokyo Chorus” is a comedy/drama black and white silent film about Shinji Okajima (played by Tokihiko Okada).  The film kicks off with Shinji as a teenager, and we get to see how he was a rebellious teen when it came to his relation with his teacher, Omura sensei (played by Tatsuo Saito).

And then we are taken to his present family life in which he has a loving wife Sugako (played by Emiko Yaguma) and three children which includes his son (Hideko Sugawara), his daughter Miyoko (Hideko Takamine)  and a baby. His son has wanted a bike but his parents have not bought him one (Shinji is not exactly making much money at his insurance sales job).  But with his father’s bonus coming up, Sugako tells her son that possibly Shinji can finally buy his son a bike and Shinji promises that he will.

While at work, everyone is getting their bonus (and trying to snoop and find out how much everyone else has made) but Shinji finds out that one of the employees (played by Isamu Yamaguchi) is being fired because of his age (and that the people he’s sold life insurance to have died not long after he sold it to them).  Shinji is upset that the man is getting fired and decides to argue the situation with the company president (played by Reiko Tani) and because of that, Shinji ends up being the one getting fired.

On the day that Shinji’s son has bragged to his friends that he is getting a bike, his father shows up with a scooter instead.  Upset with his father for breaking his promise, his son sulks and starts acting bad in which his father disciplines him with multiple spankings.

When Sugako arrives, she is shocked that her son is crying but more shocked that Shinji is now unemployed.  But Shinji, a man of honor decides to buy his son a bike as he had promised but then we see time passing by and Shinji, an educated man being too overqualified for jobs and is unable to find work.

We see the Okajima family struggling but then complications hit the family when one of the children is very ill.  With no money, what will Shinji do in order to make sure his child gets proper medical care?  And will he be able to find a paying job before its too late?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Tokyo Chorus” is featured in 1:33:1 aspect ratio.  The film is black and white and as mentioned earlier, Eclipse series are films that do not receive the CRITERION COLLECTION restoration and remastering.  Thus, the scratches and slight warping of the original film are very visible.  The good news is that the film, despite being nearly 80 years old is still watchable and very enjoyable.

As for audio, this is a silent film but there is an option to have a piano score played by Donald Sosin play throughout the film.  And the piano score actually does work and fits the mood of the entire film.  But I do wonder how the original musical score for the film was but not sure if a live orchestra was played during the theatrical screening of the film.

Subtitles are in English and are shown during scenes after a dialogue and shows the Japanese intertitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Eclipse Series DVD’s unfortunately do not come with any special features.  But with each DVD, there is a single page information (on the interior DVD cover which can be read since the DVD slim cases are clear) on the film.

“Tokyo Chorus” is my first classic Japanese silent film and the fact that it was directed by Yasujiro Ozu made me want to purchase the “Silent Ozu – Three Family Comedies” box set.  And as expected, even for a silent film, Ozu is able to capture the Japanese family life including the quirks.  For example, in one scene, his son who tends to fight with his sister is seen hitting her in the head and she starts crying.  Or another scene in which the son tries to climb a clothes shelf and when Shinji comes to pull him off, his records fall down and break.

Because these films were silent, it was so important to communicate visually with the audience and with the son’s antics and his wife’s facial expressions, you don’t need any dialogue to understand what is going on in the film.   The way the characters are shot, the emotions they bring to the camera and just the overall pacing of the film is done wonderfully.

Kids are behaving like kids and the parents, played by Tokihiko Okada and Emiko Yaguma do a great job communicating their happiness, sadness and frustrations.

Overall, a wonderful film that is part of the “Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies – Eclipse Series #10″.  I definitely look forward to watching the next two silent films in the collection.  If you are a big fan of Yasujiro Ozu’s work and have wanted to see his silent work, definitely give this box set a try!

Good Morning – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #84 (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

“Good Morning” is an entertaining and hilarious Japanese film that is so different from director Yasujiro Ozu’s previous and later works. But I also look at the significance of the film of when it was filmed and the Japanese lifestyle that is showcased and how Western culture started to permeate in Japan in the late 50′s which is what I found so fascinating.    Definitely a film worth recommending.

Image courtesy of © 2000 THE CRITERION COLLECTION. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Good Morning – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #84 (aka “Ohayo”)

DURATION: 93 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Monoraul, Dolby Digital Mono, 1:33: Aspect Ratio, 1953, Color

COMPANY: THE CRITERION COLLECTION

RELEASED: August 15, 2000

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

Screenplay by Kogo Noda and Yasujiro Ozu

Music by Toshiro Mayuzumi

Cinematography by Yuuharu Atsuta

Edited by Yoshiyasu Hamamura

Production Design by Tatsuo Hamada

Starring:

Koji Shitara as Minoru

Masahiko Shimazu as Isamu

Keiji Sada as Heichiro Fukui

Yoshiko Kuga as Setsuko Arita

Chishu Ryu as Keitaro Hayashi

Kuniko Miyake as Tamiko

Haruko Sugimura as Kikue Haraguchi

Kyouko Izmi as Midori Maruyama

Toyo Takahashi as Shige Okubo

Sadako Sawamura as Kayoko Fukui

Eijiro Tono as tomizawa

Teruko Nagaoka as Mrs. Tomizawa

Eiko Miyoshi as Grandma Haraguchi

Haruo Tanaka as Haraguchi

Akira Oizumi as Akira Maruyama

Ozu’s hilarious Technicolor re-working of his silent I Was Born, But…, Good Morning (Ohayo) is the story of two young boys in suburban Tokyo who take a vow of silence after their parents refuse to buy them a television set.  Shot from the perspective of the petulant brothers, Good Morning is an enchantingly satirical portrait of family life that gives rise to gags about romance, gossip and consumerism of modern Japan.

Recently, I have had this urge to watch a Yasujiro Ozu film which I have never seen before.  THE CRITERION COLLECTION has been very devoted to the popular director from Japan with several releases of his films in the United States and one film that I have always wanted to watch and have never gotten to was “Ohayo” aka in the US as “Good Morning”.

Many of Ozu’s films typically feature aging and in many cases elderly father’s who fear that they are wasting their daughters lives because the daughters are dedicated to family and taking care of the parents that they have not had a chance to experience life and love for themselves.

But I heard that his 1959 film “Good Morning” was among Ozu’s most lighthearted, hilarious films about a Japanese family but very different from his previous works.  And dare I say, it was probably one of the first films to use flatulence as a gag throughout the film.  So, needless to say that nearly a decade after its release on DVD, I had to hunt this DVD down.

“Good Morning” takes place in the suburban Tokyo where homes live in close proximity to each other.  Some homes that capture that original Japanese traditional style of home but also combines it with a Western American style of home with the white picket fence all around.

The first half of the film features a group of young students and adults who live in a neighborhood of suburban Tokyo.  The kids enjoy a joke of pressing on each other’s forehead which they then fart.  The kids are supposedly eating pumice stone (or the powder of it) which enables them to be gassy but one of the kids, unfortunately is unable to producer a fart and somewhat ends up sharding in his pants.

But what the kids enjoy the most which is watching television.  A lot of them hang out with this Bohemian neighbors who are seen wearing their pajamas all day or singing scat while walking through the neighborhood.  But of course, the mothers of the children are not too thrilled that the kids are bypassing their studies to watch television.

Director Ozu then focuses on the adults in the film.  How the wives practice gossip and how Mrs. Haraguchi, the leader of the women’s club who receives the club dues from the other housewives said that she has never received payment and now the other housewives wonder what happened to the money.  When Mrs. Haraguchi of the group (who denies receiving the payment), she becomes the talk of the neighborhood as the family has bought a new washing machine, the other women wonder if their money was used for that purchas.

For Mrs. Hayashi, the treasurer of the club, she confronts Mrs. Haraguchi telling her that she gave the money to her mother.  So, as the film focuses on the gossip that happens among the housewives, we then see a variety of things in Japan such as the occasional door-to-door business people trying to sell products such as rubber bands, pencils, toothbrushes, etc.  (note: The business people and occasional neighbors do not knock on the doors and end up opening the doors of their neighbors and sitting in their entry way)  But we start to see how these salespeople are a nuisance to home owners at that time.

As for the husbands in the film, they talk about retirement and as part of Japanese culture today, as it was back then, heading to the bar and going out for a drink before heading home.

But the film then starts to zero in on the Hayashi family.  The Hayashi children: Minoru and his younger brother Isamu (the main protagonist children in the film) are bored at home and dislike how their parents tell them to avoid going to the neighbors and not watch television (mainly because they think the housewife is a cabaret singer).  This starts to anger Minoru as he doesn’t understand why his family can’t just buy one.  An argument takes place and when Minoru pushes his parents buttons, their father who is angered, tells them to be quiet and not say any more words.

So, in a protest to his family not buying a television, Minoru and his brother do just what their father has said… not to say anymore words and literally not talk anymore.  This sets off a chain of events where the kids inability to talk or say hello to the housewives early in the morning starts to make them think that Mrs. Hayashi is angry at the housewives and have told their children not to talk to them.  Meanwhile, the children who were active in school are no longer saying a word and causing their teachers and their tutors distress and making them wonder why the kids are no longer talking.

Will Minoru and Isamu’s silence work in their favor and lead to the family buying a television?  Or will their silence continue to be come problematic?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Good Morning” is a film presented in its original aspect ration of 1:33:1 and features a newer digital transfer created from a 35mm low-contrast composite print.  This was one of the six films in which director Yasujiro Ozu used color and for the most part, I found “Good Morning” to be wonderful in the fact that we are seeing a time capsule of Japanese culture as it is becoming westernized.  It has been over a decade since World War II but to see how American culture has permeated into suburban Tokyo with the white picket fences, children learning English classes, people making money through translations, a more westernized home versus the Japanese traditional home.  These things were captured in this 1959 film.

As for picture quality, the film is not exactly pristine as you will see dust and film warping throughout the film but it’s not so bad where the film is unwatchable.  THE CRITERION COLLECTION used a newer digital transfer but it would be interesting to see if they ever re-release this film via Blu-ray, if new technology would be able to remove the dust and scratches.

Audio is in Dolby Digital Mono and I chose to watch the film with my receiver set at “stereo on all channels” in order to hear the audio from all around me via my 7.2 setup versus it being center channel driven.  But overall, dialogue is clear.

Subtitles are in English and features nice and thick white subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Good Morning” features no special features but a “color bar” test.  There is a four-page booklet featuring Rick Prellinger (an archivist and filmmaker) who writes about this film and director Yasujiro Ozu.

After watching the film, I can understand why this film was enjoyable but also how the film is almost a time capsule of a time in Japan who where American/Western culture was starting to permeate into Japanese culture.  This is important to note because for the most part, one of the reasons why Ozu’s films rarely made it into the United States because many distributors looked at his films as being “too Japanese”.  And I can only have wished there were some sort of recordings back then, because I would have loved to hear or read an interview in regards to Ozu’s thoughts in the making of this film.

It was also good to see that Ozu style of filmmaking in which he doesn’t use the 180 degree rule and used over-the-shoulder dialogue scenes.  So, the shots used in the film feature the actors and actresses talking directly to you on screen.  My young son who joined me for a short while even asked me during the film “Dad, why does it look like the people are talking to me?”.  That’s a characteristic of Ozu’s style of filmmaking.

“Good Morning” was a very fun film that is simple and captures human behavior.  Minoru makes the biggest point in the film where he criticizes adults for meaningless conversations.  Where conversations are either good morning, good afternoon, the weather is nice today and the conversations have no substance.   That was a smart thing for the child to say because we see that emptiness in the conversations of the adults.

I also found it so interesting to see the simplicity of life before television and we are seeing that moment of time before households owned a TV and the children being so enamored by it.

Minoru and Isamu are just adorable children to watch and its just the certain behaviors, especially from little Isamu that is so natural as he walks around the hallway making punching movements or jumping.  Things that kids do but you just never see in a film.  I thought those little details in life was fun to see in this film.   And as for the children… sure, there are a good number of fart jokes in the film (which is actually not as bad as it reads in my review because its not meant to be disgusting especially compared to how flatulence sounds in today’s modern films).

As for a release from THE CRITERION COLLECTION, as mentioned earlier, the company has released a good number of Ozu films throughout the years but for this release, the only thing that I wish it had was any kind of special feature.  May it be Ozu interviews, audio interviews or even a commentary from a film scholar who is familiar with Ozu’s work.  Even the original Japanese theatrical trailer.  Anything is better than nothing.  But that is the only downer but overall, this film is still worth watching.

Overall, “Good Morning” is an entertaining and hilarious Japanese film that is so different from Ozu’s previous and later works. But I also look at the significance of the film of when it was filmed and the Japanese lifestyle that is showcased and how Western culture started to permeate in Japan in the late 50′s which is what I found so fascinating.    Definitely a film worth recommending.