11 / 122 The Complete (Existing) Films of Sadao Yamanaka

[rattlebag]

Okay, this ranks among my favorite films and for a long time it's been my intention to buy this. However, since I live in Finland, Amazon.co.uk isn't currently a possibility since what they're selling is actually sold by ARVOnlineSales and fulfilled by Amazon, and they don't ship internationally. (The other Marketplace seller also only delivers domestic). Do you guys know a reliable seller where I could get this at a reasonable price?

Also - this isn't going OOP, is it? Maybe it's just selling slow so that Amazon hasn't taken huge stock, but I find it strange that they're carrying it so lightly.

You don't want to buy it from them anyway as it's not a Master of Cinema edition that they are selling. Unfortunately I discovered this from personal experience.

You mean ARVOnlineSales? What a bummer - sorry to hear that you had to find it out that way. Is the edition they're selling the one that's available on eBay for a few pounds? Link: http://tinyurl.com/dxsylw6.

Cheers man. Yeah, I think it's the same one. I'm in the process of trying to get a return as it's certainly not worth the £20 I paid for it.

[AK]

Contacted Eureka! directly about this film joining their MoC Direct Offers, but received a reply that it's "at the moment" OOP and they have no copies to sell "at present". I'll update this to let you know whether more is coming or if it's gone for good - that is, if they know/let me know (or if someone knows better already they're free to let us know here).

[Peacock]

Hopefully that might mean that it's going to appear in a 3 film Yamanaka boxset...?

[zedz]

It's more likely just last in line for repressing after the fire.

[MichaelB]

Hopefully that might mean that it's going to appear in a 3 film Yamanaka boxset...?

Indeed - it's just been announced.

It's a DVD-only box, but I suspect the surviving materials simply weren't good enough for a Blu-ray.

[manicsounds]

Wonder if the existing disc will be the same PAL DVD from years ago, or if they will update it.
If they don't it would be nice if they had a limited version out which excludes "Humanity..." for people who bought it already.

[Calvin]

OK, MoC just made my year before it even started. The Yamanaka set and Bakumatsu Taiyo-den were both at the very top of my MoC (or home video in general, really) wish list. 2013 could end with no more announcements and I'd still be above the clouds. I'd be just as happy to settle for barebones releases, but here's hoping for new Tony Rayns extras on one or both of these.

Endless gratitude to MoC for making these happen.

Cannot agree more. I'm curious to see what shape the Yamanaka's are in - could they be in worse condition than the films included in Artificial Eye's Mizoguchi set, which was released on Blu-Ray regardless of the source limitations? It's a surefire bet for DVD of the Year 2013 though.

[Michael Kerpan]

I'll re-buy this (and I already have not only the MOC Humanity and Paper Balloons but also the Nikkatsu DVDs). I suspect there is no magic that would make Kochiyama Soshun blu-able (except finding a better print source), but conceivably H&PB and Pot might benefit from higher resolution transfers.

I'm curious to see what shape the Yamanaka's are in - could they be in worse condition than the films included in Artificial Eye's Mizoguchi set, which was released on Blu-Ray regardless of the source limitations? It's a surefire bet for DVD of the Year 2013 though.

I've never seen any Kochiyama Soshun material that wasn't fairly dodgy. Worse than any of the Mizoguchi that made it to Blu.

[triodelover]

The fan-subbed DVD of The Million Ryo Pot that's been available on eBay and elsewhere certainly looked presentable enough and as if it might benefit from HD treatment.

[Calvin]

There was also this comment regarding Humanity and Paper Balloons

I saw a beautiful HD broadcast of this on NHK earlier this year. The materials are there and they look good. Would absolutely love a blu-ray of this.

[swo17]

Wonder if the existing disc will be the same PAL DVD from years ago, or if they will update it.

Amazon specs say "New digital transfers of all three films."

I'm over the moon about Tange Sazen and it's great that it will be accompanied by every last millisecond of extant Yamanaka footage (including fragments from two films that have been lost). And yes, everything looks better on Blu-ray, but MoC's recent DVD-only releases have been consistently top notch. I don't doubt that these films will look marvelous upscaled (print damage notwithstanding).

Here's my brief write-up on Tange Sazen from the 1930s lists project:

Spotlight: Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (Sadao Yamanaka)

This shares a lot in common with Le million (even right down to the title--I guess a million whatevers must have been a lot of money back then), but whereas Clair's film is propelled by an elusive lottery ticket's changing hands enough to fill the runtime of a movie (my apologies if I'm being overly reductive here), Tange Sazen is more concerned with exploring what we assign worth to, how we value our time and dignity, how the things we seek are not necessarily the things that will bring us happiness, and how we can be staring right at one or the other and either not realize it or find that it is just outside our reach. But did I also mention that this is a comedy? (And a very funny one at that.) So in conclusion, see this if you value your life. (Not because I'm threatening you, but, um, because it will make your life better. Or something like that.)

[FerdinandGriffon]

Any chance of one of Tani Joji's original Tange Sazen stories making it into the booklet? I'd love to compare Tani's version of the character to Yamanaka's.

[Gregor Samsa]

Has there been any advance word or reviews of this set? There's been several pre-release reviews of the Clouzot so far, but none about this, or finalised details about the booklet/extras as far as I can tell. I'm sure its going to be great and fascinating to watch (as one of the numerous people to pre-order), but it'd be cool to know a little more.

[MichaelB]

Review copies went out much later - mine arrived late last week. And with three features to get through, it's not too surprising that reviews didn't appear instantly, although I assume we're now talking days rather than weeks.

[A man stayed-put]

I have been informed by a close source (my wife) that this and The Murderer... arrived today, so I'm guessing UK based direct-Eureka customers should be able to see for themselves sooner rather than later. I'll post some info when I get home if no one beats me to the punch before then.

[Gregor Samsa]

Review copies went out much later - mine arrived late last week. And with three features to get through, it's not too surprising that reviews didn't appear instantly, although I assume we're now talking days rather than weeks.

Oh, its totally understandable---I'd also imagine it not being released on blu meant that some sites wouldn't cover it. Was just curious.

[A man stayed-put]

Having scanned through the set and discs it's an impressive package:- Tange Sazen and Kochiyama Soshun share disc one along with an extended scene and trailer for the former, Humanity and Paper Balloons is on disc 2 along with the two fragments (introduced by Tony Rayns) and a longer Tony Rayns video piece on Yamanaka.
The booklet is longer than the one in the previous Humanity... release but this is mostly due to the print being bigger- the actual content is basically the same in its written content, although Tony Rayn's essay has been, as the booklet notes, corrected and updated and there are some nice new stills.

I'll leave the experts to comment on the picture quality, but it is apparent, even on a cursory scan through, that Humanity.. is (as expected) in better nick than the other two complete films, but they are very watchable.

Absolutely delighted to have this and I can't imagine anyone being disappointed. A big thank you to everyone at MOC.

[andyli]

So it looks like Humanity and Paper Balloons is not the same disc as before. I wonder if it's now a NTSC transfer?

[MichaelB]

So it looks like Humanity and Paper Balloons is not the same disc as before. I wonder if it's now a NTSC transfer?

The running time is 1:25:49 versus 1:22:33 for the older version - which looks pretty clinching.

[otis]

Beaver

[Gregor Samsa]

Having scanned through the set and discs it's an impressive package:- Tange Sazen and Kochiyama Soshun share disc one along with an extended scene and trailer for the former, Humanity and Paper Balloons is on disc 2 along with the two fragments (introduced by Tony Rayns) and a longer Tony Rayns video piece on Yamanaka.
The booklet is longer than the one in the previous Humanity... release but this is mostly due to the print being bigger- the actual content is basically the same in its written content, although Tony Rayn's essay has been, as the booklet notes, corrected and updated and there are some nice new stills.

I'll leave the experts to comment on the picture quality, but it is apparent, even on a cursory scan through, that Humanity.. is (as expected) in better nick than the other two complete films, but they are very watchable.

Absolutely delighted to have this and I can't imagine anyone being disappointed. A big thank you to everyone at MOC.

Sweet--sounds like they've done justice to the material.

[Tommaso]

Very fine set, of course, but am I the only one who finds the subtitles on the new "Humanity and Paper Balloons" (and by extension, on the other films as well) much more intrusive than on the old release?

[Michael Kerpan]

As beat up as Kochiyama Soshun is, it is a real joy to have a properly-subtitled release. Probably as good a release as possible of a very wonderful (long ignored) film. Thanks, MOC!