Eclipse Series 3: Late Ozu

[Michael Kerpan]

There is only a limited amount of background material available about Ozu. All the worthwhile material from the Shochiku sets (from Japan) has already been used up. At a certain point, commentaries for Ozu films become irrelevant.

Making these films available in the US, presumably with good subtitles, is a great boon. The Panorama DVDs (with a few exceptions) are adequate -- but these are mostly R3 releases. The Tartan DVDs are likewise not useful for most potential US buyers. We may consider multi-region DVD players an essential -- but most Americans are not aware of the world beyond R1.

These are all wonderful films. For anyone who argues that Ozu was a paternalistic conservative (and there are plenty of writers who still claim this), I present ""Tokyo Twilight" and "End of Summer" as evidence that clearly shows the contrary. It is hard to imagine more negative portrayals of patriarchy on a domestic level. In the former, usually lovable Chishu Ryu is pathetically ineffective, yet (covertly) massively selfish. In the latter, Ganjiro Nakamura is a likable enough rogue, but is nonetheless a blight on the future of the rest of the family (especially of its unmarried women folk -- who he wishes to marry off to suit his own interests). Similarly, "Equinox Flower", while more genial in tone, is yet another "Father does NOT know best" story (this time with the rather peppery Shin Saburi as the father in question). In "Late Autumn", the father of the central family is dead -- but his old buddies wreak havoc on the lives of both mother and daughter -- until the daughter's best friend (Mariko Okada) hilariously shows them up.

"Early Spring" pre-dates Ozu's pre-occupation with lashing patriarchy (first in a serious vein in Tokyo Twilight -- and when this flopped with his audience -- in a comic one). Yet, like "Tokyo Twilight", one senses considerable aggravation and anger simmering under the surface (his young colleagues -- believing in more overt expressions of dissatisfaction -- totally missed this aspect of these two Ozu films). Here, the target is the general social and economic milieu of post-war Japan (including the devaluation of family life in the drive for corporate success).

[Max von Mayerling]

Actually cgray is right. This is what Criterion wrote in the December 14th entry on their blog:

"There will be no supplements and the master materials will be the best we can find, but they won't be full Criterion restorations."

cgray said "Eclipse is also a venue where Criterion can't find prints/can't remaster a film to bring it up to the Criterion level." According to Micheal Kerpan's earlier post, there are fine prints of Equinox Flower and Late Autumn, so "lack of good source material is not a reason for these to be released on Eclipse." And I think a print would have to be pretty terrible for it to be a situation where Criterion "can't remaster a film to bring it up to the Criterion level." It's not that they can't - it's that they are choosing not to under the Eclipse business model, part of the purpose of which is to put out more films at a lower price point. Your quote is consistent with this - they are not saying that Eclipse is meant to address situations where they can't find good source materials or can't restore a film - they are saying that they won't do full restorations under Eclipse, presumably in order to minimize costs and reduce production time.

[Michael Kerpan]

And I think a print would have to be pretty terrible for it to be a situation where Criterion "can't remaster a film to bring it up to the Criterion level." .

As important as Ozu is to Shochiku (and Japan), no effort was made to do M-quality restoration of ANY Ozu film (except an experimental effort by University of Tokyo -- which was not used by Shochiku -- and still may not be finished).

Many early films appear to have only a single vintage source -- and in many cases, these have experienced major deterioration. It is ridiculous to expect Criterion to bear the sole financial burden of restoring these films to an extent greater than Shochiku did.

If you want to see some very important early Ozu, you will simply have to accept the fact that some of these are going to be pretty dilapidated.

I think that, if you want Ozu study guides, you will have to depend on devoted fans to offer them. In any event, Ozu's work is pretty clear -- I really don't think people should need that much help to understand and enjoy it.

[Max von Mayerling]

Just to be clear - I'm not complaining about Eclipse in general or this release in particular - I'm totally thrilled about the box (and Eclipse in general). My point was only to clarify my understanding of the Eclipse mission & how it relates to this box in particular. Personally, this suits me fine because I'd rather have good, cheaper Eclipse transfers now than wait 10 years for all this to be released on Criterion. Hopefully, as others have noted, they'll nail down the colors in this set.

[Forgotten Goldfish]

EQUINOX FLOWER RECITATION & SONG

(This recitation is based on a farewell poem
by the patriot Masatsura Kusunoki)

The precepts of my father remain deep in my memory
The edict of the Emperor I will follow faithfully

(This is quite a long poem so drink while you listen)

Ten years of patience
Now the great day is here
Strike a mighty blow!
Fill the enemy with fear!
For the Emperor's cause we fight once again
We vow to do battle and die as men
Our band of 143 warriors united as one
Determined we are to fight until we have won
In death heroes gain an eternal flame
Cowards suffer everlasting shame
With arrowheads we shall rewrite or history
With sword-blades we shall carve our destiny
Look to the north!
We are outnumbered by the enemy
Seek out the general, deal him a death-blow

(That's about enough… …That was inspiring. I agree)

In Sakurai the trees are in leaf
Twilight is the time of sorrow and grief
The warrior ponders: what is the world coming to?
Glistening on his armour, teardrops or the dew?

The above translation is by Donald Ritchie (he deserves the credit; he obviously put a lot of work into it!). A form of it was on the old New Yorker VHS tape, so it's quite likely to be adapted for the forthcoming Eclipse release. Tartan owners might like to print it out and keep it inside their DVD booklet.

The forms of Ritchie's translation that I've seen read "gain eternal fame" rather than "gain an eternal flame" (which is less idiomatic English) and "outnumbered by the foe" (to rhyme with "death-blow") rather than "outnumbered by the enemy".

That leaves the Early Spring as the 'big' film of the set. I did a quick search on DVD-Basen and it only came up with a
Region 3 Panorama disc, reviewed by DVD Beaver, so making this film available should make the set important (it will also be one of the best ways to see, if DVD Beaver review the set, how an un-touched-up Eclipse release compares to the Panorama disc, or whether they will be of similar quality)

A very creditable English-subtitled Early Spring is available from Raro Video, but that release won't be attractive to most readers of this forum, because it's immured in a 2-DVD set with Tokyo Story and is rather expensive.

Panorama's Early Spring was one of their very first Ozu releases and made the mistake of trying to fit a quart into a pint pot (ie. an over-2-hour film onto a DVD5). Panorama rapidly learnt their lesson and haven't made the same mistake again. Whatever the state of the Eclipse transfer, it won't make that particular mistake and therefore should be superior to Panorama in that respect at least.

All this doesn't mean that the Eclipse set can be bought without hesitation. Surprisingly, Criterion's track record with Ozu hasn't been particularly good: wrong colors in Good Morning, too dark in Tokyo Story. I've also heard criticisms of their subtitle translations (which apparently underwent heavy editing after they left the translators' hands). Let's hope they can avoid such mistakes this time.

[Scharphedin2]

A very creditable English-subtitled Early Spring is available from Raro Video, but that release won't be attractive to most readers of this forum, because it's immured in a 2-DVD set with Tokyo Story and is rather expensive.

I realize that it is heretical even to carry on this conversation in the thread, however, strictly in the interest of science, how would you judge the quality of Tokyo Story in the Raro set?

[sevenarts]

A very creditable English-subtitled Early Spring is available from Raro Video, but that release won't be attractive to most readers of this forum, because it's immured in a 2-DVD set with Tokyo Story and is rather expensive.

Do you actually have the Raro 2-disc set? The Raro website seems to indicate only Italian subs on that one...

I too would be very interested to know about the quality of their Tokyo Story if that set is indeed English-subbed.

[Scharphedin2]

The Raro disc has English subtitles according to this review; a shame that Raro does not always bother to list it, when their releases have subs. Surely, I would have purchased this a while back, had I known.

[MichaelB]

This is what that review said about the picture:

Un discreto lavoro di recupero riesce a compensare in parte la cattiva qualità della pellicola originale. Ogni tanto riappaiono graffi nella pellicola e discontinuità nella resa del bianco e nero, oltre a qualche imperfezione digitale. Sia la versione italiana che quella americana del dvd di "Tokyo Monogatari" soffrono la pessima copia originale. Quella americana ha meno imperfezioni, ma entrambe hanno un bianco e nero senza una gamma di grigi ottimale, con un contrasto che brucia qui e là dei dettagli.

...and here's my rough translation (VERY rough - if anyone wants to quibble, please feel free!):

A low-key restoration job compensates in part for the poor quality of the original materials. There are a lot of scratches in the film and discontinuities in the black-and-white performance, beyond some digital imperfections. It is the Italian version of 'Tokyo Story' that has a worse original copy over the American DVD. The American DVD has fewer imperfections, but both have a black-and-white image without an optimal range of greys, with occasional details burned out.

[peerpee]

At the time of Criterion's TOKYO STORY release, I asked the disc's producer a few questions.

[sevenarts]

I just watched Tokyo Twilight, the last film I still needed to see from the Tartan box. I don't know if I could say I "enjoyed" such a deeply depressing and melancholic film, but it's utterly masterful. Ozu very tightly controls the pacing and the emotional tenor here, keeping everything tremendously restrained in both respects. The tension is so slow-boiling that at times it's barely even visible -- but the constant low-level suffering seems ready to positively rip the characters apart. The storyline, in other hands, could very easily tip over into melodrama and grandiose emotional expression, but Ozu's hand on this material is remarkably light. For the entire first half of the film, the drama is barely even noticeable; it just simmers away in the background, quietly eating away at the characters. And even when things begin to come out in the open a bit more, it's hardly the explosion that seemed so imminent. Things just quietly get worse and worse, and nobody is able to communicate or really help each other -- a theme that's also apparent, though much more humorously treated, in both Good Morning and Equinox Flower. This film is Ozu delivering his message -- a fierce yet totally subtle denouncement of Japanese patriarchy and familial coldness -- without any sugar-coating, and it's appropriately devastating.

He also has a real awareness of the pressures of society, as seen most forcefully in the scene in the mahjong parlor where Akiko's friends discuss her situation. Ozu has perfectly captured the double-edged morality wherein young women are encouraged into sexual relationships by eager young men, and then condemned and mocked for their supposed failures of propriety. It's a truly chilling scene.

Definitely an amazing film. The Tartan transfer isn't as good as the two color films in that box, it's a bit dark and gray, and I suspect Criterion will be getting the same elements so it'll probably look pretty similar in the Eclipse box. It's a good print and transfer otherwise though, and probably the best the film will ever look.

[Michael Kerpan]

At the time of Criterion's TOKYO STORY release, I asked the disc's producer a few questions.

According to the executives at Shochiku, they did NOT make any use of the University of Tokyo's restoration work. Since I met them at a social event, it didn't seem polite to press them too hard as to why not. ;~}

If one can adjust the contrast level of one's television, one can rehabilitate the Criterion "Tokyo Story" to a considerable extent -- by setting the contrast level to about half of the level one uses normally. Unfortunately, this trick doesn't work for "Late Spring". In both instances, the Criterion releases are noticeably inferior to the Shochiku ones in terms of visual quality. Unfortunately, the Shochiku releases have only Japanese subtitles (which actually echo the published scripts rather than the dialog actually spoken -- in the rare instances the two diverge).

I just watched Tokyo Twilight, the last film I still needed to see from the Tartan box. I don't know if I could say I "enjoyed" such a deeply depressing and melancholic film, but it's utterly masterful. {snip}

Great comments.

"Enjoy" does not really properly reflect the nature of my admiration and appreciation of this film either.

I don't believe melancholic is the word I'd use for this, however -- this is far too bitter and savage.

[denti alligator]

If one can adjust the contrast level of one's television, one can rehabilitate the Criterion "Tokyo Story" to a considerable extent -- by setting the contrast level to about half of the level one uses normally. Unfortunately, this trick doesn't work for "Late Spring". In both instances, the Criterion releases are noticeably inferior to the Shochiku ones in terms of visual quality. Unfortunately, the Shochiku releases have only Japanese subtitles (which actually echo the published scripts rather than the dialog actually spoken -- in the rare instances the two diverge).

Can you post some caps to show the differences between these editions?

[Michael Kerpan]

I can try -- but I'm basing my remarks on watching this on TV -- and Criterion's TS is one of the only DVDs I've ever needed to turn the contrast way way down for.

[rlendog]

I'm going to optimistically take this as confirmation that An Autumn Afternoon is still coming from Criterion's main line.

I certainly hope so. The only one of the films in the box I have seen is Early Spring, which I like though not as much as the likes of Tokyo Story, Early Summer or Late Spring. So I am very much looking forward to this box. But Autumn Afternoon is the late Ozu movie I want the most.

[Forgotten Goldfish]

...how would you judge the quality of Tokyo Story in the Raro set?

Do you actually have the Raro 2-disc set?.. I too would be very interested to know about the quality of their Tokyo Story if that set is indeed English-subbed.

Yes, I have the Raro set (and the Criterion and the Tartan), so I could theoretically do a 3-way comparison, but alas, the Raro is out on loan at the moment (people always seem to want to borrow that one... I'm probably the only person in the world who was fool enough to buy it!).

From memory, my impression is that there are swings and roundabouts with all three Tokyo Story releases; each has some imperfections that the other two don't. I wouldn't doubt that the Japanese Shochiku DVD release (which I don't own) would be decidedly superior to all three. My overall impression that, if you can live with the quality offered by the various Tartan boxes, you'd also find the Raro set acceptable. If you can't abide Tartan, you should probably avoid Raro also.

Raro's transfer of Early Spring is about similar quality, ie. vastly superior to Panorama's but not outstanding. I don't know whether outstanding results are possible with this film; as with Tokyo Story, it's obvious that the restorers weren't able to work with very good source materials.

Both films in the Raro box have pretty accurate English subtitles. This surprises me, because I strongly suspect they were translated not directly from the original Japanese but from Raro's Italian subtitles. Remarkable results under the circumstances. Nevertheless, I'd cautiously agree with the general consensus that the Tartan boxes (except for the gaffe in Equinox Flower) offer, on the whole, the best English subtitling to date -- both in terms of reproducing the sense of the original Japanese, and also (a much less tangible thing, but equally vital) in terms of reproducing the characterization conveyed by the original Japanese.

[montgomery]

I am honestly shocked by all the negative and lukewarm responses about this set. I can't believe anybody would think anything other than "Holy fucking shit, this is awesome," or at least, "God Bless Eclipse." The number of US Ozu DVD releases just shot from 6 up to 11. I don't know what there is to complain about.

Special features are nice and all, but we've got them on the other Ozu releases. I'm honestly more thrilled about the Eclipse line than I am about Criterion. I've seen extremely watchable, often very clean prints of all the films in the set (and the Bergman set), so no reason to assume that the prints will be a problem--the quality will probably surpass most of the Criterion LD's. But people have grown intolerant of any kind of film scratches (or even grain!)

As for the comment that if Rohmer, Cassavetes and Fassbinder get their own box sets on Criterion, why would Ozu be relegated to Eclipse: huh? Criterion has put out more Ozu films than Fassbinder and Cassavates (or the same as Cassavetes, if you count the alt. cut of Bookie), and the same as Rohmer (more, if we count only features). So they're not in a box set, big deal--probably because Criterion has exhausted most of its supplemental material on Ozu on other releases. We can assume that any one of those directors wil be getting an Eclipse box at some point in the future.

[arsonfilms]

In line with Mongomery's thoughts, I wish that Eclipse wasn't perceived to be the ugly stepchild of Criterion. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that anyone is complaining about the quality (or sheer volume) of the films being put out on the new line, but it troubles me that a handful of people seem to have gotten their feelings hurt when these films were chosen for Eclipse and not Criterion. I'd venture to guess that the major difference will simply be that the Eclipse titles will be licensed transfers rather than the in-house jobs, and that the titles won't be "major" enough to warrent the expense of releasing and advertising a $30 release on their own. Would I buy any of these films on their own for even the $20 discounted price tag? Not a chance, and I'll bet there are a lot of other people like me who wouldn't either, but who would consider an inexpensive box like this more for the sum of its contents than for any given work in particular.

[Titus]

Well, I'm personally a little disappointed just because I would prefer a set of Ozu's more neglected early works. Out of the five films in this set, three have been released in good transfers by Tartan, and The End of Summer was put out by Artificial Eye (albeit with reportedly botched colors). The only one without a reasonable English-subbed release is Early Spring. Without the restorations/supplements of full-blown Criterion editions, it could prove hard to justify picking the set up if one already has the previous releases (it'd be much easier if the titles were sold individually).

This isn't to say that this set shouldn't be released, as none of the titles are available in Region 1-land. But I can applaud the release while still maintaining a personal grievance with it.

[indiannamednobody]

Holy fucking shit, this is awesome!

[sevenarts]

Well, I'm personally a little disappointed just because I would prefer a set of Ozu's more neglected early works. Out of the five films in this set, three have been released in good transfers by Tartan, and The End of Summer was put out by Artificial Eye (albeit with reportedly botched colors). The only one without a reasonable English-subbed release is Early Spring. Without the restorations/supplements of full-blown Criterion editions, it could prove hard to justify picking the set up if one already has the previous releases (it'd be much easier if the titles were sold individually).

This is my main, albeit mild, gripe. If Criterion does manage to get the colors right on the color films (it'd be about time!), this might be a better route to go than R2, otherwise I would've much rather have seen them put out an Early Ozu box of stuff that hasn't seen the light of day except from Panorama. And the Tartan Vol. 3 box (with 2 of these films overlapping) will still be attractive for Ozu fans b/c of Criterion's awful Good Morning.

Otherwise, I don't get people complaining that these are Eclipse rather than Criterion. They're coming out, and they'll be cheaper and will probably look fine. It's not like Ozu films really require extensive special features.

[Tomas]

I agree with the above posts. I would be very happy right now if Eclipse or CC would be announcing the release of Ozu early works. I already own the above films on DVDs, so I'll wait for some reviews first. I'm still hoping that they do an excellent job.

I have a question: Which Ozu films are lost forever? The first 8?

[Michael Kerpan]

Lost Ozu films:

Daigaku yoitoko (1936) aka College Is a Nice Place
Hakoiri musume (1935) aka An Innocent Maid
Haha wo kowazuya (1934) aka A Mother Should Be Loved (first and last reels lost)
Mata au hi made (1932) aka Until the Day We Meet Again
Haru wa gofujin kara (1932) aka Spring Comes from the Ladies
Bijin aishu (1931) aka Beauty's Sorrows
Ojosan (1930) aka Young Miss
Ashi ni sawatta koun (1930) aka The Luck Which Touched the Leg
Erogami no onryo (1930) aka The Revengeful Spirit of Eros
Kekkongaku nyumon (1930) aka Introduction to Marriage
Tokkan kozo (1929) aka A Straightforward Boy (incomplete)
Daigaku wa deta keredo (1929) aka I Graduated But... (condensed version only)
Wasei kenka tomodachi (1929) aka Fighting Friends: Japanese Style (incomplete)
Kaishain seikatsu (1929) aka The Life of an Office Worker
Takara no yama (1929) aka Treasure Mountain
Nikutaibi (1928) aka Body Beautiful
Hikkoshi fufu (1928) aka A Couple on the Move
Wakodo no yume (1928) aka Dreams of Youth
Kabocha (1928) aka Pumpkin
Nyobo funshitsu (1928) aka Wife Lost
Zange no yaiba (1927) aka Sword of Penitence

[Tomas]

Thank you very much. This is really sad. I thought I would see more Ozu films, but after I checked the list, I came to the conclusion that the only film I haven't seen yet, is Hogaraka ni ayume (1930) aka Walk Cheerfully.

[Michael Kerpan]

Well -- Walk Cheerfully is a charmer -- and possibly Ozu's most visually playful film. So you still have something to look forward to from Ozu.

And then there is Naruse -- and Shimizu -- and Shimazu -- and Gosho...