'Forthcoming' Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.1

[Antoine Doinel]

In their laserdisc days, Criterion did release Annie Hall so it's not outside the realm the possibility I suppose.

[sidehacker]

So I guess it is a given that the three other Shimizu films will be ones already released through one of the two Shochiku boxes? It's a long shot, but I'm hoping otherwise.

[Bete_Noire]

I´ve been on a Woody Allen kick lately, and I´ve noticed that Play It Again, Sam is OOP. Does this mean an SE is coming from Paramount, or could this be one of the titles in the Paramount/Criterion deal? Imagine Woody Allen in the collection. [-o<

Well, that's a Herbert Ross-directed film, so there would still be no Allen-directed films among the Criterion DVD collection. Doesn't Allen have a low opinion of DVD extras, anyway?

Though I must admit that I continue to be puzzled as to why people interpret a title going OOP as a signal that Criterion has plans to release it. I don't think any of the Paramount titles that went OOP earlier this year are even rumored to have been acquired by Criterion, whereas Paramount's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold never went OOP at all.

[domino harvey]

Paramount's let a lot of good titles go out of print, like Daisy Miller or Seconds. I'd just go on eBay and grab one while you can, don't hold your breath for a repressing

[Perkins Cobb]

Anyone one want to bet Eclipse cherry-picks from both Japanese Shimizu sets, so that one still has to buy both of the latter to get all the films?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Anyone one want to bet Eclipse cherry-picks from both Japanese Shimizu sets, so that one still has to buy both of the latter to get all the films?

As someone who bought both Japanese boxes my bet would be that there will be at least one film in the Criterion/Eclipse set that is in neither Japanese set.

[zedz]

Anyone one want to bet Eclipse cherry-picks from both Japanese Shimizu sets, so that one still has to buy both of the latter to get all the films?

As someone who bought both Japanese boxes my bet would be that there will be at least one film in the Criterion/Eclipse set that is in neither Japanese set.

From rusty memory there are still further Shimizu boxes on the way (were there four scheduled initially?), and I don't think there's any chance that Criterion will issue all the films Shochiku has put out. The elements for several of the films leave a lot to be desired, even for Eclipse releases, so I expect they'll be cherry-picking at least partly on the basis of print quality.

The good and the bad news is that, so far, all of the Shimizus they've released are magnificent, so there aren't really any bad choices Criterion could make (Japanese Girls at the Harbour is a great start). On the other hand, the expensive but exquisite Shochiku boxes are likely to remain essential (but even more overpriced, if you pick up Criterion's box).

[Michael Kerpan]

I have yet to see any concrete (and recent) details about further Shochiku Shimizu DVD sets -- and I keep watching. Maybe the first two didn't sell well enough?

Oh well, I did my consumerist duty -- and am glad I did. The first set is essential and the second is almost as good. Buit too many essentials are still missing....

[zedz]

Here was the relevant tidbit:

According to the evening edition of Thursday's Asahi Shinbun (a leading national newspaper), Shochiku is planning to release 5 Shimizu sets - no details on the contents however.

I hope these plans haven't been aborted, and maybe the Criterion interest will stir further sales. This news suggests that there is a pool of at least twenty films from which Criterion will be able to pick and choose, so the chances of any of the Shochiku sets (extant or hypothetical) being made entirely redundant is remote.

[Michael Kerpan]

zedz --

that was the last news I heard as well. and it has been a good while since then -- with no concrete announcements.

Not sure how many Shimizu films Shochiku can conceivably release -- but I have seen these others (beyond those in the Shochiku sets) ...

Fue no shiratama (1929) -- Very good, if not quite the Shimizu one recognizes from the 30s.

Nanatsu no umi: parts 1 and 2 / Seven Seas (1931-1932) -- Excellent

Daigaku no wakadanna / Boss's Son Goes to College (1933) -- Very good

Kinkanshoku/ Eclipse (1934) -- Excellent

Tokyo no eiyu / Hero of Tokyo (1935) -- Very good +

Koi mo wasurete / Forget Love for Now (1937) -- Excellent

Hanagata senshu / A Star Athlete (1937) -- Very good (probably, still not sure -- but very worth seeing, regardless)

Utajo oboegaki / Memoir of a Song Girl (1941) -- Excellent (with one rather disconcerting moment)

Ohara Shôsuke san (1949) -- Very enjoyable (sort of prefigures Yamada's Tora-san in some ways)

Jirô monogatari / Story of Jiro (1955) -- Very good +

Known to exist -- but not seen by me :

Sayon no kane / Sayon's Bell (1943)

Hachi no su no kodomotachi / Children of the Beehive (1948)

[zedz]

They'll do!

(Let's just ask Criterion to let Michael K curate ten pre-war Japanese Eclipse sets to put us all out of our misery!)

[Max von Mayerling]

Ok, he's currently scoring it. So I'll be expecting both the Shimizu and the Rossellini war trilogy sometime in 2011.

I need to stop visiting this forum, because these leaks result in the ultimate experience of delayed gratification. (See, e.g., the Human Condition trilogy.)

[PimpPanda]

What condition is the current print of Eclipse in? That's the Shimizu I'm most interested in right now (having already seen three).

[sidehacker]

(Let's just ask Criterion to let Michael K curate ten pre-war Japanese Eclipse sets to put us all out of our misery!)

I'd buy at least two copies of each set just to help out sales.

As a side note - a highly watchable VHS copy of A Star Athlete has been making the rounds at many filesharing websites. The original has no English subtitles, but custom ones have already been made. Not a masterpiece or anything, but a very good film none the less. Is this Ryu's earliest surviving "big" performance?

[Michael Kerpan]

What condition is the current print of Eclipse in? That's the Shimizu I'm most interested in right now (having already seen three).

As I recall (from several years ago) Shimizu's Eclipse is rather battered, but remains impressive looking despite this.

I have yet to see a Shimizu film that wasn't well worth the time (I would say Mikaeri no to is the least essential of any I've seen -- not sure why Shochiku picked this for box no. 2 over the many more impressive films).

[HerrSchreck]

Hey Mike what did you think of the subtitles for Ornamental Hairpin, especially viz the subtext of the film?

I ask because I found them to be a bit wanting for a greater sense of the subsurface feeling of the interaction between the characters, and the issues running beneath the surface text.

[Michael Kerpan]

I never tried to assess (consciously) the literal correctness of the Kanzashi subtitles -- but didn't notice any glaring errors. I think most of what is most important in the film is not conveyed in the test, in any event. ;~}

[Michael Kerpan]

A lovely snippet of Shimizu's 1943 Sayon's Bell available on youtube

also the first 10 minutes

[sidehacker]

Is there any sort of online synopsis for this film?

[ozukarodzi]

I wish there would be an Eclipse set of Hiroshi Shimizu's Children films:

Forget Love for Now (1937)
The Inspection Tower (1941)
Children of the Beehive (1948)
A Mother's Love (1950)
The Tale of Jiro (1955)
The Shiinomi School (1955)

A dream set! [-o<

[Michael Kerpan]

Is there any sort of online synopsis for this film?

Not that I know of -- but Sayon's Bell is discussed in Peter High's The Imperial Screen. It is set in Taiwan -- and is supposed to show solidarity between the people of Japan and the people of Taiwan. So, perhaps, this is not likely to get a subbed DVD release.

I wish there would be an Eclipse set of Hiroshi Shimizu's Children films:

Forget Love for Now (1937)
The Inspection Tower (1941)
Children of the Beehive (1948)
A Mother's Love (1950)
The Tale of Jiro (1955)
The Shiinomi School (1955)

That reminds me, I have seen Shiinomi School also (forgot to list this, as it isn't listed on IMDB) -- and found it quite interesting.

Tale of Jiro is a gorgeous film...

[ozukarodzi]

Nobody gotten close to portraying school as Shimizu's did so sincerity in The Shiinomi School (1955), Truffaut got close to it in Small Change (1976). The Shiinomi School is a wonderful film, at times very sad and heartbreaking; it captures the world of childhood beautifully.

[Michael Kerpan]

Nobody gotten close to portraying school as Shimizu's did so sincerity in The Shiinomi School (1955), Truffaut got close to it in Small Change (1976). The Shiinomi School is a wonderful film, at times very sad and heartbreaking; it captures the world of childhood beautifully.

Surprisingly this film was based on a real school -- and the founder of this school (Dr. Saburo Shochi) was still alive and very active until recently (102 years old, if still alive now).

[ellipsis7]

Intriguing... I know nothing of Shimizu, Michael, but that film clip seemed to show something almost of a Chinese flavour - the idea of a collective farm/village, rural community, celebrated in music... Correct me if I'm wrong... But it's different from the feudal and family structures of Mizoguchi, Kurosowa, Ozu and Naruse, and their secondary equivalent loyalties, education, work and military service.... Of course it's only 5 minutes and may be out of context...

[Michael Kerpan]

The setting for Sayon's Bell is a Taiwanese mountain village -- and I expect that most of the villagers were, in fact, Taiwanese villagers. Most of the 10 minute opening sequence could easily be from an ethnological documentary film.

Sayon was played by Shirley Yamaguchi (later in Kurosawa's Scandal) -- back when she was known as Ri Koran (and assumed by Japanese movie goers to actually be Chinese).

Shimizu practiced most of the techniques of "neo-realism" well before this movement was "invented" in Italy. ;~}