'Forthcoming' Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.2

[tenia]

Ozu fans consider any Ozu major Ozu.

I don't think they would consider his first movies, where his usual style is not here yet, as major Ozu.

[knives]

Well, if by first movies you mean the lost ones, than no one would ever know. If you mean stuff like I Was Born, but..., and Days of Youth, than your dead wrong. There's a lot of genius to had in these early survivors even if Ozu hadn't fully developed yet.

[Michael Kerpan]

Well speaking only for myself...

Walk Cheerfully is major Ozu (because of its visual exuberance)
Tokyo Chorus is almost major Ozu
I Was Born But definitely is major Ozu
Tokyo Woman is almost major Ozu (despite its brevity)
Dragnet Girl is probably major Ozu
Passing Fancy is major Ozu
Story of Floating Weeds is major Ozu
Tokyo Inn is major Ozu

(not to say that the other silents don't have lots to offer, major or not).

And I'd say all the pre-Late Spring sound films are major (or close enough thereto).

[Matt]

Okay, let's put this complaint to bed. If memory serves, the "Ozu again?" complaints came about with the release of the second Eclipse set (with 3 films) in April '08. The preceding Ozu release was another Eclipse set (with 5 films) in May '07. 8 Ozu films in the span of 1 year. That does seem like a lot.

But let's compare him to one of Criterion's bread-and-butter directors, Kurosawa. What's the record for the number of Kurosawa releases in one year (not counting AK100, which would be stacking the deck)? 2010 has so far brought us 7: 3 Blu-ray releases of previous releases and an Eclipse set of 4 previously-unreleased films. And it's his centenary, so by rights there would be a lot of releases this year (nevermind that Ozu's cententary in 2003 was celebrated with the release of a single DVD, Tokyo Story). But hey, what's this? There were also 7 releases in 2008: an Eclipse set of 5 films, a re-release of High and Low, and an EAH edition of Rashomon. And 5 releases in 2009. So, to summarize the most recent 3 years:

Ozu: 12, Kurosawa: 22. Ahem. And over the course of Criterion's DVD and Blu-ray release schedule: Ozu: 18, Kurosawa: 37 (again not including AK100).

"But! But!" you say "They've been releasing Kurosawa films a lot longer than Ozu!" Well then, here's an average by year (starting from the year of the first release to the year of the last release, 2010 for each):

Ozu: 1.63 (18/11), Kurosawa: 2.85 (37/13)

"But a lot of those are re-releases and Blu-ray/EAH versions!" Okay, let's look at the number of unique titles released for each director and the average over the years:

Ozu: 17 unique titles, Kurosawa: 25 unique titles. Average: Ozu: 1.55 (17/11), Kurosawa: 1.92 (25/13).

Some more interesting tidbits: the last year without an Ozu release: 2009. The last year without a Kurosawa release: 2000. The last year with fewer than 2 Kurosawa releases: 2003. Number of extant Kurosawa features not available on DVD in R1: 0. Number (by my count) of complete and extant Ozu features Criterion is still sitting on since they acquired the rights to most of his films in 2003: 17.

I'm not making any qualitative judgments of either director here, and we're probably fortunate that both directors are as well-represented on DVD in R1 as they are. I mean, they could be Naruse.

Here's a link to the list of releases sorted by date.

[stereo]

easily my favorite post of the year so far Matt...

[Michael Kerpan]

> they could be Naruse

Great post....

Even in Japan, only 13 of his (more than 60 still available) films have gotten DVD releases -- though all HAVE been shown multiple times on satellite TV.

I can only assume that Criterion has decided Naruse just doesn't sell in the American marketplace. If this is the case, who can blame them for not releasing more films. BFI and MOC bothe issued lovely box sets in the UK -- and people did not beat down the doors to buy these up.

As much as I love Ozu and Naruse -- I've vowed never to complain about Criterion's pace in releasing their work. Why would I want Criterion (or MOC, etc.) to make releases that lose money?

[Matt]

My understanding is that Ozu has actually sold pretty well for Criterion. Surely not at Kurosawa levels, hence the above disparities, but more than respectably. If their one Naruse release hasn't sold well, I would lay the blame at Criterion releasing, as a first title, a film that is a difficult entry point for Naruse neophytes. Had they released something similar to the apparently more popular Ozu or Mizoguchi films (something with geisha like Flowing or Late Chrysanthemums), it might have given people something to grab onto. Or perhaps they should have started with an Eclipse set. The Shimizu set was, by all accounts, a surprise hit that sold quite well.

If Criterion truly does not want to revisit Naruse, I could accept that and move on. But they keep teasing us about it.

Interesting side note: at the moment, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs has more Facebook "likes" on Criterion's page than Howard's End. But then, Border Radio has more "likes" than This Sporting Life.

[Michael Kerpan]

Arguably, Woman Ascending was the closest thing to a "popular" Naruse film in the US. It was preceded by a lovely VHS release, which paved the way for the even-better looking DVD. And bar hostesses are often confused with geisha by Americans anyway (especially when the hostess often wears a kimono). ;~}

Naruse has never developed a "mystique" in the US, despite the (considerable) best efforts of his devotees. Granted much of the mystique underlying Ozu and Mizoguchi was based on misperception of their work (taken as a whole), but still....

Maybe a cheap Naruse box set of less well-known (and less expensive to license) charmers (like Hideko the Buss Conductor, Song Lantern, Traveling Actors, Spring Awakens, etc.) could replicate the success of the Shimizu set (we still need a set of Shimizu's major silent fims -- many of which will get shown in Pordenone this October).

[Doctor Sunshine]

Another reason, focusing solely on Eclipse, is that they want to keep the label eclectic but they've just got a lot of Japanese stuff to get out. Ozu, Mizugochi, Naruse, another Nikkatsu set, the rest of those samurai films from that Janus retro five years ago, and however many sci-fi/horror films they've accumulated. And those are just the ones we know about. Japanese sets already make up a full third of Eclipse releases, and those are typically the wide loads. I don't see how they can get them out any faster except at the expense of diversity.

[Matt]

Maybe they should have launched another sub-label just for Japanese films. Nisshoku?

[matrixschmatrix]

I was surprised that they seemingly chose to give away the Zatoichi movies they have the rights to rather than putting them out as an Eclipse set- having an enormous Japanese backlog to get through adds some logic to that.

[Doctor Sunshine]

Nisshoku?

I was surprised that they seemingly chose to give away the Zatoichi movies they have the rights to rather than putting them out as an Eclipse set- having an enormous Japanese backlog to get through adds some logic to that.

Yeah, that would be a huge commitment for something like Eclipse. Also, they vary pretty widely in quality. At least a couple are downright painful. I tried watching them all over a relatively short period of time so they blend together a bit but Zatoichi carrying around a baby for a full film? Yeesh.

[HistoryProf]

Obscure and overlooked movies?

Here's the official line. Here's the unofficial line.

well that second bit would explain why 1/3 of the line is Japanese...I've wondered why there seems so much in that vein.

[HistoryProf]

Okay, let's put this complaint to bed. If memory serves, the "Ozu again?" complaints came about with the release of the second Eclipse set (with 3 films) in April '08. The preceding Ozu release was another Eclipse set (with 5 films) in May '07. 8 Ozu films in the span of 1 year. That does seem like a lot.

But let's compare him to one of Criterion's bread-and-butter directors, Kurosawa. What's the record for the number of Kurosawa releases in one year (not counting AK100, which would be stacking the deck)? 2010 has so far brought us 7: 3 Blu-ray releases of previous releases and an Eclipse set of 4 previously-unreleased films. And it's his centenary, so by rights there would be a lot of releases this year (nevermind that Ozu's cententary in 2003 was celebrated with the release of a single DVD, Tokyo Story). But hey, what's this? There were also 7 releases in 2008: an Eclipse set of 5 films, a re-release of High and Low, and an EAH edition of Rashomon. And 5 releases in 2009. So, to summarize the most recent 3 years:

Ozu: 12, Kurosawa: 22. Ahem. And over the course of Criterion's DVD and Blu-ray release schedule: Ozu: 18, Kurosawa: 37 (again not including AK100).

"But! But!" you say "They've been releasing Kurosawa films a lot longer than Ozu!" Well then, here's an average by year (starting from the year of the first release to the year of the last release, 2010 for each):

Ozu: 1.63 (18/11), Kurosawa: 2.85 (37/13)

"But a lot of those are re-releases and Blu-ray/EAH versions!" Okay, let's look at the number of unique titles released for each director and the average over the years:

Ozu: 17 unique titles, Kurosawa: 25 unique titles. Average: Ozu: 1.55 (17/11), Kurosawa: 1.92 (25/13).

Some more interesting tidbits: the last year without an Ozu release: 2009. The last year without a Kurosawa release: 2000. The last year with fewer than 2 Kurosawa releases: 2003. Number of extant Kurosawa features not available on DVD in R1: 0. Number (by my count) of complete and extant Ozu features Criterion is still sitting on since they acquired the rights to most of his films in 2003: 17.

I'm not making any qualitative judgments of either director here, and we're probably fortunate that both directors are as well-represented on DVD in R1 as they are. I mean, they could be Naruse.

Here's a link to the list of releases sorted by date.

yeah, but how many of those Ozu movies have samurais in them? WIN KUROSAWA! \:D/

[HistoryProf]

Sad news on the Don't Look Now front from FB

It's a good suggestion and a favorite of ours, but we don't have the rights at the moment.

[Michael Kerpan]

Naruse even has some samurai movies -- not that it helped him much with Criterion. ;~}

[Matt]

Sad news on the Don't Look Now front from FB

It's a good suggestion and a favorite of ours, but we don't have the rights at the moment.

Well what the hell is stopping them from picking up the phone and getting them?

[MyNameCriterionForum]

Yeah, it would make a fantastic pairing if released the same month as AntiChrist, similar themes, etc.

[agnamaracs]

Does this mean Paramount no longer has the rights?

[justeleblanc]

Does this mean Paramount no longer has the rights?

I think it means Paramount does have the rights and isn't licensing it out.

[Noiradelic]

I think it means Paramount does have the rights and isn't licensing it out.

Or are just holding off to see how the whole Blu thing is shaking out -- meaning the rights'll probably be available in the not too distant future. Or it's theoretically possible they're licensing it to someone else.

[Flike]

There are only twelve forthcoming 'certainties' in the roundup thread and four of them (well, including a Chaplin) will definitely arrive before the end of this year. I can't remember a time in the post-Wacky C era when Criterion has held its cards so close to its chest, considering all the "maybe(s)" they doled out at the beginning of the FB Era can be taken with a grain of salt. Kind of like being surprised myself, but I imagine a little of this is due to the furor last year when everything the majority was anticipating got pushed back into this year.

[Bruce]

I think it means Paramount does have the rights and isn't licensing it out.

Or are just holding off to see how the whole Blu thing is shaking out -- meaning the rights'll probably be available in the not too distant future. Or it's theoretically possible they're licensing it to someone else.

Re: Don't Look Now - they could have licensed it to Lionsgate for example - a number of their other titles have gone to Lionsgate.

[ianungstad]

CSM brought up an interesting bit from the Ronald Neame obit that suggests that Criterion is rereleasing Tunes of Glory and will release The Card. I don't think I've seen this mentioned yet so here's the relevent info :

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Tunes of Glory, and together with the Academy Film Archive, we are evaluating the original elements for a preservation effort. Although he was pleased with our DVDs, Ronnie always expressed a desire for beautiful new film prints. I promised him we would work toward this goal for his hundredth birthday. Although he would often say “I’ve still enough of my marbles to know that I’m very, very old,” he was so youthful that I was sure he would live to see that milestone. Sadly, also unrealized was his recent proposal to record a commentary for his 1952 film The Card with his lifelong friend Glynis Johns, with, as he said, their usual comic routine of “insulting each other” as the film ran by.

[Flike]

Not familiar with the picture, but the Janus Twitter has pointed out that Music Box Theatre is showing a new print of Raw Meat. MGM has a DVD out.