Eclipse Series 10: Silent Ozu—Three Family Comedies

[King of Kong]

I like the sound of this very much.

I would love to own I Am Born But..., and I can't wait to view the other two films for the first time.

[zedz]

It's official: no matter what Criterion release, we'll find something to complain about.

We moan for years about the lack of silents, get a box set of three silent films (more than Criterion have ever released in any other year) and we complain. Ew, not those silents.

We ask incessantly, "when are we going to see the pre-war Ozus?" Here's a box set of them. "Why aren't they on Criterion at twice the price with redundant commentaries?"

For years the mantra was "More Ozu, more Ozu", now it's turned into "Ozu, pah! Where's the Naruse?" I didn't realise this was a strictly either / or proposition.

We're getting two films here unavailable anywhere in subtitled form, one of which is Ozu's acknowledged silent masterpiece. Remind me again what the downside is?

[denti alligator]

Zedz puts things in perspective. Thank you.

I thought of you today while watching the episode of Flight of the Conchords where Murray refers to ZZ Top as "zed zed Top."

Those New Zealanders.

[zedz]

Zedz puts things in perspective. Thank you.

Matt made essentially the same point in the Death of a Cyclist thread, so I'm just leaping on his bandwagon.

[Michael Kerpan]

We're getting two films here unavailable anywhere in subtitled form, one of which is Ozu's acknowledged silent masterpiece. Remind me again what the downside is?

Well, an English- subtitled "I Was Born but" was available on video in recent years....

It is only ONE of Ozu's silent masterpieces, by the way.

"Tokyo Chorus" may not be a "masterpiece", but it is a very interesting film -- and the first (surviving) film that points towards the "mature" Ozu. I have a special interest in "Passing Fancy" (see Senses of Cinema) and would say it comes pretty close to being a masterpiece (despite a bit of unevenness).

[Cronenfly]

Another thing to consider: the Ozus (sound and silent) were probably in the works long before Naruse, Mizoguchi, Imamura, Gremillon, Sternberg, etc were even possibilities (before Eclipse, perhaps; I seem to remember rumor swirling for quite a while, particularly about the Ozu silents), so it makes sense that they'd be released before the others, director repetition be damned. It may not be most people wanted most (given what else we've heard of as possibilities), but it makes sense that Criterion would release stuff they'd been close to releasing longest prior to Eclipse before moving on to titles that would have taken a lot longer to surface before Eclipse, if at all.

As well, though March and April's pickings may be relatively slim on the CC main line, it only makes sense that there'll be more down months now that Eclipse has kicked in. In fact, I was surprised that there weren't more sparse months in early 2007 when the line was first starting up. So, as disappointing as it may be, I can't say I'm surpised that things have slowed up significantly for a stretch. That said, I wouldn't count out domino's hypothesis that there was another release cancelled for April which left an unfillable gap. Who knows; I just hope that May holds some more substantial releases.

[Via_Chicago]

I'm quite happy with this release, even if at first glance it may appear underwhelming. If anything, my only disappointment is that there aren't more Ozu silents (especially the sublime Dragnet Girl) included. Still, three makes the box vastly more affordable for this poor college student.

[Michael Kerpan]

Dragnet Girl needs to be paired with Walk Cheerfully (which I personally love even more). And these could be accompanied by the proto-noir "That Night's Wife" and "Woman of Tokyo" (which are both rather short).

[BB]

We're getting two films here unavailable anywhere in subtitled form, one of which is Ozu's acknowledged silent masterpiece. Remind me again what the downside is?

Well, an English- subtitled "I Was Born but" was available on video in recent years....

Also Panorama released "Passing Fancy with English subs, though "Tokyo Chorus" is a nice inclusion. Also I really dig the groovy brown packaging on this set.

[zedz]

It is only ONE of Ozu's silent masterpieces, by the way.

Oh, absolutely, but I Was Born, But. . . is the only Ozu silent with anything like a public profile for non-specialists.

[Steven H]

Japanese film before 1950 (nevertheless SILENT) remains VIRTUALLY invisible in the entire world of english subtitled DVD and people bitch about this release. Seriously, what kind of drugs are some of you taking? I hope they're *cheap* because those bank accounts will be drying up. I want to see more interesting releases by directors we've never heard of as well, but really.

Despite the timing issue, it still puts Ozu at, what, 13 Criterions? Just catching up with the other big names after ten Criterion years (and over half of his now relegated to "eclipse" status, no less.) It's about time. I can't wait to pick it up, especially since there aren't even Panorama discs of two of them. I guess I can stop holding my breath for an I Was Born But.../Good Morning rerelease.

[sidehacker]

For years the mantra was "More Ozu, more Ozu", now it's turned into "Ozu, pah! Where's the Naruse?"

More of both would be ideal for me.

[Nihonophile]

"Why aren't they on Criterion at twice the price with redundant commentaries?"

Thank the heavens for eclipse. Late Spring was bad enough getting a lackluster commentary and Wenders film, but now I can forgive them for offering this. Yay for silent Ozu films!

[godardslave]

It's official: no matter what Criterion release, we'll find something to complain about.

We moan for years about the lack of silents, get a box set of three silent films (more than Criterion have ever released in any other year) and we complain. Ew, not those silents.

We ask incessantly, "when are we going to see the pre-war Ozus?" Here's a box set of them. "Why aren't they on Criterion at twice the price with redundant commentaries?"

For years the mantra was "More Ozu, more Ozu", now it's turned into "Ozu, pah! Where's the Naruse?" I didn't realise this was a strictly either / or proposition.

We're getting two films here unavailable anywhere in subtitled form, one of which is Ozu's acknowledged silent masterpiece. Remind me again what the downside is?

I agree completely.
Domino stop complaining and be thankful.

[HerrSchreck]

Am I the only one whose just happy that Criterion have seen fit to release silents in some form or another?

I know that two sets out of ten dedicated to the same director is a bit much, but the fact that these are silents seems pretty huge to me, considering Criterion's track record in that area. Heck, they didn't even bother releasing a silent in the Bernard set, even though doing so would have made a lot of sense.

Of course I'm happy to see silents released. As I said, "I'm fine with the box"... I'm not saying like MK "why won't CC release Ozu films I haven't seen before?" That's looking for a company to cater to nobody else but you (and in Mike's case the guy has seen the vast bulk of this particular director's work of note, so there's very little else for him to expect).

My point-- and it's only my two cents in an ongoing discussion filled with lots of Lovely And Talented People-- is simply: we have ten boxes announced. The flame of Eclipse actually went out for a couple months there where there were No Announcements. The purpose of this line is "Eclipse presents a selection of lost, forgotten, or overshadowed" classic films, one imagines the idea is to get out those other films that keep getting bumped aside by these "franchises" like Kurosawa, Bergman, Louis Malle, Yasujiro Ozu, oh... uh, waitaminnit...

Without getting into the "Eclipse is now turning into a straight and simple dumping ground for CC auteurs' lesser(-known) titles" issue (this as opposed to the Kino/facets-esque type releases we're all hoping for like the Bernard, Klein, the Sternberg silents the hinted at), my point is simply this:

(I would have rather seen them) establish the line with a foundation, a bedrock of "mission-statement-establishing" titles first before, without letting the first year elapse, duplicating directors... particularly if those directors are classic "CC auteurs". We don't even have a years worth of Eclipse and we've got two Ozu boxes, plus Kurosawa, Bergman, Louis Malle.. plus Saura and Fuller, both in the CC. So far in terms of "the adventurous cinemateque" we've got Bernard and Klein... and (cough) Ernst Lubitsch Musicals.

This

It's official: no matter what Criterion release, we'll find something to complain about.

We moan for years about the lack of silents, get a box set of three silent films (more than Criterion have ever released in any other year) and we complain. Ew, not those silents.

We ask incessantly, "when are we going to see the pre-war Ozus?" Here's a box set of them. "Why aren't they on Criterion at twice the price with redundant commentaries?"

For years the mantra was "More Ozu, more Ozu", now it's turned into "Ozu, pah! Where's the Naruse?" I didn't realise this was a strictly either / or proposition.

We're getting two films here unavailable anywhere in subtitled form, one of which is Ozu's acknowledged silent masterpiece. Remind me again what the downside is?

is funny, owing to the fact that almost a month ago to the day zedz wrote on the Delirious Fictions of William Klein thread:

Now this is more like it. Eclipse releases should get people going "what the hell is this?" For the curious, I think these films have been out in Europe for a while and I'm sure they've been mentioned on the forum several times.

Z you've expressed your own frustrations with the line before, as recently as the last. This month you like the release and have no problems. Sudden En Masse Condemnations of folks expressing their feelings about the current release (which I don't think anyone disapproves of in and of itself, i e the films and their worthiness) and Having A Thread Discussion-- just because You Approve This Month-- uncool brother. I say this because you're normally so frigging examplary... a (Tom Snyder-type voice:) "paragon of Thread Virtue", if you will.

My three sous.

[Tommaso]

Apart from the fact that CC is finally releasing silents AT ALL, the good thing about this release is that these are Japanese silents, as it seems these are among the most underrepresented among silents in general on the English speaking market. In this respect, I'm quite happy about this release (especially as hitherto Ozu hasn't been among my favourite directors, so I hope these early films might help me to see where he started from and might help me to appreciate his style a little better).

Otherwise, I totally agree with the frustration caused by CC's release strategy this year so far. Not only is the output of the main line lean, but it is also relatively insignificant. Nobody would complain if they only released three films in April if these were "Vampyr", "The human condition" and a re-release of "Salo" (just as an example). But taking a brief look at the releases this far, I'd never have thought that I'd say that "Miss Julie" is by far the most interesting yet this year...

What worries me most is that the really significant films are dumped into the Eclipse line. Although you don't want to get into this issue, Schreck, I'd say this IS an issue. I still can't understand why they dropped "No regrets for our youth" there. The Lubitsch musicals are a fine treat and largely unknown, but Lubitsch is such a household name that one would have thought that at least one or two of these films would have gotten the 'real' treatment. And I don't mean a cleaned-up image, but simply the bunch of extras and commentaries these films probably deserve (and Kuro's "No regrets" and "I live in fear" will be pretty incomprehensible to those who don't know so much about post WWII Japan, so these films would have almost needed a booklet or commentary). In retrospect, I'm really happy that CC have already released so many films by Bergman, Ozu, Kurosawa in the past years. I'm sure they'd put "The Lower depths" into Eclipse nowadays, both versions.

[jt]

I'm pretty sure the two camps in the eclipse debate are never going to agree. Some want big direcor's small films, others want small director's big films and no amount of bitching on here is likely to make a difference to the release schedule.
I'm happy with a bit of both and complaining that the ratio is 70:30 instead of 50:50 seems to me to be splitting hairs.

That said, this is my most anticipated release in a long time. Not only silent, not only silent Japanese but silent Ozu?!? (I almost considered an emoticon there...)
And I consider the timing perfect. The fact that I am interested in hardly anything else CC has announced so far in 2008 give me time to catch up on the dozens and dozens of amazing releases from last year I haven't got round to yet. I should hopefully get through them just in time for this set's release.

[Steven H]

(I would have rather seen them) establish the line with a foundation, a bedrock of "mission-statement-establishing" titles first before, without letting the first year elapse, duplicating directors... particularly if those directors are classic "CC auteurs". We don't even have a years worth of Eclipse and we've got two Ozu boxes, plus Kurosawa, Bergman, Louis Malle.. plus Saura and Fuller, both in the CC. So far in terms of "the adventurous cinemateque" we've got Bernard and Klein... and (cough) Ernst Lubitsch Musicals.

Well, it's almost been a year. Should they have waited one extra month or two? (no emoticon, but I hope to come off indignant though in a smiling jovial sort of way) Actually, I agree with the gist of this, as I as much as anyone else on here am thrilled at the idea of turning over new cinematic rocks to see what's underneath. I even voted for the Bernard set as my favorite Eclipse last year not necessarily because they were better films than the Ozu, but because I was blown away by the Bernard surprise. That being said, a lot of people on this forum have been waiting for silent Ozu for a long long time, and if no ground was being gained on releasing these films in their main line, I'm just as happy that they've been shunted off to Eclipse.

If you look at these films as "just another Ozu" release, then I can see the problem. But when taking in the wider effect of the time, place, and way these films were made, it makes perfect Eclipse sense. I'm really looking forward to hearing what people have to say about Passing Fancy, especially, since it's one of Ozu's most lovable films. As for the timing, time heals all poor-Eclipse-timing wounds, time and time again.

Its funny, but this discussion makes me think about why Eclipse was even started. I can imagine a long drawn out boardroom discussion with lots of "...don't forget all those Ozus we have the rights to" peppered throughout.

[ellipsis7]

Its funny, but this discussion makes me think about why Eclipse was even started. I can imagine a long drawn out boardroom discussion with lots of "...don't forget all those Ozus we have the rights to" peppered throughout.

That's 13 Ozus so far, in double quick time, versus 19 Kurosawas over a much longer period...

[Michael Kerpan]

I'm not saying like MK "why won't CC release Ozu films I haven't seen before?" That's looking for a company to cater to nobody else but you (and in Mike's case the guy has seen the vast bulk of this particular director's work of note, so there's very little else for him to expect)..

Your browser obviously didn't show the " ;~} " that followed my tongue-in-cheek comment.

I've seen (and own copies of) ALL of Ozu's films (that survive) -- But I have been frustrated by people's inability to share in my delight (unless they went to the traveling retrospective -- or were willing to have me serve as "benshi"). I feel nothing but gratitude and delight for each and every Ozu film Criterion announces (and releases).

I NEVER criticize Criterion for their choices (not for a long time, in any event). If their selections please me, I buy them (when I can afford to). If they pick something I have no interest in, I breath a sigh of relief -- as that spares my wallet, at least temporarily.

People seem to have forgotten that HomeVision was originally supposed to release many of the Ozu films (particularly the unrestored ones). But that plan fell through -- and the expected flood of centennial (or near) Ozu releases became a tiny trickle. I would say that one of the core considerations underlying the creation of the Eclipse line was to give Criterion a vehicle to finally get these Ozu films on the market (without facing unwarranted criticism over the less than perfect state of the films).

Just to be clear...

Three Cheers for Criterion (one for each Ozu silent).

;~}

That's 13 Ozus so far, in double quick time, versus 19 Kurosawas over a much longer period...

The wait for subtitled Ozu has seemed very long to me -- not that I am criticizing. ;~}

[yoshimori]

For me, this is the best of the ten releases so far, by far - interpretations of mission statements be damned.

[HerrSchreck]

(I would have rather seen them) establish the line with a foundation, a bedrock of "mission-statement-establishing" titles first before, without letting the first year elapse, duplicating directors... particularly if those directors are classic "CC auteurs". We don't even have a years worth of Eclipse and we've got two Ozu boxes, plus Kurosawa, Bergman, Louis Malle.. plus Saura and Fuller, both in the CC. So far in terms of "the adventurous cinemateque" we've got Bernard and Klein... and (cough) Ernst Lubitsch Musicals.

Well, it's almost been a year. Should they have waited one extra month or two? (no emoticon, but I hope to come off indignant though in a smiling jovial sort of way) .

Well... yeah. Isn't that the idea of the line? To get "Great Director Franchise" Fetishism Outa The Way and get out the real deal best films You Never Heard Of? Without stuff like Klein or Bernard, all you've got with Eclipse is Criterions Little Supplement-Free Brother. It kills the whole idea of the "arthouse-circuit/dvd-economic bias removal" that the line is supposed to be created to combat. Because the CC heavy hitters keep pre-empting the stuff we keep panting for.

Rather than the Heavy Ground that veteran CC producers could be trusted to rip out the major obscure mindblowers, E is turning out to be juniorleagueville where new CC producers can be "tried out" to put together safe little packages of low selling titles from CC Brand Names. And if they do well--then-- they'll get nice fat packages with big budgets, original telecine, and supplements they can get boogiedownlogistical on your ass with. Kind of like the way studios used shorts in the golden years of mgm & WB.

If you look at these films as "just another Ozu" release, then I can see the problem. .

I look at this release as a magnificent Ozu release (in fact I'd tie this one with Bernard in terms of my own personal interest, at least not counting JvS and Grem in the "implied" categ). The problem, I think, is folks are not processing the fact that a huge fan of 1) silents, 2) Ozu, and 3) is also very happy to be getting these films in any form can still be

4) In the process of re-adjusting his impression of what Eclipse "is" and what it's "about".

[ptmd]

What everyone seems to be forgetting here is the fact that Janus bought the rights to *all* of Ozu's films back in 2003 and struck new prints of 90% of them. These are films that they have been working on for years and I'm pretty sure that these releases are relatively easy for them to put together, so if they put this out in April while working on something else for May, June, July, August, etc., I don't really see what the problem is. Actually, more generally, I can't imagine how anybody could be complaining about the release of three Japanese silent films. Hasn't everyone been clamoring for these titles for years now? Personally, I'm thrilled that these are coming out so soon (which is not to say, of course, that I'm not equally excited at the prospect of Mizoguchi, Naruse, and Sternberg boxes down the line).

[carax09]

To be fair, I think Cronenfly made this same argument/justification a few posts back. Once these backlog releases clear the decks we'll see more exciting , left-field releases along the lines of Bernard and Klein (and Gremillon---the one I'm DYING FOR!)

[htdm]

I hope someone at Eclipse corrects the misspelling of Ozu's name on the individual covers. It's pretty embarrassing.

And I agree completely with Zedz - we should be dancing in the streets over this release of more silents - especially Japanese silents, and especially Ozu's!