52-53 / BD 36 Ugetsu monogatari & Oyū-sama

[evillights]

FWIW -- "Kozou" does NOT mean "brat", but just a youngster (or more specifically -- a young Buddhist monk).

Hi Michael --

I meant to respond to this a while back...

小僧
bantling〈古〉 // boy // nipper // servant boy // shaveling // squirt〈俗・軽蔑的〉〔生意気な若者や、体の小さいものに対して使われる。〕dickens〈俗〉 // mischievous child // monkey // naughty boy // ragamuffin（汚れた格好をした） // scamp // brat

子供に対してムカッと来たときなどに用いる言葉〕 // imp // limb〈話〉 // little turista // mischief // mischievous boy // mischievous rogue // naughty boy // rantipole〈古〉 // rascal // rogue // unruly boy // urchin（汚らしい身なりの）〈古〉

Obviously, the film has nothing to do with a young Buddhist monk... and does have much to do with a straightforward little 'brat'..

(As is probably known, Tokkan Kozô became the stage-name of the little boy whom we find cropping up again in Ozu's 'Passing Fancy', etc.)

craig.

[ltfontaine]

Finally got around to Rayns’ comments on Oyu-sama, and have to agree that Tanaka is miscast in the title role, at least as compared to the way she is elaborately drawn in Tanizaki’s story as the fulfillment of Shinnosuke’s romantic ideal. It’s regrettable that Daiei would not allow retention of the story’s flashback structure, which could have been so beautifully rendered by Mizoguchi—and by Tanaka, for that matter, working with a script that more closely adhered to the source text.

Rayns does err in identifying Shinnosuke as the teller of Tanizaki’s story, which is actually told by an unnamed narrator who recounts the tale as told to him by Sinnosuke’s and Shuzi’s grown son, who likely exists, in turn, only in the narrator’s intoxicated imagination. The closing scenes of the film are a nod to the setting of the story—a reedy sandbar in the middle of a river from which the narrator watches the moon rise—momentarily evoking the ambience of a film that might have been.

[GringoTex]

I just watched Oyu-sama and continue to be underwhelmed by Mizoguchi's contemporary films. What works about his broad painting of emotions in his historical films comes across as crass in his present-day films. Maybe I'm looking for "realism" where none exists.

[Michael Kerpan]

Genuine "realism" is never an aim in Mizoguchi -- whether in historic settings, Meiji ones (isn't Oyu-sama set in this period?) and contemporary ones. Visual poetry and good-old fashioned shimpa melodrama are always a lot more important than naturalism or realism. I don't think the temporal setting of Mizoguchi's films correlates at all with their value -- there are first-rate films and less-than-first-rate ones in all categories. Oyu-sama is a very lovely looking film, but I'd never put it into Mizoguchi's top tier of accomplishments. I wouldn't even rate it as highly as a film like Portrait of Madame Yuki )maybe even more gorgeous looking).

[GringoTex]

I expect psychological realism from a contemporary melodrama. But now you've told me it's somewhat of a period piece (I should have known by the style of the western men's suits). Still, it's not set far enough in the past to reach the "legend" stage, so I still need the psychological realism, and I don't think Mizoguchi is very good at it. Gion Bayashi is the only one I've seen so far that I've found completely satisfactory.

[Michael Kerpan]

Mizoguchi's foundation is shimpa melodrama -- the first post-traditional type of drama to develop in Japan during the Meiju. It was a radical development when it first arose, but had already started to look old fashioned by 1910 or so, when the shingeki (new theater) movement arose. Shingeki was very influenced by the latest western developments (Ibsen and Chekhov et al). This is the movement that introduced realism to Japan's theaters (and to its cinemas -- when Shochiku adopted its principles, re-inforced by Stanislawskian methodology, in the early 20s).

While Mizoguchi was clearly affected by shingeki (one of his best 40s films -- Love of Sumako the Actress -- is about the first modern actress of Japan, who was the original centerpiece of shingeki), his heart and sensibilities always stayed very close to the world of shimpa.

One may not care much for Mizoguchi's films set in more contemporary times, but these really are founded on a pre-realist aesthetic tradition. So one simply can't expect to find much late 19th C. realism in these films.

[CorstenoftheFunk]

Is this DVD going out of print? I finally found it at an acceptable price but in many online stores it's out of stock and not expected back for a month.

[peerpee]

Not going out of print. Probably being re-pressed.

[CorstenoftheFunk]

Thanks for the information. This is the only Mizoguchi DVD from Masters of Cinema I don't have and I would have felt a bit incomplete if I couldn't get it.

[Chaplinesque]

Same here, does anyone (hopefully peerpee) know if this DVD will be re-pressed? Cause it's the end of 2010 and I cannot find MoC Ugetsu DVD anywhere on the net... I have the three other Mizoguchi sets from MoC, this one is so badly missing from the collection :)

[peerpee]

email [email protected] to see if they still have a single copy. They're all being put together in a box-set in January.

[Florinaldo]

email [email protected] to see if they still have a single copy. They're all being put together in a box-set in January.

Which may be why they turned up in nearly every monthly Eureka offers over the last few year (I got mine last February, for 9 pounds each, and saw them offered again in subsequent monthly announcements); Eureka may have intended to sell out their stock of individual discs.

It would be sad for someone to be left out with just that one title missing in the set, considering that the prices on Amazon.uk Marketplace are rather steep.

There may be a lesson in that: if there is a title that interests you in one of those sales, buy it now since you never know how long it will remain available.

[Tommaso]

I have all the individual releases, but for those who haven't it might be interesting to know whether the box set will have all of those gorgeous booklets or whether it will be presented in a somewhat 'slimmer' way.

[knives]

I'm mostly curious about the price. Is it likely to be in the same range as the Naruse set or will it be larger because of the higher number of films?

[peerpee]

The hardbox (like SHOAH, MABUSE, LUBITSCH) will contain four Amarays. They will be identical in every way to the versions currently available. Not sure it will be cost effective to organise a "send us £4 and we'll send you an empty outer box" scheme -- and those with a "fat spine" SANSHO would have problems. Bear with us, I'm trying to get METROPOLIS out the door, then I'll design this box... need to think about it a bit more.

[zedz]

I'm in the 'Fat Sansho' boat (not an Albert Serra reference), so I'd vote for two packaging-only options, if it's feasible. If not, no sweat.

[swo17]

I would gladly pay whatever it costs to get just the hardbox (no fat spine problems here).*

*That's what she said?

[Chaplinesque]

It would be sad for someone to be left out with just that one title missing in the set, considering that the prices on Amazon.uk Marketplace are rather steep.

There may be a lesson in that: if there is a title that interests you in one of those sales, buy it now since you never know how long it will remain available.

Well unfortunately that sad one is me :) But I'll stay pep, I'm happy to get my hands on three Mizoguchi sets and I just received my Mabuse Box Set yesterday, so things are going pretty well MoC wise... And BTW, peerpee, thank you for the response, I sent an e-mail, I'll wait and see. But I can live :) without completing my Mizoguchis since MoC team keeps creating wonderful DVDs (I'm looking forward to the 150 minute-long Metropolis and Die Nibelungen).

And Florinaldo, you're absolutely right about the lesson, there's no reason to wait if you want to buy an item...

[Chaplinesque]

email [email protected] to see if they still have a single copy. They're all being put together in a box-set in January.

Peerpee, I emailed Kevin like you said, and long story short, I am now holding a Masters of Cinema Ugetsu Monogatari DVD in my hands \:D/ Kevin was so kind to send me a copy of this DVD and now my Mizoguchi collection is complete... Finally Thanks a million for leading me to the right direction, couldn't be happier...

[swo17]

Dual format coming in April, per MoC Twitter.

Could a mod please change the thread title to "BD 36 Ugetsu monogatari / Oyû-sama"?

[Michael Kerpan]

The one DVD of MOC's Mizoguchi series that I missed buying -- so an instant BR purchase. ;~}

[manicsounds]

Blu-ray edition review by DigitalFix

[Calvin]

DVDBeaver

[andyli]

So they retained the thick booklet. That's good to know.

[peerpee]

I mentioned in another thread (can't remember where) that the booklets had to be trimmed down a touch from 80-pages and, I think 64-pages. To do so, we lost the modern essays and retained the original stories which inspired the films -- so the booklets are still quite hefty, but they are different to the DVD editions.