Yasujiro Ozu

[backstreetsbackalright]

This is just dumb wishful speculation on my part... There's been much talk of an Ozu Silents box from Criterion, which I've had mixed feelings about, feeling that there are too many great films to collect in a single set. Really the only thing I wouldn't have reservations about would be an I ___, But... set.

But sound film sets offer a couple interesting options for sets and pairings. For example, The Only Son and There Was a Father would make an excellent twofer. The only other one that obviously leaps to my mind is an "Autumn Set," comprised of Ozu's last three films: Late Autumn, End of Summer (aka Early Autumn), and An Autumn Afternoon.

[King of Kong]

This sounds like an excellent idea. Let's hope Criterion is listening.

As it happens, I've just finished writing a mini-review of End of Summer on my blog.

[Michael Kerpan]

The color on this DVD is almost as disastrously bad as that on Criterion's "Good Morning". This film is actually almost as stunning, in terms of color, as "Floating Weeds" -- but with a totally different pallette, emphasizing gold, green and brown -- with a healthy dash of red. The heavy blue bias of this DVD utterly wrecks the film's visual impact.

My one criticism of the film itself is that the (often delightful) score was allowed to get quite heavy-handed in a very un-Ozu-like way at a few "dramatic moments" (I wonder if some of this was not added by the studio after Ozu was more or less finished).

Otherwise, this has many wonderful scenes. The introduction of Setsuko Hara to the doltish would-be suitor by her uncle (Daisuke Kato) is hysterical (who knew they alrteady had flame-thrower lighters way back then). Ganjiro Nakamura's various games of hide and seek are also especially delightful.

This strikes me as one of Ozu's most thorough-goingly "feminist" films. Although Nakamura is a likeable enough rogue, he is nonetheless a serious blight on the future of his daughters (which, he as patriarch, expects to control). When one considers films like this (and Early Spring), I find it hard to see how people can so confidently paint the elder Ozu as a conservative and traditionalist.

[King of Kong]

Otherwise, this has many wonderful scenes. The introduction of Setsuko Hara to the doltish would-be suitor by her uncle (Daisuke Kato) is hysterical (who knew they alrteady had flame-thrower lighters way back then). Ganjiro Nakamura's various games of hide and seek are also especially delightful.

Yep. I think the "laugh out loud" moment for me was when the boy, after looking for his absconding grandfather, finally sees him walking away and makes gun gestures at him - pow-pow!

[Michael Kerpan]

Yep. I think the "laugh out loud" moment for me was when the boy, after looking for his absconding grandfather, finally sees him walking away and makes gun gestures at him - pow-pow!

Nakamura turning the tables on the employee trying to tail him is also rather humorous. And Reiko Dan as the alleged illegitimate daughter is quite a hoot. ;~}

[Steven H]

My one criticism of the film itself is that the (often delightful) score was allowed to get quite heavy-handed in a very un-Ozu-like way at a few "dramatic moments" (I wonder if some of this was not added by the studio after Ozu was more or less finished).

I agree, this bothered me about the film as well. I believe it's been written that Ozu didn't pay much attention to what score was used, maybe that backfired in this case.

I have one other, slight, criticism of the film. It felt disjointed to me, rather erratic. Perhaps he was going for this (it certainly aided in some things taking me by surprise), but it, for me more than any other later film, seemed almost "glued together" out of the previous decade of films. Again, this is a very slight criticism, I can't say I've seen any Ozu that didn't stick with me for a long time after viewing.

There are so many great things to admire about End of Summer though, the motif of the cremation smoke, the interaction between the sisters, and especially the brutal take on Floating Weeds (the affair, with Okada Mariko having some of the funniest lines in any Ozu film.)

[Michael Kerpan]

I believe it's been written that Ozu didn't pay much attention to what score was used, maybe that backfired in this case.

Actually Ozu was very picky about the _nature_ of the scoring, even if not the musical details. What he typically forbade was precisely the kind of over-dramatic "reinforcement" of the imagery that one finds at points in "End of Summer".

I have one other, slight, criticism of the film. It felt disjointed to me, rather erratic. Perhaps he was going for this (it certainly aided in some things taking me by surprise), but it, for me more than any other later film, seemed almost "glued together" out of the previous decade of films.

I agree that the focus in this film is more diffuse than the norm for Ozu -- but unlike "Munekata Sisters", this is an original and authentic film by Ozu rather than a cobbled-together "Ozu film" TM.

There are so many great things to admire about End of Summer though, the motif of the cremation smoke, the interaction between the sisters, and especially the brutal take on Floating Weeds (the affair, with Okada Mariko having some of the funniest lines in any Ozu film.)

No Mariko Okada here (not that I recall). Chieko Naniwa was Nakamura's old mistress, and Reiko Dan was her (amd maybe his) daughter. His legitimate daughters were Michiyo Aratama and Yoko Tsukasa -- I'm not entirely sure whether Hara is yet another daughter -- or the daughter of a deceased son (it doesn't seem to be an important detail in the context of this film).

[King of Kong]

And Reiko Dan as the alleged illegitimate daughter is quite a hoot.

Was her boyfriend (were there more than one?) supposed to be American? I detected a rather strange accent there...

[Steven H]

No Mariko Okada here (not that I recall). Chieko Naniwa was Nakamura's old mistress, and Reiko Dan was her (amd maybe his) daughter.

I was definitely remembering Okada incorrectly as being her daughter. Thanks for the correction.

[Michael Kerpan]

Was her boyfriend (were there more than one?) supposed to be American? I detected a rather strange accent there...

I think there may have been two that we hear about. I'm not sure if we _see_ more than one. Yes -- he IS supposed to be an American -- but seems to have been played by a German (or Austrian), based on the name -- which isn't in IMDB and whch I don't recollect offhand.

[acquarello]

A good bit of Days of Youth takes place on the slopes of a ski resort, I'm drawing a blank on other instances in his silent films though.

[rlendog]

but unlike "Munekata Sisters", this is an original and authentic film by Ozu rather than a cobbled-together "Ozu film" TM.

Not having seen "Munekata Sisters" I am curious, in what way is it a cobbled-together "Ozu film" as opposed to a genuine Ozu film?

[Michael Kerpan]

It's hard to explain. It just seems that Ozu made the film Shintoho wanted rather than something he felt was truly his own. It is as if Shintoho wanted a glossy facsimile of an Ozu film (as IT envisioned Ozu films ought to look) -- so there are plenty of superficial Ozu-esque touches but it just doesn't feel "real".

When you see it yourself, maybe you'll see what I mean -- and then again -- maybe you won't. ;~}

(I wish I could explain this better -- but I don't feel like re-watching the film again just to buttress my argument).

A good bit of Days of Youth takes place on the slopes of a ski resort, I'm drawing a blank on other instances in his silent films though.

There's also a bit of winter in one other silent -- but I can't recall offhand whether it's in "A Mother Should Be Loved" or "Where Now are the Dreams of Youth". Then there's "That Night's Wife" -- whose season is indeterminate (partly because it takes place at night) -- still it somehow seems that the weather is chillier for this than for most.

[Arcadean]

I watched Early Summer (1951) about 2 weeks ago. There was a scene I was curious about. Setsuko Hara's boss and her friend are in his office. The dialogue is quite strange compared to the rest of the movie. There is mention of Audrey Hepburn who is described as an American actress. This is before Audrey became famous in 1953 with Roman Holiday and the pictures to follow. The boss also talks rather pervertedly about lesbianism. This was just a stand out scene from the rest of the movie that I thought was rather odd.

[kekid]

By my count, Criterion has so far released 4 Ozu DVD's or 5 of his films, since one of the DVD's has two films on it. If they were going to issue only 12 films, they will release 7 more films. As of now, I have 14 Panorama DVD's, which exclude everything Criterion has released so far. Since Criterion will at most release 7 additional films, I have at least 7 on Panoramas that will never show up on Criterion. The essence of this arithmetic is that if you love Ozu, and want to have all his films on DVD, you have to buy Panoramas, despite their reported flaws. Since I do not know Japanese, I cannot judge the extent to which the subtitles distort the dialogue. But I know this: if the choice was between having Panoramas with their less-than-ideal dialogue or less-than-perfect image and not having them at all, I would take Panoramas any day. The Criterion policy of keeping future plans a secret will have cost me potentially seven duplicate DVD's. But once these Panoramas go out of print, a comprehensive Ozu collection will be nearly impossible to build. This is not a paid advertisement for Panorama. It is the perspective of a lover of Ozu's art.

[rlendog]

Until recently I avoided the Panoramas because I don't have a DVD player that can play region 3 DVDs. But recently some Panaroama Ozus that puport to be Region 3 actually can play in all regions. My first such purchase was Early Spring, which worked fine, looked fine and was a very enjoyable experience (a few awkward subtitles notwithstanding). Lately, several others have become available such as There Was a Father, Equinox Flower, Passing Fancy and What Did the Lady Forget. I purchased these (pretty cheap on ebay) but haven't tested them yet. Also a BoYing region 3 DVD of Late Spring is now available which plays fine in region 1 DVD players (at least mine - again with a few awkward subtitles).

Since some of these (esp. Late Spring and Equinox Flower seem to be ideal Criterion releases) it seems that their policy of holding back Ozu for a year and half now may start to cut in on their future sales. I myself will certainly buy a Criterion Late Spring, but whether I purchase the others from Criterion in the future (assuming they ever release them) will depend on extras and restoration and such. Here's hoping that Criterion stops sitting on their hands with the Ozus real soon.

I have seen "Passing Fancy", "Story of Floating Weeds" and "Inn in Tokyo" referred to as Ozu's Kihachi trilogy. Is this a trilogy like the "Noriko trilogy" where the 3 films all have a similar tone and a character named Noriko played by the same actress, or do the stories really build on each other?

[Cinephrenic]

Those new 35mm prints got to be Criterion.

[Steven H]

I have seen "Passing Fancy", "Story of Floating Weeds" and "Inn in Tokyo" referred to as Ozu's Kihachi trilogy. Is this a trilogy like the "Noriko trilogy" where the 3 films all have a similar tone and a character named Noriko played by the same actress, or do the stories really build on each other?

It's definitely like the "Noriko Trilogy", but I would say most Ozu films build on the last, or maybe even farther back, films. "Kihachi" in all of these is played by Sakamoto Takeshi, and from what I've seen of other directors' work whose films he starred in, he almost always played the "Kihachi" character (the exceptions so far being Naruse's Nightly Dreams, and Shimizu's Children in the Wind). Even in There Was a Father, Sakamoto seems to be playing an older, slightly more reserved version of his younger "Kihachi" self. So maybe the "Noriko" and "Kihachi" trilogies are really based more around Ozu having a specific idea of how to use an actor.

[rlendog]

I was wondering if anyone else on this board was at the Late Spring showing at Lincoln Center this past Saturday. The experience was partially spoiled by the fact that a fire drill went off in the middle, but it is still a great film.

Of possible interest was that it started with a Janus credit, which I don't remember being on the New Yorker video. I don't know if that makes it more likely for a Criterion release. Also, the film had a lot more pops and other visible damage than I remember from the video, but that may just be the result of that particular copy of the film being used many times (or just the fact that any damage shows up more clearly on a big screen).

[zedz]

Of possible interest was that it started with a Janus credit, which I don't remember being on the New Yorker video. I don't know if that makes it more likely for a Criterion release. Also, the film had a lot more pops and other visible damage than I remember from the video, but that may just be the result of that particular copy of the film being used many times (or just the fact that any damage shows up more clearly on a big screen).

I understand that even the best copies of Late Spring are pretty battered, but it's major, major Ozu and would be a logical choice for Criterion to release if it were prepared to do the restoration work.

I'm on a bit of an Ozu high today because I finally bit the bullet and ordered eight unseen Panorama Ozus, which arrived yesterday and which I'm now working through chronologically. I would be thrilled, however, if Criterion made any of those purchases redundant.

[David Ehrenstein]

I wrote the liner notes for Floating Weeds, and long considered myself a great Ozu fan. This past year, however, a Japanese friend has supplied me with considerable information about Ozu and his films. The notion that they are "more Japanese" than those of Kurosawa or Mizoguchi strikes him as bizarre in that Ozu, in his eyes, was extremely Western and didn't deal with classic Japanese themes at all. He was a great movie fan from the very beginning. Those who've seen I Was Born But. . . know its plot pivots on the father's ability to imitate Stan Laurel. Talk about Audrey Hepburn in a later sound film, right at the time of Hepburn's fame, is very Ozu.

The actual title of the film we know as An Autumn Afternoon is The Taste of Autumn Makerel. This is in reference to a figure of speech on par with "Caviar to the General" as Autumn Mackerel is a delicacy said to be fit for only the finest brides -- or words to that effect.

[Gregory]

Talk about Audrey Hepburn in a later sound film, right at the time of Hepburn's fame, is very Ozu.

I think it's important to point out the error here. Donald Richie, the translator for the Criterion DVD of Early Summer got it wrong. Ozu's dialogue tells us that Noriko was a fan of Katharine Hepburn and had collected photos of her, presumably in Noriko's teenage years. It would have been impossible for her to have been Audrey Hepburn fan back then because Audrey's career had not yet begun, nor did she have any real international reputation by the time Early Summer was made. Thus, Ozu's dialogue simply refers to "Hepburn." Richie could have looked up the details if he had any doubts which one it was. In any case one might expect someone who is so often thought to be an astute and reliable Ozu critic to know that Ozu was clearly linking Noriko's character and her independent attitudes toward traditional patriarchal institutions with the persona that Katharine Hepburn developed in her 1930s films for RKO. Thus, I think it's a key point in the interpretation of the character and the way in which she to some extent capitulates.
I feel a need to continue to point out what might seem to be an insignificant detail because I believe it to be an important piece of textual evidence with which to interpret the film, but also because some forum members as well as Criterion itself don't seem to care much about this sort of thing. For example someone stated in another thread that subtitle translations, which most people wholly depend upon to understand a foreign film's dialogue, are "not part of the film at all." For Criterion's part, I contacted them to bring this error to their attention and try and convince them that this kind of thing does impact interpretation at some level. They didn't even bother to send me a reply of any kind.
Finally, in jest, I'll point out that if Audrey Hepburn has just kept the name Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston, this confusion might never have happenend.

[Michael Kerpan]

I'm on a bit of an Ozu high today because I finally bit the bullet and ordered eight unseen Panorama Ozus, which arrived yesterday and which I'm now working through chronologically. I would be thrilled, however, if Criterion made any of those purchases redundant.

What Panorama releases did you get?

Hope you enjoy them?

For Criterion's part, I contacted them to bring this error
to their attention and try and convince them that this kind of thing does impact interpretation at some level. They didn't even bother to send me a reply of any kind.

This is quite unfortunate -- and one of those little things that makes me suspicious of Criterion's reliability. The mistake itself was quite inexcusable (whether on Richie's part -- or on that of some nameless editor who decided to improve the translator's work).

As to the "Japanese-ness" of Ozu, for those who can read French, I strongly recommend Shigehiko Hasumi's Ozu book (published by Cahiers du cinema). He pretty clearly demonstrates that Ozu is hardly the "most Japanese" of Japanese directors. To a certain extent, this corrective viewpoint is also reflected in Bordwell's book on Ozu.

[unclehulot]

I like the Bordwell book because he doesn't seem to give a damn about whether Ozu is Japanese or Portugese. He simply looks at the filmic language Ozu creates, and gets inside it as well as anyone I've read about any director. No bullshit, just close observation.

[the dancing kid]

There's also a chapter in Bordwell's book 'Post Theory' by Donald Kirihara, which is actually a response to Noel Burch's 'To the Distant Observer', that tries to dispell the whole "Japaneseness" angle.

Burch's original text tries to frame Japanese film (not just Ozu) by attempting to differentiate between Japanese and Western cultural contexts, but it's really a false dilemma. His whole premise is based a few faulty assumptions, such as Japan's geographical isolation resulting in a cultural isolation, or that because Japanese culture is non-Western it is somehow incompatible with a Western aesthetic sense. This leads to some questionable interpretations, such as claiming a tracking shot that moves from left to right in a Japanese film (such as in I Flunked But...) is based on the Japanese tradition of writing from left to right. Obviously Japanese artistic traditions have influence on filmmaking, but it isn't something that can explain everything, and there is plenty of evidence of early Japanese filmmakers being aware of and influenecd by Western films. Similarly, Ozu's films have "Japanese qualities", but they also can't be explained or understood only though that kind of interpretation.