DarkImbecile wrote:I definitely understand the more uneven reactions, but I find Ugetsu's highs (Genjuro outside the ruins of the Kutsuki estate, the famous lake scenes, and Genjuro's achingly sad return home to the illusory Miyagi) to far outweigh its weaker points.
Just got the Blu-ray and hadn't seen it mentioned anywhere that the opening tracking shot has been fixed compared to the DVD. It's one continuous shot, as it should be, without the nonsensical cut to a shot of a lake.
A welcome upgrade, and it is a great restoration, but don't forget the OCN is either lost or unusable so it's very possible there isn't much that the standard Blu-ray didn't manage to capture. See below:
The Film Foundation wrote:Most of Mizoguchi’s oeuvre, which totals 90 overall, were silent films that are lost. A particular favorite of director Martin Scorsese, Ugetsu was restored in digital 4K through his The Film Foundation and the Kadokawa Corporation at Cineric Laboratories in New York, with funding from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
At a 2016 presentation of the restored film by the HFPA in Bologna at Il Cinema Ritrovato, Scorsese sent a video message in which he said: “I first saw Ugetsu on TV in 1958 and I have been obsessed ever since by its beauty and poetry. It was very hard to find the various elements to restore and save this masterpiece and I have to thank our friends of the Hollywood Foreign Press for making it happen.”
The restoration process used the master positive and dupe negative which were determined to be the best elements available. The film was scanned at Cineric and picture restoration and grading were supervised by Scorsese and Masahiro Miyajima, who had worked with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa for over 30 years. Audio mechanics performed the digital restoration of the soundtrack from the master positive. An internegative of the picture restoration and an optical soundtrack negative have been created for preservation, as well as 35mm film prints and DCPs for exhibition. The restoration was premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival as part of Cannes Classics.
the movie is an all time favorite of mine, and the edition remains so too, so I'm excited, but I'm more excited at the possibility of a 4K of Sansho the Bailiff, since the Criterion and MOC Blurays feature the older master. Criterion at least got the new 4K restoration of Chikamatsu Monogatari out, so I hope they do Sansho and Street of Shame, since both have Japanese BDs sourced from the 4K restorations...but I don't hold my breath on the latter. hoping Radiance can potentially rescue it in the UK, or who knows, Criterion can do it too
also even though Mizoguchi is a big name director and this movie is popular, it still holds water on our "Japanese movies with swords and ghosts sell" theory, since well, y'know...
ryannichols7 wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:48 pm
the movie is an all time favorite of mine, and the edition remains so too, so I'm excited, but I'm more excited at the possibility of a 4K of Sansho the Bailiff, since the Criterion and MOC Blurays feature the older master. Criterion at least got the new 4K restoration of Chikamatsu Monogatari out, so I hope they do Sansho and Street of Shame, since both have Japanese BDs sourced from the 4K restorations...but I don't hold my breath on the latter. hoping Radiance can potentially rescue it in the UK, or who knows, Criterion can do it too
also even though Mizoguchi is a big name director and this movie is popular, it still holds water on our "Japanese movies with swords and ghosts sell" theory, since well, y'know...
The Life of Oharu also has a new 4K restoration, but I don't think it's been released anywhere yet. Criterion's blu of that one is looking pretty dated at this point.
ryannichols7 wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:48 pm
the movie is an all time favorite of mine, and the edition remains so too, so I'm excited, but I'm more excited at the possibility of a 4K of Sansho the Bailiff, since the Criterion and MOC Blurays feature the older master. Criterion at least got the new 4K restoration of Chikamatsu Monogatari out, so I hope they do Sansho and Street of Shame, since both have Japanese BDs sourced from the 4K restorations...but I don't hold my breath on the latter. hoping Radiance can potentially rescue it in the UK, or who knows, Criterion can do it too
also even though Mizoguchi is a big name director and this movie is popular, it still holds water on our "Japanese movies with swords and ghosts sell" theory, since well, y'know...
The Life of Oharu also has a new 4K restoration, but I don't think it's been released anywhere yet. Criterion's blu of that one is looking pretty dated at this point.
I had no clue it did, that's awesome. would love if Criterion would upgrade that too, and given that they've done quite a few Toho 4Ks already, maybe we'll get lucky. or another possibility is BFI putting it out, since they've done some Toho too. Criterion's BD is indeed very dated, didn't expect we'd get a newer restoration of it
ryannichols7 wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 8:48 pm
the movie is an all time favorite of mine, and the edition remains so too, so I'm excited, but I'm more excited at the possibility of a 4K of Sansho the Bailiff, since the Criterion and MOC Blurays feature the older master. Criterion at least got the new 4K restoration of Chikamatsu Monogatari out, so I hope they do Sansho and Street of Shame, since both have Japanese BDs sourced from the 4K restorations...but I don't hold my breath on the latter. hoping Radiance can potentially rescue it in the UK, or who knows, Criterion can do it too
also even though Mizoguchi is a big name director and this movie is popular, it still holds water on our "Japanese movies with swords and ghosts sell" theory, since well, y'know...
The Life of Oharu also has a new 4K restoration, but I don't think it's been released anywhere yet. Criterion's blu of that one is looking pretty dated at this point.
Toho has released the 4K restored Oharu on blu-ray.
