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Late Autumn
A Film by Yasujiro Ozu

When nostalgia about college days inspires a group of middle-aged men businessmen to match-make for a widow, played by Setsuko Hara (Tokyo Story), and her daughter they have no idea of the strife their careless interference will cause. Late Autumn's examination of familial upheaval moves effortlessly from comedy to pathos and is amongst Ozu's finest post-war films.

Included here is Ozu's moving silent drama A Mother Should be Loved (1934). Young Sadao struggles to come to terms with the discovery that he is not the son of his father's widow. His fragile acceptance of this is soon disrupted.

Extra Features:

- Dual Format Edition: includes both Blu-ray and the DVD versions of the main feature
- Transferred from best available film elements to High Definition
- Contains full length feature A Mother Should be Loved (1934) (DVD only)
- Newly commissioned score for A Mother Should be Loved by composer Ed Hughes
- Fully illustrated booklet features newly commissioned sleeve notes
- New and improved English subtitles

An Autumn Afternoon
A Film by Yasujiro Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu's captivating final film, An Autumn Afternoon, displays the master director s skills at their consummate best. Ozu regular Chishu Ryu (Tokyo Story) plays Shuhei Hirayama, a concerned father eager to find a husband for his faithful daughter Michiko (Shima Iwashita) before she sees out her days caring for him. A cast of colourful characters weave seamlessly in and out of the story, highlighting themes of loneliness and fear for the future with deep poignancy and ironic humour.

Ozu's rarely-seen post-war film A Hen in the Wind (1948) is also included here. In a Japan recently devastated by WWII a devoted but near destitute mother waits for her husband's demobilisation. When her son falls seriously ill she turns to prostitution to pay his hospital bills.

Extra Features:

- Dual Format Edition: includes both Blu-ray and the DVD versions of the main feature
- Transferred from best available film elements to High Definition
- Contains previously unavailable full length feature A Hen in the Wind (1948) (DVD only)
- Fully illustrated booklet features newly commissioned sleeve notes
- New and improved English subtitles

movielocke wrote:ahh, here, I was gonna predict another two film $40 set for May from criterion with A Mother Should be Loved and A Hen in the Wind, but these being DVD only suggests that's not probable.

Michael Kerpan wrote:High praise for BFI's "There Is A Father". Frankly, I never expected to see this film look so good )and to sound mostly passable). Old and battered this may look, but infinitely better than the first version I saw (and very significantly better than the Shochiku DVD).

Michael Kerpan wrote:I think Ozu's basic point is that the Father (though admirable in a purely abstract sense) was terribly wrong-headed. Ozu presents the son as placing far greater value on family affection (and presents Mr. Hirata as a neutral observer who clearly shares the son's perspective). While Ozu had to be a bit careful in getting this point across -- as he had to get this past the censors based on its surface message -- I think it is clear that he agreed with the son and Hirata, and not with the stubborn Father.

Leo Wong wrote:Ozu always favored the children, even when they are wrongheaded. In this film, the son is right from beginning to end.

Michael Kerpan wrote:Leo -- thanks for this link to a very interesting blog that I have never before run across!

Will Barks wrote:Does anyone else has problems playing their Equinox Flower Blu-ray on a region free Oppo? I always get a wrong region screen although set on code B. I have to put in Late Spring first (where the screen also appears but vanishes after a few seconds). Afterwards Equinox Flower works. Seems a bit strange to me. :-k