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Holy fucking shit, this is awesome!

I guess I should have started with that. I was a little surprised by the list, as I was under the impression that Eclipse was going to be primarily for "minor" films, a la the Bergman set, but this set indicates that they are not hesitating to sweep middle-tier films into the Eclipse line, which is very good (because they are getting released and probably in quality that would put most of their first 150 releases to shame) and bad (because they're not scheduled for "special treatment"). Frankly, if the transfers are going to be about the same, then I don't really feel the need to see them on the Criterion label, as the only real downside is that the films are probably going to attract less attention (fewer reviews, etc.). I also hope that they can accelerate the Eclipse line, 'cause if their working on these, when will they have the time for Ozu's more minor stuff? and Naruse's? and Mizoguchi's? and all the other Japanese directors'? and all the non-Japanese directors'?

But yeah, all these comments should be taken within the context of Holy fucking shit, this is awesome!

montgomery wrote:I am honestly shocked by all the negative and lukewarm responses about this set. I can't believe anybody would think anything other than "Holy fucking shit, this is awesome," or at least, "God Bless Eclipse." The number of US Ozu DVD releases just shot from 6 up to 11. I don't know what there is to complain about.

There's more Ozu. More Ozu for people who don't already know Ozu, and would LOVE Ozu. This is a good thing.

Eclipse is already shaping up to be something great - of the 4 releases confirmed, there isn't anything included in any of them that would cause me to do any kvetching. I think - just to cite one example - the mere possibility of multiple Naruse releases in short order on DVD in R1 is more than any of us would have expected just a few years ago, and that would now seem to be simply the tip of an iceberg. I got no complaints.

Well...almost. They really should get on to some Oshima. Roundabout the late 60s/early 70s, the man was creating some 5-star films...but that's another thread.

Sorry if my posts are getting repetitive. I backed up (DVD9) my copy of Higanbana (Equinox Flower). Thank you ellipsis7 for the missing lines!

denti alligator wrote:Can you post some caps to show the differences between these editions?

Well, here they are (Criterion vs Shochiku):

Criterion


Shochiku


Criterion


Shochiku


I recently acquired the Shochiku disc (having been swamped in work it has been shrink-wrapped until this evening). And as you can see the contrast isn't as boosted as the Criterion. But it is decidedly softer and unfortunately it is interlaced (not progressive as the Criterion).

Since this isn't a PAL-NTSC-port, I guess the evident combing is related to the fact that it's interlaced. Correct me if this is an incorrect assumption.

Shochiku

Absolutely great news! I don't care whether the name on the box is Eclipse or Criterion, the important things are the films and I can't wait to see them in stellar quality!

Possibly it's just a matter of taste -- I find the Criterion harsh and unpleasant to look at -- because of the excess sharpness (which I doubt Ozu would have intended in this film -- whereas it was something he deliberately sought in some of his early films).

Our television/DVD player can't tell the difference between interlaced and not -- so this is not an issue for us.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before or not, but there's a beautiful new Ozu site.

Wonderful site. Thanks, Stan-- you've made my day.

that Ozu site is fantastic. thanks for the link.

The pillow shots section is really good...

That link is fantastic, similar sites for the other great directors, especially some of the more prolific Japanese ones would be amazing. Although I would probably never get any work done ever again...

Wow... great site indeed.

Nice. I'm looking forward to this release, and the whole Eclipse line in general. But, this is the release out of the 4 announced ones that I'm anticipating the most.

The set is up on Amazon. Lately, being a new member to Borders, I find their monthly 30% off coupons working some good prices. The Bergman one came in just a tad over $50.

I am really looking forward to this one most of all as well.

You know the Bergman and Ozu are $45 over at dvdplanet without coupons.

Really? Thanks for that. I was going to get the Bergman and Ozu set and you got to love those prices. I'll look into it.

And all Criterions are always 30% off at criteriondvd.com.

Criterion's DVDs of the color films all seem to give the character's reddish skin. I guess I'll have to pass. They really seem to be doing this on purpose.

Michael Kerpan wrote:Criterion's DVDs of the color films all seem to give the character's reddish skin. I guess I'll have to pass. They really seem to be doing this on purpose.

That really is disappointing, but to my eyes, only Equinox Flower seems to look really bad. (End of Summer to a somewhat lesser extent.) The colors on Late Autumn look virtually the same to me. Or are my contacts playing tricks on me?

I think one would need to see more comparisons on "Late Autumn", but if the one comparison is truly representative -- this DVD came through okay. "End of Summer" is vastly better than the dreadful AE release, but definitely pinker than the Toho version -- possibly acceptable, if not ideal. "Equinox Flower" looks like it uses a color balance comparable to the cruddy old New Yorker video. I'd rate this one as almost certainly not acceptable. The colors may be more "brighter" in the Eclipse version, but they are just plain wrong.

What a fantastic looking set (Early Spring especially). At $12 a piece, I would call it the bargain of the year. It didn't really dawn on me how wonderful this new line of discs is until I started watching Phantom India earlier today. I really hope it all works out in the long run.

The colors on Equinox Flower look appalling. And why no comparison to the Tartan on that one?

Colorwise, Late Autumn looks okay, but End of Summer is definitely also worrying. Has anyone raised this issue with Criterion directly? With all the moaning and groaning that goes on about pictureboxing, this is a much bigger problem.

Between this and the non-progressive Tokyo Twilight, my enthusiasm for this set has been somewhat dampened.

Yeah, everyone knows people in Asian films are supposed to look snot green rather than hued like humans.

This set looks absolutely fine, as does Criterion's Vengeance is Mine.

AMEN. Besides, Criterion isn't doing any work on the Eclipse titles, they're simply releasing transfers licensed from elsewhere. If an Eclipse title doesn't look snot green, odds are pretty good that someone else thought it looked off too and corrected it before Criterion even got a hold of it.

Donald Brown wrote:Yeah, everyone knows people in Asian films are supposed to look snot green rather than hued like humans.

This set looks absolutely fine, as does Criterion's Vengeance is Mine.

With the original color-timed answer print being long gone, it's impossible to know exactly what Ozu wanted. But I agree it probably wasn't Martians. The set looks great.