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I don't doubt it. I'll start seeking out the "unavailable" stuff once I get through the Hulu offerings.

Some of the best stuff that hasn't been Hulu'd (so far as I know):

Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts
Wife! Be Like a Rose!
The Girl on Everyone's Lips
Morning's Tree-Lined Streets
Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro
The Whole Family Works
Travelling Actors
A Face from the Past
Hideko, the Bus Conductor
The Song Lantern
A Tale of Archery at the Sanjusangendo
Both You and I (which I prefer to think of as "You and Me, Pal")
Spring Awakens
Ishinaka sensei gyôjôki -- Ishinaka's (being a noted writer -- a stand in for the actual author, Ishizawa) report on (rural, romantic) conduct (with Mifune, in pt. 3 of 3)
Maihime (The Dancing Girl -- Kawabata's story, not Mori's)
Okuni and Gohei
Lightning
Fufu (Husband and Wife)
Older Brother, Younger Sister(s)
Sudden Rain
A Wife's Heart (with Mifune)
Untamed Woman
Anzukko
Summer Clouds
Daughters, Wives, Mothers
Approach (or start) of Autumn
Tsuma to shite onna to shite (As a Wife, As a Woman)
A Wanderer's Notebook
Scattered Clouds

Midareru (1964) opens in Paris Dec. 9:
http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_g ... 24263.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

-Scroll down for trailer (Une femme dans la tourmente)

Distributor: http://www.acaciasfilms.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great news This has soared to the top of my want-on-blu list. If you haven't seen it the last shot will tear you to pieces. Wish it was coming closer to a screen near me. Ironically it is showing at the Reflet Medicis in Paris where my own film was shown last week in the Paris Indie Fest only wish it had come out a little earlier.

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote:Great news This has soared to the top of my want-on-blu list. If you haven't seen it the last shot will tear you to pieces.

Which film are you referring to?

The one Stefan posted about above In english i think it's called Yearning

Yearning is a remarkable film -- really almost a two-parter. The first is part is a somewhat black-comic exploration of the impact of modern western-style grocery stores on tradition, small family businesses. The second part, involving a train journey and a stop at a scenic hot springs resort town is something totally different (and has some extravagantly wonderful cinematography). The train scene here pretty much (but not quite) ties with the one in Apart From Her as my favorite ever.

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote:The one Stefan posted about above In english i think it's called Yearning

ah, Midareru (1964).

48.13 gbp / 73.02 US Dollar on Amazon uk!

D50 wrote:

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote:The one Stefan posted about above In english i think it's called Yearning

ah, Midareru (1964).

48.13 gbp / 73.02 US Dollar on Amazon uk!

Looks like the Japanese DVD -- so no subtitles. (I have this as part of a Toho set released 10 years ago).

Dan Sallitt has revised and compiled his notes on Naruse into a book and made it available online.

colinr0380 wrote:Dan Sallitt has revised and compiled his notes on Naruse into a book and made it available online.

We had a (long-running) little online coffee klatsch where a number of folks watched these films (independently, but in conjunction) and then compared notes afterwards. Dan saved all his posts, but I don't think I kept mine. It was all very exciting and fun. Glad to see his recent publication.

Actually, on one occasion, when Dan visited Boston, I showed him (still unsubbed) Naruse (and Somai's Ohikkoshi), doing my (all too feeble) best to serve as a translator/benshi.

I'm surprised and excited that Scattered Clouds is showing at my local French cinema and described as a 'version restauree'. Its playing in the original version but with French subtitles. My French is pretty limited but going by the posts on this Forum I think it's worth the watch. Does this suggest a Blu is on the horizon that might get picked up by Criterion, MOC or maybe Arrow Academy?

Looking forward to your report!

This is probably the best looking of the Naruse films. Excited about the prospect of a Blu-ray release. Also, in my book this is the second-best Japanese movie made in the last 50 years (behind only Maborosi).

Cinematek in Brussels is screening 20 Naruse films in Sep-Oct.
Free entrance on top. Can probably only make it to a few of these. Which ones should I prioritise? Have seen the titles in the MoC box + Woman ascends the stairs.

Caught the third showing of Scattered Clouds at my local cinema deep in south west France. Only one of 15 screenings in the country according to its website. There were only 9 people there. Interestingly the French translate the title in English as "Two in the Shadow". I don't have the advantage of having seen this in its unrestored state and I've no idea how recent this restoration is but it looks lovely. It has a green tinge, and I know there's been a lot of debate about this on the Ozu threads in the past, but I found it matched the pervading mood of melancholy perfectly and the late sixties colour palette. The last shot is quietly devastating, not only in term's of Yumiko's fate but that of Naruse himself.
As I said in an earlier post, it would be amazing if this could be picked up for a Blu-ray release. Criterion is the most likely home but Arrow or MOC would be welcome too. I need to see it a few more times.

kuzine:

Everything being shown in Brussels ranges from interesting and very good to absolutely wonderful. All I can recommend is see absolutely everything you can possibly manage to get to (with precedence given to films you have not yet seen). Your chances of seeing many of these screened again (for at least 15 years) is probably minimal.

What were your preferences of the films you've seen (or did you love them all)?

alacal2:

It is really a shame that Naruse's last film has never gotten an English subbed release. The Japanese DVD looked pretty good color-wise (but I have not watched it for ages). It represented a wonderful return to his roots -- after two rather lurid (not anywhere near great, but still interesting) preceding films. It definitely deserves to be more widely abvailable.

kuzine,

I second Michael's recommendation that you see as many of them screened as you can. As Michael said, there's very little chance that you'll be able to see them screened again in the foreseeable future. Of those that you've not seen, I recommend seeing (in order of priority):
1. Floating Clouds (don't miss this one)
2. Two in the Shadow (don't miss this one)
3. Late Chrysanthemums
4. Yearning
5. Lightning

By the way, the screen capture at that site with the title Yearning underneath it is not from Yearning. It's from Two in the Shadow. Someone should inform them

alacal2,

I've just checked the Japanese DVD. It has the greenish look that you mentioned above.

I would say that Song Lantern also shouldn't be missed -- as it has some of the most beautiful use of light (and shadow) I've ever seen. Traveling Actors, while not so profound, is an interesting (and mostly very funny) variation/expansion on the theme of the kabuki "horse" one sees in Ozu's Story of Floating Weeds. While I very much love Every Night Dreams and Apart From You -- these ARE findable on DVD (the Eclipse set). Aki tachinu is a rare child-centered Naruse film -- and a very moving one (Kobayashi covers somewhat similar thematic ground in his Muddy River) -- even if he does not quite capture Ozu (or Shimizu) level child performances....

Oh yes, I still remember how lovely Song Lantern looked and how funny some of the scenes in Approach of Autumn were (especially the one with the kids running out of the park) Every Night Dreams and Apart from You are very good indeed.

MK, artfilmfan: thanks!

It's been a while since I've seen the ones I've seen (basically around the time the dvd's were released) so my memories and impressions are quite vague I must admit. Reading the synopsis again, I remember loving Repast most out of the MoC box. Looking things up, I totally forgot I also have the bfi box and from my viewing log it seems I didn't really warm up to Floating Clouds but did really like Late Chrysanthemums, but I should revisit both given my memory blank and single viewing. I also have the silent eclipse still in my kevyip.
Unfortunately don't live right around the corner of Cinematek and have newborn family constraints so as much as I would want to catch the majority of the screenings, realistically I will have to settle for a handful. Giving preference to the ones I don't have access to at home is indeed my current plan and to revisit (or watch in case of the silents) the ones I have on dvd in the meantime as well.

It took me a few watchings of Floating Clouds before I really began to love it. Reading the source novel (which has a somewhat different focus) also helped.

Repast is probably my most loved Naruse film -- and the one that turned me from an admirere to a fanatic (along with Sound of the Mountain).

I missed a few screenings back when the Harvard Film Archive showed a LOT of Naruse films -- due to family visitors. Shikata ga nai...

Floating Clouds shares the top spot with Late Spring on my list of favorite (best loved) Japanese films. Occupying the third spot is Maborosi.

Repast is one of my most beloved films, while I didn't enjoy the pessimistic tone of Sound of the Mountain a lot. After Repast are a string of masterpieces (or near ones at worst): When a woman ascends the stairs, Late Chrysanthemums, Flowing, Floating Clouds, Yearning to name the ones that come very rapidly to my mind. I very much like Scattered Clouds too.

In the end made it to four films during the Naruse series at Cinematek, all were at least very good to excellent (so thanks for the suggestions again!) so am glad I did the effort (and a bit sad on missing out on the others but that's life). Prints looked good for the most part and good turnout for all of these.

Travelling actors was a great one to see with a crowd I thought due to the comedy. Brisk runtime but could have easily watched another hour of their antics. As others have noted above, the focus on children protagonists in Autumn Has Already Started makes it a bit of an outlier in Naruse's oeuvre, but I liked this as much as let's say Ozu's similar themed films.

Was wondering were the last sequence in Yearning takes place (looked like a mountain village)? I don't think it was mentioned in the film itself.
Last one I caught was Two in the shadow. I missed some of the subtitles because I was entranced by the images too much at times but somehow I totally missed wat

Spoiler

happened with the pregnancy/baby

, which I found strange for such a seemingly major plot point in the beginning. If someone could enlighten me? Travelled around the Akita-Aomori area last year so it was nice to see those areas again in the past.