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I'd be down for a Kiyoshi Kurosawa box. That director is a genius. Peace.

I will be happy if they release a Eclipse Boxset called "Japanese Cinema of the 30s" containing THE ONLY SON (Ozu), Sisters of Gion (Mizoguchi) Osaka Elegy (Mizoguchi)

No Japanese 30's retro would be worth its weight in confetti without Yamanaka... save if a seperate box for Yama came out on its own.

Criterion owns a lot of Shimizu, Heinosuke Gosha and other early Japanese masters, it would make sense.

Gosha is different from (Heinosuke) Gosho -- who was Ozu's contemporary.

1930s Shimazu, Shimizu, (early) Naruse, Gosho -- all this was released by Shochiku Studios.

Yamanaka's work was released by Nikkastsu (except for Humanity and Paper Balloons). I think Uchida was also at Nikkatsu.

Mizoguchi was a floater -- and worked for just about every studio (except Toho) at some point.

Hopefully, if they do release something from Shimizu it'll be something that Shochiku isn't planning for their ongoing boxset series. We really need some Heinosuke Gosho, though. Do anyone of his films even have non-English friendly R2 discs?

I'm not optimistic that a "Silent Japan" boxset will come out anytime soon, though. So far, each Eclipse release has been built around one director, as opposed to a movement, or genre.

I don't know what rights issues are like for some of these, but an "Early Hawks" set consisting of Trent's Last Case, The Dawn Patrol, The Criminal Code and Tiger Shark would be pretty fantastic. The Lubitsch Musicals set makes me optimistic for more early 30s Hollywood bunches, and we're unlikely to get a studio set of Hawks like Ford's due to Hawks' bouncing from one studio to another.

Who controls Tiger Shark? I can see it being penciled into a WB Gangsters set due to Robinson

geoffcowgill wrote:The Lubitsch Musicals set makes me optimistic for more early 30s Hollywood bunches, and we're unlikely to get a studio set of Hawks like Ford's due to Hawks' bouncing from one studio to another.

Wouldn't mind seeing a set of early films by Leo McCarrey.

I love the man's work, but apparently I've been missing his two very best films (Red Gap and Make Way for Tomorrow).

Not much Gosho out of DVD -- even in Japan. The release I know about is "Where Chimneys Are Seen" (which, happily, is one of his best --m no subs, of course). A lot of his films were released on video, but these videos are all out of print by now.

Surely he deserves at least one box set -- but then so do people like Uchida and Imai (even more, in my opinion).

Shochiku is releasing its first Shimazu film this month -- Our Neighbor Miss Yae. A box set of his work would be nice too.

Along with Naruse, Ozu and Mizoguchi, Janus has the rights to the following early Japanese films:

Shimizu: Japanese Girls at the Harbor, Mr. Thank You
Shimazu: Our Neighbor Miss Yae
Gosha: The Neighbor's Wife and Mine

Would make a nice Taisho Chic box set.

Michael Kerpan wrote:Not much Gosho out of DVD -- even in Japan. The release I know about is "Where Chimneys Are Seen" (which, happily, is one of his best --m no subs, of course). A lot of his films were released on video, but these videos are all out of print by now.

Do you have these out of print videos? Perhaps some old TV broadcasts?

Speaking of which, Shimizu's Undying Pearl (which I obtained via a TV broadcast) seems to be in very good condition. I'd imagine that it wouldn't be too difficult for some company to clean this up. It would be a surprise if Criterion introduced Shimizu (or any director for that matter) with a silent film, though.

It is interesting that we're more than a year in and so far they've stuck exclusively to single-director box sets, despite the initial indication that there would also be themed Eclipses (French New Wave miscellany and Japanese samurai were the examples I recall, although I can't remember if those were just forum guesses or actually floated by Criterion).

You'd think they'd have trotted one of those out by now if they were going to; it'd be a big changeup if the first one that's not auteur-driven is Eclipse 14 or 15.

I think someone else may have speculated this back around the time of his death, but I wonder if a Robbe-Grillet set could be in the cards? As was pointed out in the International DVD section, there are Italian discs of three films coming out this summer, and prints of his first four films are playing in Toronto and NYC.

Perkins Cobb wrote:It is interesting that we're more than a year in and so far they've stuck exclusively to single-director box sets, despite the initial indication that there would also be themed Eclipses (French New Wave miscellany and Japanese samurai were the examples I recall, although I can't remember if those were just forum guesses or actually floated by Criterion).

You'd think they'd have trotted one of those out by now if they were going to; it'd be a big changeup if the first one that's not auteur-driven is Eclipse 14 or 15.

Criterion mentioned they would focus on directors at the moment and cashiers du cinema said that they plan to release themed sets later on, such as the samurai or Nouvelle Vague.

I think Criterion should release a Cinema Nova set. There is hardly any of these in the market.

Cinema Nova
Antonio das Mortes (Rocha, 1969)
Anguished Land (Rocha, 1967)
Black God, White Devil (Rocha, 1964)
Vidas Secas (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1963)
Macunaíma (Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1969)

...and maybe some Carlos Diegues.

Macunaíma is a confirmed Criterion, although I suppose it could end up with Eclipse.

I would like to see some Situationist/crypto-Situationist films from Eclipse -- Gaumont released a box set of Guy Debord's films a few years back (with no English subs) and there's been talk of René Viénet getting similar DVD treatment. Of course, there are copyright issues to consider (especially with the Viénets) and these could definitely benefit from the contextualizing an extras-laden Criterion release could provide, but they do fit in with Eclipse's mission.

Cinephrenic wrote:Black God, White Devil (Rocha, 1964)

My understanding is that Koch Lorber owns the rights to this one -- and must be storing them in the same drawer where they keep Los Olvidados languishing.

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:I would like to see some Situationist/crypto-Situationist films from Eclipse -- Gaumont released a box set of Guy Debord's films a few years back (with no English subs) and there's been talk of René Viénet getting similar DVD treatment. Of course, there are copyright issues to consider (especially with the Viénets) and these could definitely benefit from the contextualizing an extras-laden Criterion release could provide, but they do fit in with Eclipse's mission.

A box of Debord would rock my world, and a very corrupt part of me would prefer to see it released without contextual extras, just to see the reaction.

-Toilet Dcuk

Vidas Secas is out on DVD from New Yorker, but I agree that they could do a Cinema Novo set. The number of landmark Latin American films, from the 1960s and '70s in particular, that have still not been released on DVD is a real crime, but this is hardly surprising by now. Many of them end up getting distributed on DVD only institutionally, with poor transfers and no supplementary material, but they are really deserving of more widespread appreciation.

I rewatched Story Written with Water last night and imagined a five-disc "Incest and the Japanese New Wave" Eclipse set:
A Story Written with Water (Yoshida)
The Profound Desire of the Gods (Imamura)
Inferno of First Love (Hani)
The Ceremony (Oshima)
Mujo (Jissoji)

Beat that!

It'll never happen, of course (imagine trying to market that particular concept), but all of those titles are theoretically available to Criterion in acceptable transfers.

Throw in Yoshida's Eros plus massacre and the set is sold.

The Imamura is coming, so maybe you're right.

Vidas Secas is on DVD from new yorker but I wish CC had released (very good movie). I love both the cinema novo and japanese new wave eclipse sets. I wish both were a reality...
I would like to add that O pagador de promessas (anselmo duarte) would also make a great addition to the aforementioned eclipse boxset proposal.
First things first though, imamura/mizoguchi...which one of those will come first? Either one I am sold...

I have the Riofilme version of "Black God, White Devil"...to see that on a Criterion transfer (since it is one of the senimal films of the Cinema Novo movement) would be divine.

zedz wrote:I rewatched Story Written with Water last night and imagined a five-disc "Incest and the Japanese New Wave" Eclipse set:
A Story Written with Water (Yoshida)
The Profound Desire of the Gods (Imamura)
Inferno of First Love (Hani)
The Ceremony (Oshima)
Mujo (Jissoji)

Beat that!

It'll never happen, of course (imagine trying to market that particular concept), but all of those titles are theoretically available to Criterion in acceptable transfers.

Couldn't "Incest and the Japanese New Wave" be a title for an all-Imamura set though?