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Has anyone seen the R3 DVD of Yasuzo Masumura's A Lustful Man?

And does the Hong Kong edition come with decent English subtitles ( not back-translated from Chinese to English as is sometimes the case with HK DVD's)?

Yesasia shipped this out to me last week, so I'll be able to report on the subs/quality, hopefully, very soon.

Please do. I'd also be interested in hearing your view of 'Afraid To Die' if you've seen it.

It's the only commercially available Masumura DVD I haven't seen apart from this new one.

Hi everyone, I'm new here, I was wondering has anyone seen this flick? I was impressed when i saw it as it was ahead of its time due to the subject.

Well, the subtitles are more than adequate (I didn't notice any spelling errors, and they seemed complete), but the transfer is a mess. I'd suspect analog video (it stinks of ancient VHS). The film itself looks ridiculous, but I'll have to really sit down and watch it sometime (definitely an oddity compared to what's already available from Masumura.)

Thanks for the information. I think I'll give it a miss and go for 'Afraid To Die' instead.

Afraid To Die is interesting enough because Mishima Yukio is in it (learn a bit about him before watching to enhance the bizarreness.)

Steven H wrote:Well, the subtitles are more than adequate (I didn't notice any spelling errors, and they seemed complete), but the transfer is a mess. I'd suspect analog video (it stinks of ancient VHS). The film itself looks ridiculous, but I'll have to really sit down and watch it sometime (definitely an oddity compared to what's already available from Masumura.)

Steven -- I am not too fluent in technical terms -- strictly based on the quality of the presentation, would this mean that you judge this disc to be vastly inferior to the DVDs of Masumura's films that are out from Fantoma? (I have been quite pleased with these).

As to Afraid To Die, I think this was one of the less interesting Masumura films that Fantoma released. It is bizarre and interesting for featuring Mishima, but other than that, did you think it that special of a film? Manji seemed a much more unique film, and Red Angel (which I have not yet had an opportunity to see) sounds like the best of the batch. I have also read positive things about Giants and Toys, another Fantoma title that I have not yet picked up. Do you have any comments on it?

I wasn't that impressed with Afraid to Die, but it is interesting enough for Mishima's performance and presence. Giants and Toys and Red Angel are sure bets (and my favorite of his films that I've seen with subtitles, A False Student, is available in a watchable transfer from superhappyfun.) Manji and Blind Beast are second tier, but definitely worth going after (I haven't seen the latter in a while, so it may end up getting better with time.) There are a lot of people who love Blind Beast, so don't let me dissuade you from that one, or anything.

I can't wait to sit down and give A Lustful Man a go (here's a snapshot).



ugh, and it looks worse in motion. at least it's OAR with removable subs.

The transfer of Lust. Man is 2:35 ...but the image is not that good and is NOT anamorphic

I think this is one of the great unsung literary adaptations : overheated, intense and yet wonderfully compelling. The acting and directing are top notch. Although Kyoko Kishida steals the show it also helps that Ayako Wakao really does come across as the kind of femme fatale you would ruin yourself for.

I also enjoyed the Tanizaki novel (which I read before seeing the film). His other novels are well worth seeking out.

I'd also recommend Red Angel. And I thought Manji was outstanding. Having said this, both these films have grown on me as a result of subsequent viewings. I didn't really 'get' them first time around. I also enjoyed Blind Beast too.

Giants and Toys is relatively brisk and enjoyable though I'm not as big a fan of this movie as some people. But it's definitely worth seeing.

Steven - thanks for the tip about A False Student. I'll definitely be getting hold of this one.

Further comments on A Lustful Man would also be appreciated. I can make allowances for the poor visual quality provided that there's a good story to be enjoyed. Do please let us know what you think.

I believe the English translation is call 'Quicksand'? I've seen it but have not read it. I will see if i can acquire the book. Also which version did you watch? Mine was fantoma.

The novel is called 'Quicksand'. And the DVD I saw was by Fantoma.

I really do recommend Tanizaki's writing. 'Naomi' and 'Diary of a Mad Old Man' are also good.

I'm not sure where else to put this - this seemed like the best spot, albeit some three years later. Masumura's Two Wives is playing at the Japan Society in NYC tonight, and this will be my first exposure to the man. Looking fwd to it.

Well, since this is the thread closest to a dedicated director's thread, I'll post it here. Recently I attended the Masumura mini-retrospective held in Shanghai IFF. Two out of four films I watched are from brand new 4k restorations (The Most Valuable Wife & A Wife Confesses). The other two are in old but still quite serviceable DCPs (Kisses & Blue Sky Maiden). I find A Wife Confesses an absolute masterpiece, with Kisses and The Most Valuable Wife both essential Masumuras. Blue Sky Maiden is at first glance a regular commercial job for a big studio but on closer inspection is also spiced with Masumura's signature observations.

(spoiler alert!)

A Wife Confesses (1961) starts off very similar to the recent Anatomy of a Fall. A woman is implicated in a privacy-shattering court trial because she is somehow involved in her husband's death. However, Masumura has no interest in a modernized Rashomon in a modern courtroom. Rather, it is obvious to the viewers that even if the wife first refuses to confess her motivation in killing the husband (more precisely, letting the husband off to die), there is no mistake that she wants her husband dead from the very start. And there is no uncertainty that the woman has romantic feelings toward the young partner of her husband, a fact that sets the public off. Indeed, certainty of the woman's feeling is the point here. Wakao's Ayako is portrayed as a woman with a matter-of-fact mentality, ready to take initiative when she is convinced that she has found true love, unlike the traditional woman characters that so often populate Japanese films from older generations of directors. It is the men surrounding her that is both sadistic and hypocritical, unwilling to admit their impotency and impotent righteousness. The wife first falls in love with a man for a wrong reason, and then falls in love again for the right reason but with a wrong man. And it is possible that the society simply fails to produce such a man that can rise to match her candidness and recklessness. In contrast, the two main women characters know what they want and are sharp enough to see through their intimate partners' weaknesses. There is a "girls help girls" moment close to the end of the film that serves to strip away all vain disguise of men, leaving the audience to mourn not only the passing of an incompatible yet irrepressible life, but also the lack of empathy from the other sex to such a life in a society. The law may have saved her, but the people have made sure that such a soul has no place in a world that views love as a perfect robotic duty rather than flawed human emotion.

In general, Masumura sometimes strikes me as an economist who happens to make pictures. In all four films I saw, including the most commercial Blue Sky Maiden, economic and financial details are constantly thrown in, reflecting a specific time and social structure in Japanese history. How much does a person earn doing a certain type of work? How much does a bowl of noodles or a pair of shoes cost? A woman's pay is so little that she could faint out of malnutrition and life insurance's price so big that it takes up a large chunk of a college professor's pay. Such and such. And people's attitudes toward money and calculation of their financial conditions are portrayed as candidly as possible. There is a scene in A Wife Confesses in which the wife uses her husband's insurance money to completely transform her life-style, renting a big apartment and filling it with trendy furniture--basically building a love nest for her lover. It is interesting and unusual that this scene is portrayed in a sympathetic tone, as if spending money, rightfully hers or not, is an expression of loving and living, a confirmation of life. Masumura wants to make a statement that love and money cannot and should never be separated. The women get it. The men, on the other hand, bury their heads in denial, pretending to be appalled.