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An Autumn Afternoon

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/1771/446_auumnafternon_w100.jpg[/img]

Yasujiro Ozu's final film is also his final masterpiece, the gently heartbreaking story of a man's dignified resignation to both life's ever-shifting currents and society's gradual modernization. Though widower Shuhei Hirayama (Ozu's frequent leading man Chishu Ryu) has been living comfortably for years with his grown daughter, a series of events leads him to accept and encourage her marriage and departure. As elegantly composed and achingly tender as any of the Japanese master's films, An Autumn Afternoon (Sanma no aji) is one of cinema's fondest farewells.

Special Features

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer
• New audio commentary featuring David Bordwell, author of Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema
• Excerpts from "Yasujiro Ozu and the Taste of Sake," a 1978 French television program looking back on Ozu's career, featuring film critic Michel Ciment
• Theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring new essays by film scholars Geoff Andrew and Donald Richie

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Good news, but still no sign of the big Yoshida documentary? The Only Son, perhaps?

New audio commentary featuring David Bordwell, author of Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema

Really excellent news - this is one commentary that I'll actually bother to listen to, and hopefully we'll see a few more now that he's retired from teaching.

A Bordwell commentary -excellent!...

Yasujiro Ozu's final film is also his final masterpiece...

May be it's their way of telling us that this will be the final release from the Ozu imprint. (High five, Domino Harvey!)

Wrong.

We're not done yet. The vaults still runneth over with Ozu. I vote to release it all at once. Clear the decks in one giant Ozu bonanza month on both Eclipse and the main line. It will bring delight to all of the Ozu fans, and it will allow the rest of us to look foward to being surprised in the months ahead with releases from our favorite directors and/or left field gems.

lol at more Ozu

Yay at more Ozu!

But please no Ozu month extravaganza ! I like eating.

Cant wait for this one. They can possibly make many more Ozu films but I would bet they would be released in more Eclipse/Box sets down the line.

Joy! The more R1 Ozu the better, and this is probably my favorite movie of all time, so this just made my week (and makes up for the Ophuls weirdness).

This was, of course, not an "Ozu farewell" at all -- as he had no idea he would soon be stricken with cancer -- and the tone of the film is more thoroughly comic than most of his other late work.

There is no totally adequate version of this film yet. The Shochiku master source has real problems (especially in the first reel or so). To get this right, they will have to have made use of some alternative materials.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Michael Kerpan wrote:There is no totally adequate version of this film yet. The Shochiku master source has real problems (especially in the first reel or so). To get this right, they will have to have made use of some alternative materials.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Not a definitive representation by any means, but just looking at the image Criterion used on their release page leads me to think this version will be from the same source materials. If the lower price holds, perhaps the relatively poor quality of the master was a factor.

The problem with the beginning of the Shochiku DVD (and all its progeny) is (rather weird) slipping and sliding and missing frames in (more or less) the first reel or so of the film. After this point, the DVD (and prints) looked pretty good overall.

domino harvey wrote:lol at more Ozu

Well, on the plus side, they have to be running out of films by now.

I guess they just needed to make September the "O" Month, and who better to finish off that bill?

I do think it's nice to see a film with a commentary getting a lower price point, hopefully it's not a mistake.

Well, on the plus side, they have to be running out of films by now.

Not even close, Janus still has a dozen or so additional Ozu films to release (since they own everything except the Munekata Sisters). The only other one likely to get an individual release, though, is The Only Son, so hopefully the rest will come out quickly in Eclipse box sets. Like Michael, I'm a bit worried that this won't look as good as it could given the Shochiku master. I guess we'll see and it's great that this coming out in R1 in any event.

domino harvey wrote:lol at more Ozu

I totally predicted this post. Sorry, it's just that Ozu is a very sensitive issue for me.

I wasn't paying much attention but I thought I loved it when Criterion released Ozu films

it's so funny how the dynamic has changed since I started reading this board almost 3 years ago. Back then, it was all "yeah yeah, when are we gonna get to the OZU??!!"

Now it's like "Ozu? Again?"

It's not the same people but still, I think it's kinda funny. This coming from a pretty big Ozu fan.

Anyone else notice the price on this one?

An audio-commentary with a "single disk" price ($29.95)

This just went from a "maybe get eventually, at a discount, if it never comes out on blu" to an absolute "pre-order, the moment DVDPacific has it listed"

Don't worry, it should go back to $39.95 tomarrow. It might be their default.

I don't know; Criterion's been making some darn fine decisions lately. Blu-ray releases and what not.

I think this could be a legitimate and very excellent price we're seeing.

domino harvey wrote:I guess they just needed to make September the "O" Month, and who better to finish off that bill?.

Oshima?

mikeohhh wrote:it's so funny how the dynamic has changed since I started reading this board almost 3 years ago. Back then, it was all "yeah yeah, when are we gonna get to the OZU??!!"

Now it's like "Ozu? Again?"

It's not the same people but still, I think it's kinda funny. This coming from a pretty big Ozu fan.

There's just other filmmakers who are begging to have their stuff put out AT ALL, while Ozu has seemingly every other Eclipse set and a bunch of Criterions, there are now something like 13 of his films available from CC? Just too much too soon.