378-379 Fires on the Plain and The Burmese Harp

[kinjitsu]

Fires on the Plain

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/1744/378_fires_w100.jpg[/img]

An agonizing portrait of desperate Japanese soldiers stranded in a strange land during World War II, Kon Ichikawa's Fires on the Plain is a compelling descent into psychological and physical oblivion. Denied hospital treatment for tuberculosis and cast off into the unknown, Private Tamura treks across an unfamiliar Filipino landscape, encountering an increasingly debased cross-section of Imperial Army soldiers, who eventually give into the most terrifying craving of all. Grisly yet poetic, Fires on the Plain is one of the most powerful works from one of Japanese cinema's most versatile filmmakers.

Special Features

- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- New video introduction by Japanese film scholar Donald Richie
- New video interviews with director Kon Ichikawa and actor Mickey Curtis
- Original theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- A new essay by film critic Chuck Stephens

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

The Burmese Harp

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/1747/379_burmese_w100.jpg[/img]

An Imperial Japanese Army regiment surrenders to British forces in Burma at the close World War II and finds harmony through song. A corporal, thought to be dead, stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment disguising himself as a Buddhist monk. Magnificently shot in hushed black and white, Kon Ichikawa's The Burmese Harp is an eloquent meditation on beauty coexisting with death and remains one of Japanese cinema's most overwhelming antiwar statements, both tender and brutal in its grappling with Japan's wartime legacy.

Special Features

- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- New video interviews with director Kon Ichikawa and actor Rentaro Mikuni
- Original theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- A new essay by renowned critic and historian Tony Rayns

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

[Derek Estes]

Well, these are the first releases for next year at the lower price point. I'm really excited to see these.

[mteller]

It's a shame there's no word of An Actor's Revenge, but Burmese Harp and Fires on the Plain are both outstanding films. Hooray!

[Highway 61]

The only Ichikawa I've seen is Tokyo Olympiad and that's easily in my top five Criterion DVDs. How does these films compare to the virtuoso style of TO?

[mteller]

The only Ichikawa I've seen is Tokyo Olympiad and that's easily in my top five Criterion DVDs. How does these films compare to the virtuoso style of TO?

They're pretty hard to compare. An Actor's Revenge is probably closer to TO in terms of being a pastiche of different styles. These two are both straight narratives with a fairly singular style. I love them all, but I wouldn't say that liking TO means you'll like these.

[bunuelian]

They didn't seriously use "meditation" to describe a movie about a monk. Oh wait, yes they did.

[DeathDealer]

This movie is great. Pretty engaging, and in some way, tragic. The harp sequences are fantastic. So poetic without a single word said in those scenes. Can't wait to get these two.

[Highway 61]

Thanks mteller. I had guessed it would be a mistake to set myself up for another stylistic tour-de-force. I'm still very interestd regardless.

[Panda]

Finally... "Fires On The Plain" is a true masterpiece. Fabulous 'Scope cinematography. The admittedly depressing material is given an edge by the inclusion of some moments of surreal humor and, strangely enough, the film achieves a dimension of spiritual power.

Last saw it over 30 years ago and I still remember some scenes and the texture of the photography. Also, an unusual Bartok influenced score.

Panda

[What A Disgrace]

I was hoping that Criterion would pair this with Ichikawa's own remake, made in 1985. Is there any reason to be upset over its non-inclusion?

Regardless, this and Fires on the Plain have me jumping for joy. I've been waiting for these (along with When a Woman Ascends the Stairs) to be released ever since I became "cinema conscious" about five years ago. Just a dream come true.

[Cinephrenic]

Oh shit, I totally forgot about that. Why the hell they wouldn't include it? Would make it a nice 2-disc.

[denti alligator]

Regardless, this and Fires on the Plain have me jumping for joy. I've been waiting for these (along with When a Woman Ascends the Stairs) to be released ever since I became "cinema conscious" about five years ago. Just a dream come true.

Can someone give me the low-down on these films and their director? What's his style? How does he fit in (or not) with his contemporaries?

[Michael Kerpan]

Can someone give me the low-down on these films and their director? What's his style? How does he fit in (or not) with his contemporaries?

There probably is no such thing as an "Ichikawa style". He is rather like John Huston. He tends to make films based on literary sources -- and, at his best, he can create inspired (and highly cinematic) adaptations. He typically adopts the style best suited for the work at hand.

[Cold Bishop]

Well, while I can't say I'm an Ichikawa expert (the two Criterion war films, An Actors Revenge, Tokyo Olympiad being my only forays into his work), but from the attitude I got from those films, along with the descriptions I've seen of his other work, I always got the feeling that Ichikawa had much more of a bite to his films than his contemporaries at the time. I once heard someone describe him, and from the look of his body of work it would seem so, that he sort of built the bridge and laid the groundwork for the Japanese New Wave (Masumura also working under him for a while, and being influenced). He had much more of a sharp satirical bite to his films (pointing the way towards the Masumura satires), a rebellious attitude, and in a movie like Burmese Harp and (especially) Fires On the Plain, theres a sense of anger that I've never seen from an Ozu, Kurosawa, or Mizoguchi. Even a film like Punishment Room and Odd Obsession sound like something from the New Wave than a Golden Age filmmaker.

Of course, like I said, a lot of this comes off from description and hearsay, so maybe I just have the wrong impression from what I've seen, and some Ichikawa fan on here may inform me that I'm completely but the that's the impression I've gathered from what I've read and seen on him. I'm just hoping that this isn't the end of the Ichikawa train this year. There is so much work from him I'm dying to see.

[Scharphedin2]

Both Burmese Harp and Fires On the Plain were released on laserdisc by Criterion. In my opinion, Burmese Harp is a masterpiece, and, although it may not be as stylish as Tokyo Olympiad, it is unique in the way that it tells much of its story through the different tunes and songs that are sung by the regiment, and later played by the protagonist on his harp. I last looked at the disc more than 10 years ago, but I remember the state of the print to be rough, and it included vertical subtitles down the right hand side of the frame.

The thing that totally engulfed me at the time was the mood -- the landscapes of death and decay that the soldier/monk travels through, and then the music (both soundtrack and harp songs) -- the former like the wings of destiny hovering over the scenery, and then the fragile harp chords strumming against this tapestry like a flickering light. This is really a wonderful film -- do not miss it.

Fires On the Plain carries over the sense of doom from Burmese Harp, but does not have the same sense of "grace" (sorry, lacking a better word). It is more "realistic" in tone, and I can see, why some people would prefer this film. Also a must have.

Exciting news!

[Highway 61]

it included vertical subtitles down the right hand side of the frame.

Holy shit! The entire film was subtitled this way? What was Criterion going for exactly? An Americanization of Japanese vertical printing?

[Scharphedin2]

No, no... The film was subtitled in English, but the print had ingrained Burmese (I think) subtitles. I am sure the DVD will be from a different print.

[htdm]

Not Burmese, but Japanese subtitles for the spoken Burmese dialog.

I was also hoping for the 85 remake, it's really quite interesting in places. But I'm pretty sure Fuji-TV still has the rights. It's available individually in Japan without subs.

[ltfontaine]

There probably is no such thing as an "Ichikawa style". He is rather like John Huston. He tends to make films based on literary sources -- and, at his best, he can create inspired (and highly cinematic) adaptations.

The comparison to eclectic Huston is a good one, as Ichikawa's own literary adaptations range from his stark rendering of Shohei Ooka's grisly Fires on the Plain to a lush, lyrical screen version of Junichiro Tanikazi's intricate family drama, The Makioka Sisters. The latter is among my most-wanted Japanese films on DVD.

If Ichikawa does not entirely deserve the Huston analogy, it is because JH is surely among the most wildly erratic auteurs in the history of the medium.

[Michael Kerpan]

Well -- like Huston -- Ichikawa as a "film doctor" could get assigned to just about any kind of project (including some stinkers).

For instance -- I loathe his trashy "Film Actress" (written by Shindo) -- a sleazy bio-pic about Kinuyo Tanaka (with a remarkably cheesy synthesized soundtrack) A project that screams made-for-TV cheapie.

[peerpee]

Michael, have you seen Ichikawa's TEN BLACK WOMEN? (Kuroi junin no onna (1961))

[Michael Kerpan]

Michael, have you seen Ichikawa's TEN BLACK WOMEN? (Kuroi junin no onna (1961))

Not yet -- but if I have any money left after Christmas (doubtful), I'm thinking about ordering the new price-reduced re-release of the Japanese DVD.

I've been dying to see this -- ever since I had to miss it when the Ichikawa Retrospective passed through Boston a few years back....

[futilitarian]

Fires on the Plain was on IFC a couple of nights ago. I got to have a rare movie experience. I knew nothing of the plot, not even that it was a war movie. And I've only seen one other Ichikawa movie, An Actor's Revenge, so didn't know enough about him to have a notion of content, tone, pacing, etc. So it got to tell its story starting with a nearly blank slate.

I've wanted to see The Burmese Harp for a long time. I'm looking forward to both these releases. The cover designs are pretty sweet.

[Rich Malloy]

For instance -- I loathe his trashy "Film Actress" (written by Shindo) -- a sleazy bio-pic about Kinuyo Tanaka (with a remarkably cheesy synthesized soundtrack) A project that screams made-for-TV cheapie.

The otherwise admirable "The Makioka Sisters" also has a regrettably generic synth score. I recall that it really broke the spell when it kicked up as the credits started rolling.

I caught a few Ichikawas at the boston MFA restrospective from a few years back, but missed both of these. In addition to "Makioka Sisters", I loved "An Actor's Revenge" and "Odd Obsession" (aka "The Key"?).

[mteller]

Ichikawa's Dora-heita and his take on the "47 Ronin" story also have horrible synthesizer scores.