BFI: 32 Ozu Films

[Michael Kerpan]

FilmSnob -- They are definitely still missing Tokyo at the end of the movie. My point is that if their circumstances change -- and they learn to appreciate life in the hinterland -- they may feel somewhat differently in 2-3 years. We don't know what Chishu Ryu's character (and his wife) felt about his transfer when it first happened (but maybe I'm forgetting something).

The end of Hen in the Wind is problematic -- but I think it is an important and valuable film nonetheless.

[yoloswegmaster]

BFI will be releasing a Ozu boxset with newly-remastered titles. It says that they are touring 16 titles, so I'm assuming it's just going to contain those 16.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Sixteen films is still good news in my book. Bizarre that the article refers to An Autumn Afternoon as The Taste of Sake, a title that I don't believe has ever been used in English (but was used in some Romance-language titles).

[M-A]

Can everyone please contact them to ask that they also include the unrestored audio tracks like they did for The Flavour Of Green Tea Over Rice, so there is a chance of them doing it

[Cash Flagg]

Disappointingly, these all appear to be Blu-ray only. I would have hoped/assumed at least Tokyo Story would merit a 4K upgrade.

[What A Disgrace]

Did they mention which 16 titles were getting released in the box? Tokyo Story was already re-released recently.

[Matt]

Happy to see the BFI news, but I see from this article Janus and Criterion are co-sponsoring a “complete” Ozu 120 retrospective in New York. I’ll hope that it’ll result in a lavish Bergman/Varda/Pasolini-style box set of the same name from Criterion, but I remember the Janus Films Ozu centenary retrospective which resulted in…nothing. But things are different now and it’s well-established that there’s a market for these big box sets.

[rapta]

Disappointingly, these all appear to be Blu-ray only. I would have hoped/assumed at least Tokyo Story would merit a 4K upgrade.

To be fair, this is just a Variety article. BFI might decide to do Tokyo Story 4K, especially since they only presented the new restoration on Blu-ray just a few years ago, so it would make sense for them to offer a 4K upgrade especially if they're presenting a theatrical season (and specifically touring that film nationwide).

I'd be surprised if the box set is of all 16 films shown theatrically, but I'd nevertheless be very happy if it was the case. I at least hope there are a few fresh titles in there such as Early Spring, Tokyo Twilight and The End of Summer, and maybe some HD upgrades to some of the previously SD titles (e.g. I Was Born, But..., A Mother Should be Loved, What Did the Lady Forget?, Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, A Hen in the Wind). I assume they'll include at least one of the newly restored titles, Record of a Tenement Gentleman and The Munekata Sisters.

I imagine they'll upgrade some of the other ones they did before where applicable - I understand Late Spring and Early Summer both had 4K restorations (as did Floating Weeds, which was MoC not BFI), and Equinox Flower, Good Morning, Late Autumn and An Autumn Afternoon had 2K restorations. All of those released by Carlotta a few years back, as is often the case with these titles for some reason.

[filmyfan]

Some info in the latest BFI programme guide

Ahead of the BFI release in October of a box set of newly rematered titles on blu ray....

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

Great news! But hasn't any of Ozu's films been scanned at 4K yet? It would be amazing to see especially his colour films in uhd.

[tenia]

I think Record of a Tenement Gentleman is a 4k restoration, but I doubt it'll be released on UHD.

[MichaelB]

I'd be very surprised indeed!

The BFI's policy on 4K UHD releases remains the same as before, and is unlikely to change unless UHD manufacturing costs drop dramatically: unless a UHD version offers a substantial improvement on the Blu-ray, and there's a realistic prospect of selling enough copies of that particular title at the RRP markup that UHD releases unavoidably necessitate, it's not going to happen. And both those boxes have to be unambiguously ticked.

[tenia]

I think that some people expect anything restored in 4k to warrant technically a UHD release, but even just this isn't true. I've seen movies restored in 4k which definitely shouldn't be released on UHD except if people want to complain about how the PQ isn't there (like The Wasps are Here).

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

I see what you're saying, but I still believe that -- especially for his colour films -- the accuracy and depth could potentially be improved by HDR. At the same time I'm also aware that the source materials are less then ideal, to say the least, for his early postwar films. I imported all the Shochiku releases which all have English subs, and they look gorgeous. The question is: Are the upcoming BFI's sourced from the same restorations? If so, I reckon that the only improvement (or reason to double-dip) will be extras and/or improved English subtitles. If I remember correctly, there are some weird anomalies in the subtitlings on the Shochikus.

[MichaelB]

I see what you're saying, but I still believe that -- especially for his colour films -- the accuracy and depth could potentially be improved by HDR.

Even if the first test - looking substantially better than the Blu-ray - is unambiguously met (which I'd say is by no means a foregone conclusion here), you also have to meet the second one.

Realistically, how many UHD releases of Ozu titles do you think the BFI is going to shift at an unavoidable RRP of at least £25 a time? Bearing in mind that they already know how many they've sold on BD, and so their projections will be extremely well informed?

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

I see what you're saying, but I still believe that -- especially for his colour films -- the accuracy and depth could potentially be improved by HDR.

Even if the first test - looking substantially better than the Blu-ray - is unambiguously met (which I'd say is by no means a foregone conclusion here), you also have to meet the second one.

Realistically, how many UHD releases of Ozu titles do you think the BFI is going to shift at an unavoidable RRP of at least £25 a time? Bearing in mind that they already know how many they've sold on BD, and so their projections will be extremely well informed?

I was reading it as a boxed set release which I also think is the way to go. A worldwide exclusive Ozu Greatest Hits UHD/BD box would definitely ship some units. But no, a single UHD of The Flavour... probably wouldn't sell much. I mean, if Criterion can release a Boetticher UHD set, why can't BFI release an Ozu one?

[ryannichols7]

I'm sorry but it's ridiculously silly to debate UHDs (which are not going to happen) when fantastic films like Early Spring and Tenement Gentleman don't even have Bluray releases in the west. and Floating Weeds is not available at all in an English friendly release. these need to be the priorities. and a minimal uptick on Tokyo Story is just not going to do it. I can understand Late Spring or Early Summer being rereleased by BFI with new extras and the new 4K restorations, as their original BDs are quite dated now, but another release of Tokyo Story in particular would be rather silly. my favorite Ozu is Equinox Flower, a color film as requested above, and considering we can barely see that one released on BD, a UHD is something you can truly keep dreaming of. these just aren't realistic expectations whatsoever

Boetticher is not a fair comparison at all. Sony does in house HDR passes + restorations. the BFI would have to do the HDR passes themselves (as Shochiku hasn't released any of the Ozu's on UHD) and that's a costly measure for films that ultimately are only going to sell so much. not to mention, it's strongly possible (and I still believe) Criterion are gonna have their own Ozu set by the end of the year. the BFI should focus their budget on the one area they rather easily can surpass Criterion, and that's extras

[MichaelB]

Yes, there's really no point fantasising about stuff that's simply not going to happen. A UHD box set with in-house HDR grades, even if they were contractually allowed to do such a thing, would unavoidably be eye-wateringly expensive, thus making it even less likely that they'll sell enough copies to break even.

There's a lot of uncertainty in this business, but not with this filmmaker; they know precisely how popular he is in the UK, right down to the penny. And it's also extremely likely that 4K Ozu would fall into the "not noticeably better than a Blu-ray" category.

[tenia]

The Ozu 4k restos are indeed all SDR, so any HDR gradings would need to be done by the label (and possibly for a smaller technical addition than with a full HDR workflow).

[headacheboy]

it's strongly possible (and I still believe) Criterion are gonna have their own Ozu set by the end of the year. the BFI should focus their budget on the one area they rather easily can surpass Criterion, and that's extras

One of the greatest gifts this forum gave me was the impetus to go region free. Up until that happened I was locked into buying endlessly from Criterion. Once region-free, the world was available and now I rarely buy a Criterion title. If and when BFI releases an Ozu box, I'll be buying it come Day One. MichaelB has helped me understand the BFI's policies about UHD and that convinced me to buy their La Regle du Jeu title over Criterion's. I prefer BFI's Bergman box packaging over Criterion's big box (I own Criterion's and BFI's vol 1 Bergman) and I'm sure I'll prefer their Ozu packaging over Criterion's. I'm quite excited by the prospect of an Ozu set!

[Matt]

I fear given my Ozu devotion, I will continue buying and keeping any and all English-friendly releases just as I have for two decades now. RIP to my savings account.

[Caligula]

Three films by Ozu have appeared on pre-order at Amazon, particulars as follows:

THREE FILMS BY YOSUJIRŌ OZU (2 x Blu-ray) br>Director: Yasujirō Ozu

This year marks the 120th anniversary of Japanese filmmaker Yasujirō Ozu’s birth. From his early silent films to his final features in the 1960s, Ozu perfected a style that stripped away unnecessary plot mechanics and camera movement. In doing so, he produced a cinema whose surface simplicity belies character studies of depth, warmth and on occasion, humour.

This new set features three newly restored films, all presented on Blu-ray in the UK for the first time:

Dragnet Girl (1933, 99 mins) Sweet-faced Tokiko is an ordinary typist, but come nightfall she's a fun-loving gangster's moll. When her boyfriend strays, Tokiko is forced to reassess her life. Hugely popular when it was released, Ozu's Dragnet Girl remains one of his most enduring silent films.

Record of Tenement Gentleman (1947, 75 mins) Tashiro, a fortune-telling resident in a poor district of Tokyo, has been followed home by a young boy whose father took him to the city but became separated from him. Initially unwilling to look after Kohei, Tashiro gradually warms to the boy.

A Hen in the Wind (1948, 84 mins) A soldier returns home at the end of World War II, and refuses to forgive his wife for prostituting herself one night to pay off medical bills for their son.

Extras TBC

[tenia]

I don't know how these fare but as for the most recent BD releases, it might be interesting to check if the newly restored audio tracks are really good or if including the previously available ones might be a good option.

[What A Disgrace]

I believe Dragnet Girl will be the first of Ozu's silents to get a proper HD release?

[Peacock]

Isn’t I Was Born But…. HD on the CC BD of Good Morning?

Amazing news about these three! Particularly A Who's Who of the Tenement Block, I missed this one on the old Tartan DVD set and it never got a BFI release.

More please. Early Spring, End of Summer, Tokyo Inn please!