BFI: 32 Ozu Films

[perkizitore]

Floating Weeds, An Autumn Afternoon, Good Morning will certainly see blu-ray editions. Most if not all of the Criterion Eclipse set, will make it on blu-ray. It really depends on the materials, so we may see some unreleased titles straight to blu!

[Peacock]

Well we know Passing Fancy is SD, and Floating Weeds won't be released at all.

[perkizitore]

What do you mean, Floating Weeds won't get released? Where did you hear that?

[Awesome Welles]

Floating Weeds is an AE title, ellipsis7 posted the below very useful information a few pages back, which I have cut down to save space, to see the original post jump back to the first page of the thread.

This from the BFI Ozu season #1, not yet released with Eng subs on DVD...

I Flunked, But...
Year 1930
Running time c65min

A Straightforward Boy
Year 1929
Running time c28min

The Lady and the Beard
Year 1931
Running time c75min

The Munekata Sisters
Year 1950
Running time 112min

That Night's Wife
Year 1930
Running time c65min

Walk Cheerfully
Year 1930
Running time c96min

Where are Now the Dreams of Youth?
Year 1932
Running time 85min

Woman of Tokyo
Year 1933
Running time 47min

Kagamijishi
Year 1935
Running time 25min

Hopefully several or many of these lesser known films will make it too onto BFI DVD or BR...

[zedz]

Well, at a minimum, Floating Weeds should be on that list. I'd also guess There Was a Father and The Only Son, although I couldn't guess whether these are in good enough condition for Blu-ray treatment.

The Only Son is already announced as an extra in this batch, and There Was a Father is in very poor condition (unless entirely new elements have been recently discovered), compounded by what appears to be a disastrous attempt at audio clean up by Shochiku. Fantastic film, but with the existing elements this isn't just 'DVD extra' material, but 'DVD extra with sincere apology' material. I'm hoping that one or two of the better preserved silent films might earn headline status - or maybe the BFI might do a mop-up silent box and include those miscellaneous fragments.

[fiddlesticks]

Floating Weeds is an AE title, ellipsis7 posted the below very useful information a few pages back, which I have cut down to save space, to see the original post jump back to the first page of the thread.

Oops, sorry. I just don't have the time to keep up like I used to.

[What A Disgrace]

My guess is that the shorter films and fragments (some of these are fragments, right?) will make their way into a single collection.

[DanV]

I think, or better I hope, that those ones are temporary covers, not the official ones. I hope.

[perkizitore]

Floating Weeds is an AE title, ellipsis7 posted the below very useful information a few pages back, which I have cut down to save space, to see the original post jump back to the first page of the thread.

Oops, sorry. I just don't have the time to keep up like I used to.

Sorry, but due to the size of this project, it isn't unlikely that BFI has bought the rights from AE for a blu-ray version.

[Peacock]

I beg to differ!

[Awesome Welles]

I don't think AE would just give up rights so the BFI can corner the UK Ozu market, I imagine any distributor would want to hold on to their product. It's a little like saying that MoC should have bought rights for Woman in the Dunes from the BFI so they could issue a Teshigahara boxset.

If anything AE should be capitalising on the flurry of activity but there is danger in flooding the market. I expect AE have their own projects to worry about in any case. What may have happened is that AE's rights have expired which is a possibility since their DVD dates back to 2004, if they had a 5 year licence this would mean that it could have been bought up by the BFI. If this is the case then I'm sure we'll see this paired with A Story of Floating Weeds.

[Michael Kerpan]

Michael (Kerpan or Brooke!), in your personal opinions, which Ozu films are in good enough shape to warrant a 1080p transfer?

This is beyond my area of expertise -- insofar as it requires a knowledge of just what Blu-Ray can do for films in seemingly marginal (or even fairly poor) condition.

Of the pre-Late Spring films, I would say that Story of Floating Weeds is in the best shape. Most of the silents and WW2-era films seem to be in iffy or poor condition -- and even the post-war "Tenement Gentleman" (quotes -- because this isn't remotely a correct title and having to say it or write it always aggravates me) doesn't seem to be in very good shape.

Of the color Shochiku films, I would say Autumn Afternoon and Equinox Flower are in the best shape.

I wonder if BR technology can add real value to the heavily-reliant-on-darkness Tokyo Twilight? (I sure hope it can).

[Sanjuro]

I don't think it's entirely useless putting scratchy material on Blu-Ray (if it's from a film source). I find watching old scratchy films shown in 1080i on the Nihon Eiga Senmon channel much easier to watch than their equivalents on DVD. Perhaps because of the extra clarity (or depth?) of the image behind the scratches. Like watching scratchy 35mm, you can distinguish the image from the dirt (if you squint hard enough and cover one eye) whereas on DVD it all seems to merge together making it much more difficult. But perhaps 'slightly easier on the eyes' isn't a big enough factor to justify the cost of pressing Blu-Rays just now.

[Michael Kerpan]

> Nihon eiga senmon

I want this channel SO bad -- but I just can't see any way of getting it here in Boston. ;~{

[Sanjuro]

Well, if I set up a video camera in front of my TV and you link to my home network, so long as you're on a really fast internet connection......hmmm. Maybe not, I don't think my wife would be too pleased. Perhaps we could set up something using huge mirrors?

[Michael Kerpan]

Or a trans-oceanic and trans-continental cable from your house to mine?

Oh well ...

;~}

[perkizitore]

You could use online streaming services, which are reliable for a monthly fee, but i doubt that they will carry a specialty channel.

[Michael Kerpan]

You could use online streaming services, which are reliable for a monthly fee, but i doubt that they will carry a specialty channel.

I've never heard of this Japanese satellite channel being available via Internet.

[Will Barks]

New cover designs appearing on amazon:

[aox]

They should just put the discs in a brown paper bag at this point.

[Will Barks]

Well, I suspect the grey banner on the top will disappear on the actual releases to make place for the blue case top.

[Peacock]

Much better covers

[MichaelB]

Well, I suspect the grey banner on the top will disappear on the actual releases to make place for the blue case top.

Here's a better view:

[ellipsis7]

That looks good, just one minor niggle - why, if the 'Dual Format Edition' is labelled up top on the grey banner, does it have to be labelled again in the bottom right hand corner, with a smaller 'Dual Format Edition' on white strip?... Surely the second could be lost, making for a less cluttered cover?

[Finch]

The new covers are a definite improvement. Still think that the second title should be mentioned on the front.

edit: just noticed that What Did The Lady Forget is coupled with Early Summer so I'll get that release for sure.