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What A Disgrace wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 3:05 am
Suzuki - Boxed set of Fighting Elegy, Story of a Prostitute, and Gate of Flesh, with the theme of the box being World War II and the films ordered according to real world chronology

I mean Carmen from Kawachi, great movie, right there––starring Yumiko Nogawa––completes as natural a trilogy with Story of a Prostitute and Gate of Flesh. Nogawa is the star of all three, they're all about women's roles in a society which Suzuki criticizes pretty heavily, they tend to be thought of as a trilogy already. Great to see Nogawa's humorous side, as we do occasionally, in Carmen. I wonder if everyone's just sleeping on Carmen from Kawachi––the fact that it didn't make it out in Criterion's initial assaying of Suzuki titles seems to have made it a very invisible movie––when I saw it at a retrospective a few years ago the film looked amazing, the audience was very moved by it. You could hear people reacting to all different parts of the film. Also, William Carroll is consistently very complementary of the film in his new monograph on Suzuki.

But in the same vein as your trilogy take, I feel like there's a secret trilogy in Suzuki's work which no one addresses––one focused on celebrity, media, and creativity. This is a line you can draw between a group of late-stage Suzuki films which aren't the Taisho trilogy––namely, A Story of Sorrow and Sadness, Capone Cries Hard, and Pistol Opera. All three films are heavily satirical, ripping into and devouring their protagonists for their desire to succeed in a sort of a bleak cultural landscape––Sorrow and Sadness focuses on television in this regard, Capone on immigration and history, and Pistol Opera projects a sort of post-modern detritus, a kind of cultural graveyard, made up of chunks of history, culture, media, etc., all in the process of disintegrating. Both Sorrow and Sadness and Pistol Opera reference the world of highly competitive sports; both Capone and Pistol Opera present recent history through a lens fractured by the nature of interpretation (images of the atom bomb and the various memories dredged up in the monologues in Pistol Opera; the way the madcap, loose history being depicted in Capone is made demented by being recreated in the ruins of an "old America" theme park abandoned in Tokyo). All three films posit variations on an artist figure, caught up in the net of celebrity: the reluctant pro-golfer in Sorrow & Sadness, the naniwa-bushi singer struggling and finding fame in gangland Chicago in Capone, and the no.1 killer, whose assassinations rise to the level of an art in Pistol Opera. In each case, the desire for fame––whether imposed upon them or chosen by them (Reiko in Sorrow only chases fame because her boyfriend demands it; Miyuki in Pistol Opera hones her life so that the pursuit of the no. 1 killer spot is all she lives for), leads to their annihilation. The three films are all in vivid, exciting color, all largely unsung, under-appreciated masterpieces, assured filmmaking with a lot to say. Suzuki is at the absolute top of his game in these––Capone especially is Suzuki's outright funniest movie. Story of Sorrow & Sadness is very redolent of Taxi Driver, in a very productive way. And Jonathan Rosenbaum has a lot of positive things to say about Pistol Opera that I tend to agree with. https://jonathanrosenbaum.net/2022/08/bullet-ballet/ They're all very funny movies, with a lot of top-flight filmmaking which marks them out as special. That's the trilogy I want to see on blu ray: "Suzuki on Celebrity." I hope we'll get these pictures on blu ray, someday. There are already 1080p prints of Story or Sorrow and Sadness and Capone Cries Hard circulating out there. Nothing hi-def for Pistol Opera, sadly.

Carmen from Kawachi is another one that Fran shot down

- Gate of Flesh (1964)
- Story of a Prostitute (1965)
- Carmen from Kawachi (1966)
These thematically linked films starring Yumiko Nogawa were on my list but unfortunately are with another label. Whether they're restored or will ever come out is another story.

dwk wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 12:48 pm Carmen from Kawachi is another one that Fran shot down

- Gate of Flesh (1964)
- Story of a Prostitute (1965)
- Carmen from Kawachi (1966)
These thematically linked films starring Yumiko Nogawa were on my list but unfortunately are with another label. Whether they're restored or will ever come out is another story.

I wonder if Criterion still has them? I have French blu rays of Gate of Flesh and Story of a Prostitute, put out by Elephant. Gate of Flesh looks amazing, but Story of a Prostitute looks grungy and over-contrasty, and the image is scanned in a lot more than the version on Criterion's streaming platform (Criterion's version has much more balanced contrast, also).

Better chances, perhaps, with my dream Suzuki trilogy, Story of Sorrow and Sadness, Capone Cries Hard, and Pistol Opera. Pretty sure no one has optioned these in most territories. They're missing out.

I know Criterion has the first two (at least on the US,) but one would assume if they had Carmen from Kawachi they would have added it to the Criterion Channel when they added the Directed by Suzuki collection a couple months back.

I wonder who or if anyone has licensed Carmen from Kawachi. That’s one of his real masterpieces of his Nikkatsu period. My instinct, like feihong’s, is that it’s a later career work. A lot of unreleased in the west Suzukis have been popping up in HD in Japan either on TV or online, so it could be any of those.

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 5:06 pm I wonder who or if anyone has licensed Carmen from Kawachi. That’s one of his real masterpieces of his Nikkatsu period. My instinct, like feihong’s, is that it’s a later career work. A lot of unreleased in the west Suzukis have been popping up in HD in Japan either on TV or online, so it could be any of those.

Definitely. Tale of Sorrow and Sadness already has a more than passable HD transfer

Something that should be noted is that Elegant Beast is the first film licensed from Kadokawa (as they own the Daiei films). Glad to see a deal with them and I hope that we can get releases for Daiei titles such as Miike's Agitator (ideally with both cuts), Naruse's Lightning, and Gosha's Tenchu.

yoloswegmaster wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 5:50 pm Something that should be noted is that Elegant Beast is the first film licensed from Kadokawa (as they own the Daiei films). Glad to see a deal with them and I hope that we can get releases for Daiei titles such as Miike's Agitator (ideally with both cuts), Naruse's Lightning, and Gosha's Tenchu.

Yes, and I Am Waiting is from Nikkatsu, so it's exciting to know we're getting Japanese titles from a few studios (Toei, Daiei-Kadokawa, Nikkatsu). I wonder if there will be some Shochiku too at some point, as I imagine Toho titles are hard to get hold of at the moment.

There are loads of possibilities with Daiei of course, such as Ichikawa (Fires on the Plain, Odd Obsession, Conflagration, Her Brother), Masumura (The Blue Sky Maiden, Manji, Kisses, A Wife Confesses, Seisaku's Wife, Afraid to Die, Love for an Idiot), Oshima (The Ceremony), Gosha (Tenchu!), Tanaka (The Betrayal, The Snow Woman), Inoue (Black Lizard, The Third Shadow Warrior), and both Akira Kurosawa (The Quiet Duel, Madadayo) and Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Serpents Path, Eyes of the Spider, License to Live). There are a few Mizoguchi and Naruse too, and the Tomie series (though those might come from Arrow, I suppose).

PS: a reminder that 'ICH' (Ichikawa?) and 'MA x2' (Masumura?) were on the handwritten tease list for 2023 and beyond...as were 'BUN' (Buñuel) and 'SUZ' (Suzuki). And 'SHIN' must be either Shinoda or Shindo...

So many importqnt movies we just need to keep dreaming of....

yoloswegmaster wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 5:50 pm Something that should be noted is that Elegant Beast is the first film licensed from Kadokawa (as they own the Daiei films). Glad to see a deal with them and I hope that we can get releases for Daiei titles such as Miike's Agitator (ideally with both cuts), Naruse's Lightning, and Gosha's Tenchu.

I licensed Lightning and had to return it as the master was not releasable. I'm a big Naruse fan but unfortunately masters for his films just don't seem to be great sadly. This is something I'll be continuing to explore where possible.

rapta wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 6:57 pm

yoloswegmaster wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 5:50 pm Something that should be noted is that Elegant Beast is the first film licensed from Kadokawa (as they own the Daiei films). Glad to see a deal with them and I hope that we can get releases for Daiei titles such as Miike's Agitator (ideally with both cuts), Naruse's Lightning, and Gosha's Tenchu.

PS: a reminder that 'ICH' (Ichikawa?) and 'MA x2' (Masumura?) were on the handwritten tease list for 2023 and beyond...as were 'BUN' (Buñuel) and 'SUZ' (Suzuki). And 'SHIN' must be either Shinoda or Shindo...

MA was Media Asia, the acronym for AMOR just felt too easy so I had to be deliberately oblique with this one I'm afraid.

ICH did refer to Ichikawa, but much like the Naruse mentioned above I had to drop the Ichikawa titles I had, which Tom Mes and I were really gutted about because the films we had in mind are excellent. I hope though that Kadokawa will get around to restoring them as they really deserve to be seen more widely.

Thank you for your honesty on these titles. Many of us here are Japanese cinema fans so thanks for not leaving us in limbo. Fingers crossed these movies get restored soon,

Ichikawa? Jun Ichikawa? It's sort of (well - VERY) heartbreaking that almost none of his work is available with subs.

I think they are referring to Kon Ichikawa

Radiance wrote: Fri Sep 08, 2023 12:24 pm MA was Media Asia, the acronym for AMOR just felt too easy so I had to be deliberately oblique with this one I'm afraid.

ICH did refer to Ichikawa, but much like the Naruse mentioned above I had to drop the Ichikawa titles I had, which Tom Mes and I were really gutted about because the films we had in mind are excellent. I hope though that Kadokawa will get around to restoring them as they really deserve to be seen more widely.

The 2 Media Asia titles were for A Moment of Romance and Visible Secret, though I do hope that more titles were added to the deal. Would love to see a Johnnie To boxset that features titles like Life Without Principle, Blind Detective, Breaking News, Romancing in Thin Air, and both of the Don't Go Breaking My Heart films.

Radiance wrote: Fri Sep 08, 2023 12:24 pm

rapta wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 6:57 pm

yoloswegmaster wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 5:50 pm Something that should be noted is that Elegant Beast is the first film licensed from Kadokawa (as they own the Daiei films). Glad to see a deal with them and I hope that we can get releases for Daiei titles such as Miike's Agitator (ideally with both cuts), Naruse's Lightning, and Gosha's Tenchu.

PS: a reminder that 'ICH' (Ichikawa?) and 'MA x2' (Masumura?) were on the handwritten tease list for 2023 and beyond...as were 'BUN' (Buñuel) and 'SUZ' (Suzuki). And 'SHIN' must be either Shinoda or Shindo...

MA was Media Asia, the acronym for AMOR just felt too easy so I had to be deliberately oblique with this one I'm afraid.

ICH did refer to Ichikawa, but much like the Naruse mentioned above I had to drop the Ichikawa titles I had, which Tom Mes and I were really gutted about because the films we had in mind are excellent. I hope though that Kadokawa will get around to restoring them as they really deserve to be seen more widely.

Ah that makes entire sense now, was wondering why those titles weren't seemingly in the tease list.

Sad to hear about both Ichikawa and Naruse, but hopefully some decent restorations are done soon (particularly with the latter). I'm sure you and Tom will have some equally brilliant choices to keep us sated in the meantime! Excited to see more Kawashima and Suzuki especially.

Well, that's also quite sad -- if you are talking about Kon Ichikawa's (and Natto Wada's) very interesting black comedies.

Michael Kerpan wrote: Fri Sep 08, 2023 2:23 pm Ichikawa? Jun Ichikawa? It's sort of (well - VERY) heartbreaking that almost none of his work is available with subs.

Agreed and, well, if Kon is a no-go then why not go with Jun instead!? I think Tokyo Siblings and Zawa-zawa Shimo-Kitazawa are the only films of his that have Blu-Ray releases in Japan even, but a few more (Tony Takitani, How to Become Myself, Tugumi) definitely have HD masters. Would love to see any of his works.

Never seen Zawa-zawa. I guss I'll have to order this....

All I find for Tokyo Kyodai at CD Japan is the DVD I ordered long ago.

Michael Kerpan wrote: Sat Sep 09, 2023 12:44 am Never seen Zawa-zawa. I guss I'll have to order this....

All I find for Tokyo Kyodai at CD Japan is the DVD I ordered long ago.

My mistake - not Tokyo Kyodai but Tokiwa-so no seishun

Tokiwa-so no seishun (Tokiwa: The Manga Apartment) is a ovie that I REALLY would love to watch with subs (much talkier than the average). Just glad I did get the unsubbed DVD box-set of (many but not enough) Jun Ichikawa films ages ago.

yoloswegmaster wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 5:50 pm Something that should be noted is that Elegant Beast is the first film licensed from Kadokawa (as they own the Daiei films). Glad to see a deal with them and I hope that we can get releases for Daiei titles such as Miike's Agitator (ideally with both cuts), Naruse's Lightning, and Gosha's Tenchu.

Gosha's Tenchu would be the most perfect fit for Radiance and it's probably the best Samurai film not on Blu-ray outside of Japan. Unfortunately the film is no longer with Daei/Kadokawa and is with Fuji TV. Not sure how difficult it may be to license from them. They also have Gosha's other 60's Samurai masterpiece, Goyokin.

I was looking at the list of films that the official Radiance account on Letterboxd had "liked" and besides the titles that have already been released by them and Raro, I noticed that they had liked two films (Miike's Deadly Outlaw Rikka and some shitty looking horror film called The She Beast) that haven't been released or announced yet. Perhaps these will be announced soon?

The She Beast was directed by Michael Reeves of Witchfinder General, I assume that's the reason they'd release it.

And is rather interesting. It's not in the same league as Witchfinder General or The Sorcerors, but I would certainly welcome a Radiance edition.