Floating Weeds Sitting inside his Tokyo home, surrounded by stacks of books and photos of John Ford and Jean-Luc Godard pinned to the wall, the venerated film and literary critic, writer, and scholar Shiguéhiko Hasumi admitted with a wry smile that he was not really in the mood to talk about Ozu. We were gathered for an interview about a new English translation of his book Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, but he had old Hollywood on his mind. As he spoke, he switched between Japanese and French-accented English. “This book was written 40 years ago,” he said. “My last monograph is about John Ford. And this is my latest book. I greatly admire the films of Don Siegel.” He pointed to What is a Shot?. “So, I am so far from Ozu.” Indeed, Hasumi, who turns 88 this month, remains prolific. Spread out on the coffee table in front of him by...
- 4/16/2024
- MUBI
Clay McLeod Chapman And Andrea Mutti Conjure The New Horror Series “SÉANCE In The Asylum”: "We’re receiving a message from the beyond! Dark Horse Comics presents Séance in the Asylum, a new historical horror series from renowned writer Clay McLeod Chapman and artist Andrea Mutti that will have you questioning what’s real and what’s not. Chapman will write the series and Mutti will illustrate, with Trevor Henderson, Francesco Francavilla, Lukas Ketner, and Jenna Cha rounding out the circle and providing variant cover art on issues #1-4.
“Years back, I uncovered an esoteric text -- The Homeopathic Principle Applied to Insanity: A Proposal to Treat Lunacy by Spiritualism by Dr. James John Garth Wilkinson -- written all the way back in 1857, and I knew within my bones, my blood, that this was destined to be a story,” said Chapman. “As a lifelong acolyte of the Fox Sisters,...
“Years back, I uncovered an esoteric text -- The Homeopathic Principle Applied to Insanity: A Proposal to Treat Lunacy by Spiritualism by Dr. James John Garth Wilkinson -- written all the way back in 1857, and I knew within my bones, my blood, that this was destined to be a story,” said Chapman. “As a lifelong acolyte of the Fox Sisters,...
- 3/15/2024
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa is best known for his epic historical pieces like "Seven Samurai" and "Rashomon," but the most fun he ever had on a film set wasn't even his own. Before he became a globally acclaimed director, Kurosawa worked as an assistant director on Japanese productions like the 1941 film "Horse." Thanks to director Kajirō Yamamoto's hands-off approach, the film has quite a bit of Kurosawa's influence.
Despite being credited as an assistant director, Kurosawa would often be put in charge of entire scenes on the set of "Uma," translated as "Horse" or "Horses." It might sound a little bit exploitative, but the young filmmaker saw Yamamoto's trust as an honor, an opportunity for him to learn.
"In order to give us experience with directing actors, Yama-san often had assistant directors take charge of second-unit shooting," he recalled in his memoir Something Like An Autobiography. "Sometimes he...
Despite being credited as an assistant director, Kurosawa would often be put in charge of entire scenes on the set of "Uma," translated as "Horse" or "Horses." It might sound a little bit exploitative, but the young filmmaker saw Yamamoto's trust as an honor, an opportunity for him to learn.
"In order to give us experience with directing actors, Yama-san often had assistant directors take charge of second-unit shooting," he recalled in his memoir Something Like An Autobiography. "Sometimes he...
- 3/5/2023
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
In a 1960 interview with Donald Richie, printed in the 2008 book "Akira Kurosawa: Interviews" edited by Bert Cardullo, Kurosawa admitted to a notable weakness he possessed as a filmmaker: he didn't make movies about women. Looking over the master's filmography reveals scant few notable female characters, and none occupying lead roles. Even "Ran," his 1985 adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear" gender-swapped the play's three central sisters into brothers. Kurosawa, it seems, was more interested in -- or simply only capable of discussing -- the foibles and weaknesses of men and male-kind.
Kurosawa'a moment of introspection came during a conversation about the filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi. Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, and Yasujiro Ozu, between them, represent one of the greatest waves of cinema the world has ever seen, sometimes called the Golden Age of Japanese cinema by critics. The latter two filmmakers frequently made films about women and the middle class. Mizoguchi in particular often told operatic tales of fallen women,...
Kurosawa'a moment of introspection came during a conversation about the filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi. Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, and Yasujiro Ozu, between them, represent one of the greatest waves of cinema the world has ever seen, sometimes called the Golden Age of Japanese cinema by critics. The latter two filmmakers frequently made films about women and the middle class. Mizoguchi in particular often told operatic tales of fallen women,...
- 2/10/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
During the 60’s, Oshima exhibited a rivalry towards Japanese cinema, which was actually rooted to his hatred for the movies of Ozu and Mizoguchi, whose films he considered as “… made to be acceptable to the Japanese because they were based upon a familiarity with general concepts readily understandable by the Japanese…”. This dislike extended to the whole of the industry and thus, since 1960 and “Night and Fog” (whose purpose was to challenge the aforementioned trend and the industry in general), Oshima kept his distance from the major studios and particularly Shochiku, at the same time offering to the audience a new kind of cinema with a distinct political hue, that very few have experienced up to that point. “Death by Hanging” is the apogee of this tendency.
“Death by Hanging” is screening at InlanDimensions
The film is based on the real but rather extreme case of Ri Chin’u,...
“Death by Hanging” is screening at InlanDimensions
The film is based on the real but rather extreme case of Ri Chin’u,...
- 9/21/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A number of academics and film historians have written about the genesis of Japanese cinema and its progression through the 20th century, with Donald Richie, Aaron Gerow, Isolde Standish being some of the most renowned. Daisuke Miyao, however, who seems to have studied everything his predecessors had written before him, deals with the particular subject through a rather unique approach, by focusing on the ways of implementing light and shadows on film highlighting its progress. The result, as Earl Jackson who suggested the book mentioned, is truly magnificent
on Amazon
To refer to the huge amount of info presented on the 281, small font pages of the book would be truly futile, so instead I am going to focus on some key events of the story Miyao shares here, and the ways he implemented them in order to unfold it as artfully as possible. As such, the story...
on Amazon
To refer to the huge amount of info presented on the 281, small font pages of the book would be truly futile, so instead I am going to focus on some key events of the story Miyao shares here, and the ways he implemented them in order to unfold it as artfully as possible. As such, the story...
- 6/8/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Book Review: Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Cinema (2008) by Jasper Sharp
Allow me to begin this review with a personal note. Among the plethora of books about (Asian) cinema I have read, this one is definitely one of the better ones, if not the best. The combination of research and context (just mentioning all the topics Jasper Sharp examines here would fill a small book), the quality of personal comments, the language, and the overall illustration of the Fab Press edition, which is filled with film stills, posters etc, including a rather impressive middle section as much as great front and back covers, are all top-notch, to the point that one would have to dig really deep to find any flaw in the book. Let us take things from the beginning though.
The book begins ideally, as Sharp starts his narration by dealing with the history of nudity on film, the differences between art and pornography, the differences between Western and Japanese pornography,...
The book begins ideally, as Sharp starts his narration by dealing with the history of nudity on film, the differences between art and pornography, the differences between Western and Japanese pornography,...
- 4/6/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The series Keiko Sato: Pinku Maverick starts on Mubi on March 3, 2021 in many countries.Above: Blue Film WomanThese films, “Pink Cinema,” are anything but easy to digest; women are violently abused and objectified, sex is often un-consensual or underaged, murder, torture, suicide and castration are commonplace, and incest is an assumed normality. It’s fair to say that the appeal of these films, for many modern-day audiences, is not necessarily clear. So why are these films being restored and rewatched now?The long-debated question “is pornography essentially harmful to women?” is brought to the fore in these films and lingers on each drawn-out sexual violence scene. Amia Srinivasan, reflecting on this question with reference to Nancy Bauer’s essay on pornography, notes that “to fully understand this question, we need to attend more carefully to the particularities of pornography and the role it plays not just in culture generally but...
- 3/9/2021
- MUBI
Yoshihige Yoshida was 22 years old when he joined Shochiku film studios as an assistant director. At that time, around 1955, Yasujiro Ozu was a nemesis for many young filmmakers at the facility. Ozu resembled commerce and conservatism, a person that does not care for the sociopolitical uproar of the postwar youth and probably the least role model for the yet to be founded “Shochiku New Wave”. Nonetheless, Yoshida, as a part of this new generation of directors, was deeply touched by Ozu’s words and tried to comprehend the meaning of his views on the world and cinema. 30 years after the passing of Yasujiro Ozu, he began to develop a theory about his films. It took five years to finish and is titled “Ozu’s Anti-Cinema”. The book is based on personal encounters with the director leading from Yoshida’s beginnings at Shochiku to the last visit at Ozu’s deathbed.
- 12/13/2020
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
Legendary stuntman Buddy Joe Hooker joins Josh and Joe to discuss the movies that made him.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Harold And Maude (1971)
White Lightning (1974)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
White Line Fever (1975)
Bound For Glory (1976)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The Outsider (1980)
Freebie And The Bean (1978)
Sharky’s Machine (1981)
First Blood (1982)
Night Shift (1982)
Rumble Fish (1983)
Against All Odds (1984)
To Live And Die In L.A. (1985)
F/X (1986)
Tucker The Man And His Dream (1988)
Sea of Love (1989)
Miami Blues (1990)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Demolition Man (1993)
The Crow (1994)
Waterworld (1995)
From Dusk Till Dawn(1996)
Grosse Point Blank (1997)
Django Unchained (2012)
Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park (1978)
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Kagemusha (1980)
Ran (1985)
The Fugitive (1993)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Casino Royale (2006)
Quantum of Solace (2008)
The Fast And The Furious (2001)
The Strongest Man In The World (1975)
The War of the Worlds (1953)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Bullitt (1968)
Robbery (1967)
S.O.B. (1981)
Vanishing Point...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Harold And Maude (1971)
White Lightning (1974)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
White Line Fever (1975)
Bound For Glory (1976)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The Outsider (1980)
Freebie And The Bean (1978)
Sharky’s Machine (1981)
First Blood (1982)
Night Shift (1982)
Rumble Fish (1983)
Against All Odds (1984)
To Live And Die In L.A. (1985)
F/X (1986)
Tucker The Man And His Dream (1988)
Sea of Love (1989)
Miami Blues (1990)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Demolition Man (1993)
The Crow (1994)
Waterworld (1995)
From Dusk Till Dawn(1996)
Grosse Point Blank (1997)
Django Unchained (2012)
Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park (1978)
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Kagemusha (1980)
Ran (1985)
The Fugitive (1993)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
The Bourne Identity (2002)
Casino Royale (2006)
Quantum of Solace (2008)
The Fast And The Furious (2001)
The Strongest Man In The World (1975)
The War of the Worlds (1953)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Bullitt (1968)
Robbery (1967)
S.O.B. (1981)
Vanishing Point...
- 8/11/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) and Chris Marker's A.K. (1985) are showing April and May, 2020 on Mubi in the United Kingdom in the series In Front and Behind the Scenes: Kurosawa & Marker.“It is King Lear, yet it is not King Lear.” This statement, made by Chris Marker during the course of his 1985 documentary, A.K., which records the making of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, is a noteworthy point when discussing the venerated Japanese master’s 1985 epic, as preliminary conversation concerning the film often centers on the seeds of influence found in the Bard’s 17th century drama. But while that story only entered Kurosawa’s mind after he had already conceived of Ran in the mid-1970s, he also drew inspiration, arguably more significant, from a parable about Mōri Motonari. In that account, the Sengoku-period warlord also had three children—three sons—who were admirably loyal to their father. Kurosawa took...
- 5/1/2020
- MUBI
Let me start with a personal note. I have been reading, writing, watching and obsessing with Asian cinema for about 15 years now and in that time frame, Mark Schilling has always set the bar for me regarding writing about Japanese cinema through his reviews, interviews, feature articles and books. His style of writing is easy to read, to the point, without the complexities of academic texts or the unnecessary literary elements that so frequently torment contemporary reviews, and always very informative, highlighting the knowledge he has accumulated over decades of dealing with Japanese cinema. In that regard, it was a true pleasure to get the opportunity to read and review a book that collects some of his best writings of the last two decades (more than 60 interviews and hundreds of reviews).
The most obvious asset of the book is that, at 482 pages and in a rather large format,...
The most obvious asset of the book is that, at 482 pages and in a rather large format,...
- 5/1/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
During the 60’s, Oshima exhibited a rivalry towards Japanese cinema, which was actually rooted to his hatred for the movies of Ozu and Mizoguchi, whose films he considered as “… made to be acceptable to the Japanese because they were based upon a familiarity with general concepts readily understandable by the Japanese…”. This dislike extended to the whole of the industry and thus, since 1960 and “Night and Fog” (whose purpose was to challenge the aforementioned trend and the industry in general), Oshima kept his distance from the major studios and particularly Shochiku, at the same time offering to the audience a new kind of cinema with a distinct political hue, that very few have experienced up to that point. “Death by Hanging” is the apogee of this tendency.
“Death by Hanging” is screening at Japanese Avant-Garde and Experimental Film Festival 2019
The film is based on the real but rather extreme case of Ri Chin’u,...
“Death by Hanging” is screening at Japanese Avant-Garde and Experimental Film Festival 2019
The film is based on the real but rather extreme case of Ri Chin’u,...
- 9/21/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Joseph L. Anderson's Spring Night, Summer Night (1967) is showing September 1 – October 1, 2018 on Mubi as part of the series byNWR.Treated like a lost link in American Cinema and being placed by scholars somewhere between John Cassavetes and the L.A. Rebellion movement, Joseph L. Anderson’s Spring Night, Summer Night is foremost a problematic approach to a rural community. The film is set in south-eastern Ohio and follows the story of a young conflicted love. The cast in large parts consists of locals and amateurs. Carl, son of a local farmer, in a sudden outburst of emotion impregnates Jessica, a passive woman who wants to keep the child. What is more, they could be brother and sister. Anderson, who collaborated with Donald Richie on The Japanese Film: Art and Industry, spent about two years researching the coal-mining area in Ohio to prepare his first feature film in what he called “New Appalachian Cinema.
- 9/26/2018
- MUBI
Both a landmark and a source of much controversy, “Hiroshima” is one of those films where the background is as significant as the picture itself. Let us take things from the beginning, by quoting Joseph Anderson and Donald Richie’s “The Japanese Film”. “In 1953, the Japan Teachers Union decided to go in with Kaneto Shindo and make a film version of the bestselling “Children of the Atom Bomb” (Genbaku no Ko) by Arata Osada. Shindo made a faithful film version, using the name of the book, and showed the aftermath of the bomb without any vicious polemic. (…) The Union was not at all satisfied, saying that he had “made [the story] into a tear-jerker and destroyed its political orintation.” They decided to back another version which would this time “genuinely to help to fight to preserve peace.” They found their man in Hideo Sekigawa, who turned out “Hiroshima”. (…) The picture was financially...
- 9/25/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Au Hasard Balthazar
Blu ray
Criterion
1966 / 1:66 / Street Date May 29, 2018
Starring Anne Wiazemsky, François Lafarge
Cinematography by Ghislain Cloquet
Directed by Robert Bresson
At moments in his career Robert Bresson, the filmmaker behind The Trial of Joan of Arc and The Diary of a Country Priest, seemed to be directing from the pulpit. Likewise, Au Hasard Balthazar, his 1966 film about a messianic donkey, just begs to be canonized – unlike most grabs for cinematic sanctitude, Balthazar deserves its pedestal.
A movie out of time, Balthazar‘s somber black and white landscape rebuffs its own era – a pop art wonderland that produced Blow Up, Modesty Blaise and Our Man Flint. Jean-Luc Godard, rule-breaking bomb-thrower of brightly colored social satires, heaped on the praise – “… this film is really the world in an hour and a half.” On the other hand, Ingmar Bergman, not exactly a popcorn munching thrill-seeker, thought it was a “bore...
Blu ray
Criterion
1966 / 1:66 / Street Date May 29, 2018
Starring Anne Wiazemsky, François Lafarge
Cinematography by Ghislain Cloquet
Directed by Robert Bresson
At moments in his career Robert Bresson, the filmmaker behind The Trial of Joan of Arc and The Diary of a Country Priest, seemed to be directing from the pulpit. Likewise, Au Hasard Balthazar, his 1966 film about a messianic donkey, just begs to be canonized – unlike most grabs for cinematic sanctitude, Balthazar deserves its pedestal.
A movie out of time, Balthazar‘s somber black and white landscape rebuffs its own era – a pop art wonderland that produced Blow Up, Modesty Blaise and Our Man Flint. Jean-Luc Godard, rule-breaking bomb-thrower of brightly colored social satires, heaped on the praise – “… this film is really the world in an hour and a half.” On the other hand, Ingmar Bergman, not exactly a popcorn munching thrill-seeker, thought it was a “bore...
- 6/12/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Quite a legendary entry in the history of Japanese cinema, Teinosuke Kinugasa’s “A Page of Madness” was lost for 45 years, until it was rediscovered by the director in his storehouse in 1971. However, the print existing today is missing nearly a third of what was shown in theaters in 1926, while the fact that it does not contain intertitles, since it was screened with the presence of a benshi (source: Aaron Gerow (2008). A Page of Madness: Cinema and Modernity in 1920s Japan. Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan), makes it quite difficult to follow, even more due to its avant-garde and experimental nature. Its cinematic impact however, cannot be denied in any way.
Having secured a distribution contract from Shochiku, Kinugasa formed the Kinugasa Motion Picture League, an endeavor that almost broke him financially, to the point that the actors of “A Page of Madness”, had to help paint sets,...
Having secured a distribution contract from Shochiku, Kinugasa formed the Kinugasa Motion Picture League, an endeavor that almost broke him financially, to the point that the actors of “A Page of Madness”, had to help paint sets,...
- 5/19/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
1963 was a pivotal year in the history of avant-garde film in the United States. In Visionary Film, P. Adams Sitney calls it “the high point of the mythopoeic development within the American avant-garde.” He explains:
[Stan] Brakhage had finished and was exhibiting the first two sections of Dog Star Man by then; Jack Smith was still exhibiting the year-old Flaming Creatures; [Kenneth Anger‘s] Scorpio Rising appeared almost simultaneously with [Gregory Markopoulos‘s] Twice a Man. The shift from an interest in dreams and the erotic quest for the self to mythopoeia, and a wider interest in the collective unconscious occurred in the films of a number of major and independent artists.
(An inclusive list of American avant-garde films made/released in 1963 can be found here.)
On Christmas Day of 1963 began the weeklong third edition of Exprmntl, a competition of worldwide avant-garde films held in Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium. The two previous Exprmntl competitions took place in 1949 and 1958. Exprmntl...
[Stan] Brakhage had finished and was exhibiting the first two sections of Dog Star Man by then; Jack Smith was still exhibiting the year-old Flaming Creatures; [Kenneth Anger‘s] Scorpio Rising appeared almost simultaneously with [Gregory Markopoulos‘s] Twice a Man. The shift from an interest in dreams and the erotic quest for the self to mythopoeia, and a wider interest in the collective unconscious occurred in the films of a number of major and independent artists.
(An inclusive list of American avant-garde films made/released in 1963 can be found here.)
On Christmas Day of 1963 began the weeklong third edition of Exprmntl, a competition of worldwide avant-garde films held in Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium. The two previous Exprmntl competitions took place in 1949 and 1958. Exprmntl...
- 10/1/2017
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
http://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/60-Late-Ozu-Part-3.mp3
This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this final episode of a three-part series (and perhaps the podcast itself), David and Trevor are joined by Matt Gasteier to discuss two films (Late Autumn and The End of Summer) from Eclipse Series 3: Late Ozu.
About the films:
Master filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu directed fifty-three feature films over the course of his long career. Yet it was in the final decade of his life, his “old master” phase, that he entered his artistic prime. Centered more than ever on the modern sensibilities of the younger generation, these delicate family dramas are marked by an exquisite formal elegance and emotional sensitivity about birth and death, love and marriage, and...
This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this final episode of a three-part series (and perhaps the podcast itself), David and Trevor are joined by Matt Gasteier to discuss two films (Late Autumn and The End of Summer) from Eclipse Series 3: Late Ozu.
About the films:
Master filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu directed fifty-three feature films over the course of his long career. Yet it was in the final decade of his life, his “old master” phase, that he entered his artistic prime. Centered more than ever on the modern sensibilities of the younger generation, these delicate family dramas are marked by an exquisite formal elegance and emotional sensitivity about birth and death, love and marriage, and...
- 7/30/2017
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Japanese art filmmaking writ large by director Hiroshi Teshigahara: a strange allegorical fantasy about a man imprisoned in a sand pit, and compelled to make a primitive living with the woman who lives there. Perhaps it's about marriage... Woman in the Dunes Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 394 1964 / B&W / 1:33 full frame / 148 min. / Suna no onna / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 23, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Eiji Okada, Kyoko Kishida, Hiroko Ito Production Design Totetsu Hirakawa, Masao Yamazaki Produced by Tadashi Oono, Iichi Ichikawa Cinematography Hiroshi Segawa Film Editor Fuzako Shuzui Original Music Toru Takemitsu Written by Kobo Abe Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In the 1960s the public interest in art cinema reached out beyond France and Italy, finally giving an opening for more exotic fare from Japan. Director Hiroshi Teshigahara earned his moment in the spotlight with 1964's Woman in the Dunes, an adaptation of a book by Kobo Abe.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In the 1960s the public interest in art cinema reached out beyond France and Italy, finally giving an opening for more exotic fare from Japan. Director Hiroshi Teshigahara earned his moment in the spotlight with 1964's Woman in the Dunes, an adaptation of a book by Kobo Abe.
- 8/9/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
David’s Quick Take for the tl;dr Media Consumer:
My quick take on 2001: A Space Odyssey is that, after carefully rewatching the film and reading a fair amount about it over this past week or so, I arrived at the conclusion that it’s my favorite movie of all that have ever been made. I have said the same thing in the past, but that was many years ago, long before I had become familiar with so many classics of world cinema and Hollywood’s past that preceded my birth. My deep immersion over the past decade into a self-directed study of film history led me to temporarily suspend judgment on so momentous a question as what I consider to be “the greatest film ever made,” but now I’m pretty comfortable with saying that it’s this one, without any doubt on my part. That’s subjectively speaking,...
My quick take on 2001: A Space Odyssey is that, after carefully rewatching the film and reading a fair amount about it over this past week or so, I arrived at the conclusion that it’s my favorite movie of all that have ever been made. I have said the same thing in the past, but that was many years ago, long before I had become familiar with so many classics of world cinema and Hollywood’s past that preceded my birth. My deep immersion over the past decade into a self-directed study of film history led me to temporarily suspend judgment on so momentous a question as what I consider to be “the greatest film ever made,” but now I’m pretty comfortable with saying that it’s this one, without any doubt on my part. That’s subjectively speaking,...
- 5/4/2016
- by David Blakeslee
- CriterionCast
Bad news first: Happy Hour is pretty much a must-see. Given the option of watching 5+ hours on a weekend afternoon, I suspect most of us would rather not, but there are things it’s worth blowing your day up for. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s 317-minute drama is a mysterious movie that begins as one kind of straightforward film before mutating into something much stranger — discussing it thoroughly without spoiling it is tough. I’ll try. Happy Hour initially presents itself as something like a shomin-geki, a term Wikipedia snippily notes is a “pseudo-Japanese word invented by Western film scholars”; Donald Richie defined it as “the drama about common people […]...
- 3/25/2016
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
With an engaging mix of goofy comedy, charming romance and a heartfelt, if somewhat trite, message of ecological sanity, Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid has achieved massive financial success. After less than two weeks in release, it has become the highest-grossing Chinese language film in history, soaring past last summer’s Monster Hunt. The story of a mermaid sent by her people to assassinate the real estate developer who has been trashing their home waters, but who instead falls in love with the guy and leads him to a new ecological awareness, the film lacks much of the anarchic edge or verbal dexterity of Chow’s early mo lei tau comedies, or the transcendent martial arts climaxes of his Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. It is nonetheless packed to the gills with the kind of moment-to-moment weirdness that characterizes Hong Kong cinema in general and the films of Stephen Chow in particular,...
- 2/25/2016
- by Sean Gilman
- MUBI
Ikiru
Written by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Japan, 1952
Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru is the type of movie that can change a life, or at least change a person’s way of looking at life. It is an extremely moving work, standing as a superb example of the emotional and inspirational power of cinema.
Ikiru is also an exceptional vehicle for Takashi Shimura, an actor known for his astonishing range over the course of 200-plus films. In Ikiru, while Kurosawa makes great use of faces in close-up throughout, there is none more expressive than that of Shimura as the cancer-ridden Public Affairs Section Chief Kanji Watanabe. Every emotion and every thought is transparently written on his aged and weary face—it’s hard to believe the actor would embody the vigorous leader of the rag-tag samurai team two years later in Seven Samurai. Here,...
Written by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Japan, 1952
Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru is the type of movie that can change a life, or at least change a person’s way of looking at life. It is an extremely moving work, standing as a superb example of the emotional and inspirational power of cinema.
Ikiru is also an exceptional vehicle for Takashi Shimura, an actor known for his astonishing range over the course of 200-plus films. In Ikiru, while Kurosawa makes great use of faces in close-up throughout, there is none more expressive than that of Shimura as the cancer-ridden Public Affairs Section Chief Kanji Watanabe. Every emotion and every thought is transparently written on his aged and weary face—it’s hard to believe the actor would embody the vigorous leader of the rag-tag samurai team two years later in Seven Samurai. Here,...
- 12/10/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Ikiru
Written by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Japan, 1952
Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru is the type of movie that can change a life, or at least change a person’s way of looking at life. It is an extremely moving work, standing as a superb example of the emotional and inspirational power of cinema.
Ikiru is also an exceptional vehicle for Takashi Shimura, an actor known for his astonishing range over the course of 200-plus films. In Ikiru, while Kurosawa makes great use of faces in close-up throughout, there is none more expressive than that of Shimura as the cancer-ridden Public Affairs Section Chief Kanji Watanabe. Every emotion and every thought is transparently written on his aged and weary face—it’s hard to believe the actor would embody the vigorous leader of the rag-tag samurai team two years later in Seven Samurai. Here,...
Written by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Japan, 1952
Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru is the type of movie that can change a life, or at least change a person’s way of looking at life. It is an extremely moving work, standing as a superb example of the emotional and inspirational power of cinema.
Ikiru is also an exceptional vehicle for Takashi Shimura, an actor known for his astonishing range over the course of 200-plus films. In Ikiru, while Kurosawa makes great use of faces in close-up throughout, there is none more expressive than that of Shimura as the cancer-ridden Public Affairs Section Chief Kanji Watanabe. Every emotion and every thought is transparently written on his aged and weary face—it’s hard to believe the actor would embody the vigorous leader of the rag-tag samurai team two years later in Seven Samurai. Here,...
- 12/10/2015
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
“Japan’S Unsung Acting Genius”
By Raymond Benson
The works of famed director Akira Kurosawa are mostly associated with the samurai film—pictures set in the time of feudal Japan, and usually starring the brilliant actor Toshiro Mifune (Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, among others). However, Kurosawa made other kinds of movies that are probably not as well known in the West except to film historians and true cinephiles—and fans of the excellent DVD and Blu-ray label, The Criterion Collection. Some of Kurosawa’s early work was made up of film noir gangster and crime pictures (e.g., Drunken Angel, Stray Dog, The Bad Sleep Well), but also, surprisingly, heartfelt social dramas set in contemporary Japan—about ordinary people. Ikiru is one of the latter, and it’s a movie that Roger Ebert once called Kurosawa’s “greatest film.”
Ikiru is set in Tokyo in the early fifties.
By Raymond Benson
The works of famed director Akira Kurosawa are mostly associated with the samurai film—pictures set in the time of feudal Japan, and usually starring the brilliant actor Toshiro Mifune (Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, among others). However, Kurosawa made other kinds of movies that are probably not as well known in the West except to film historians and true cinephiles—and fans of the excellent DVD and Blu-ray label, The Criterion Collection. Some of Kurosawa’s early work was made up of film noir gangster and crime pictures (e.g., Drunken Angel, Stray Dog, The Bad Sleep Well), but also, surprisingly, heartfelt social dramas set in contemporary Japan—about ordinary people. Ikiru is one of the latter, and it’s a movie that Roger Ebert once called Kurosawa’s “greatest film.”
Ikiru is set in Tokyo in the early fifties.
- 12/2/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Akira Kurosawa goes full tilt humanist with this emotionally wrenching, vastly insightful look at human nature. A faceless bureaucrat, alone and empty, is diagnosed with stomach cancer. He rebels and breaks down, but then finds a way to give meaning to his life even as he's losing it. Kurosawa one-ups the Italian Neorealists by seeing hope and value even in the oblivion of the human condition. Ikiru Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 221 1952 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 143 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / To Live / Street Date November 24, 2015 / 39.95 Starring Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Minoru Chiaki, Miki Odagiri, Bokuzen Hidari Cinematography Asakazu Nakai Production Designer So Matsuyama Original Music Fumio Hayasaka Written by Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa and Hideo Oguni Produced by Sojiro Motoki Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Criterion has made slow but steady progress upgrading its impressive Akira Kurosawa library from DVD to Blu-ray. The newest...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Criterion has made slow but steady progress upgrading its impressive Akira Kurosawa library from DVD to Blu-ray. The newest...
- 12/1/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
If you know Japanese Cinema, especially pre-1980s, but certainly not excluding current generations of filmmakers, then you no doubt know the name Donald Richie. The American critic who adopted Japan as his home after the war, Richie was an instrumental force in introducing Westerners to both Japanese filmmakers and Japanese culture. He passed away last year at the age of 88. So, yes, while it's rare to have a tribute series to someone mostly labeled as a critic in the public's eyes, Richie was a scholar, historian, author and cinephile of the highest order. Japan Society in New York continues their Richie themed series starting March 13 and running through March 29.Last fall's Fantastic Five: Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Yanagimachi& Kore-eda, offered some of the finest...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 3/12/2014
- Screen Anarchy
As the extensive Donald Richie tribute series continues at Japan Society, this might be a good time to mention that while the late critic helped popularize the canon daddies of Japanese film in the West--Kurosawa, Ozu, Mizoguchi--he was hardly in the business of propping up an easily digestible status quo. More often than not, Richie actively championed lesser known filmmakers and their more obscure, even controversial, work.Yanagimachi Mitsuo's Himatsuri ("Fire Festival") is the perfect case in point. With subtitles translated in part by Richie himself, this is the kind of film--rarely shown in repertory (at least in New York) and not available on R1 DVD--that more than deserves some attention. Simply on the level of storytelling it's often dazzling, with nearly every scene impactful, either...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 1/23/2014
- Screen Anarchy
“French Burglars And Shakespearean Samurais”
By Raymond Benson
Two of the superb releases recently issued by The Criterion Collection are classics from the 1950s international scene. One is arguably the best caper/heist movie ever made, and the other is perhaps the best Shakespearean adaptation ever produced.
First up—Rififi, released in 1955 and directed by American director Jules Dassin—who had exiled himself from America due to the blacklist. It’s a film noir made in France with French and Italian actors and a French crew. As the lyrics in a cabaret number, sung by Magali Noel in the film, reveal, rififi means “rough and tumble.” In other words, Rififi is about riff-raff, tough guys, and would-be gangsters. In this case, the protagonists are a quartet of jewel thieves who plan a big caper together—to break into the safe in a notable jewelry store in Paris. Led by Tony...
By Raymond Benson
Two of the superb releases recently issued by The Criterion Collection are classics from the 1950s international scene. One is arguably the best caper/heist movie ever made, and the other is perhaps the best Shakespearean adaptation ever produced.
First up—Rififi, released in 1955 and directed by American director Jules Dassin—who had exiled himself from America due to the blacklist. It’s a film noir made in France with French and Italian actors and a French crew. As the lyrics in a cabaret number, sung by Magali Noel in the film, reveal, rififi means “rough and tumble.” In other words, Rififi is about riff-raff, tough guys, and would-be gangsters. In this case, the protagonists are a quartet of jewel thieves who plan a big caper together—to break into the safe in a notable jewelry store in Paris. Led by Tony...
- 1/5/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Jan. 7, 2014
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Toshiro Mifune gets the point at the climax of Throne of Blood.
A vivid, visceral Macbeth adaptation, the 1957 action drama Throne of Blood, directed by Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai), sets Shakespeare’s definitive tale of ambition and duplicity in a ghostly, fog-enshrouded landscape in feudal Japan.
As a tough warrior who rises savagely to power, Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo) gives a remarkable, animalistic performance, as does Isuzu Yamada (Black River) as his ruthless wife.
A classic of international cinema, Throne of Blood fuses classical Western tragedy with formal elements taken from Noh theater to create an unforgettable cinematic experience.
Presented in Japanese with English subtitles, Criterion’s Blu-ray/DVD Combo includes the following features:
• New, restored 2K digital film transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary featuring Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck
• Documentary on the making of Throne of Blood,...
Price: Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Toshiro Mifune gets the point at the climax of Throne of Blood.
A vivid, visceral Macbeth adaptation, the 1957 action drama Throne of Blood, directed by Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai), sets Shakespeare’s definitive tale of ambition and duplicity in a ghostly, fog-enshrouded landscape in feudal Japan.
As a tough warrior who rises savagely to power, Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo) gives a remarkable, animalistic performance, as does Isuzu Yamada (Black River) as his ruthless wife.
A classic of international cinema, Throne of Blood fuses classical Western tragedy with formal elements taken from Noh theater to create an unforgettable cinematic experience.
Presented in Japanese with English subtitles, Criterion’s Blu-ray/DVD Combo includes the following features:
• New, restored 2K digital film transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary featuring Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck
• Documentary on the making of Throne of Blood,...
- 11/4/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
News.
Just in time for Kenya's national election this weekend, Mubi will be specially showing a new film, Something Necessary (Judy Kibinge, 2013), produced by Tom Tykwer, about the country's last elections, in 2007. Something Necessary premiered in January at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and will be free to watch globally on Mubi for 24 hours starting Sunday, March 3. Russian filmmaker Aleksei German has passed away at the age of 74. We've shared one of our favorite scenes of his and would like to point to a piece we published by Maxim Pozdorovkin last March, occasioned by the traveling retrospective of German's work.
We are terrifically happy for and proud of David Cairns—Notebook columnist of The Forgotten and author of the Shadowplay blog—who has just seen the premiere of his new film co-directed with Paul Duane, Natan, at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The documentary is on Bernand Natan, a...
Just in time for Kenya's national election this weekend, Mubi will be specially showing a new film, Something Necessary (Judy Kibinge, 2013), produced by Tom Tykwer, about the country's last elections, in 2007. Something Necessary premiered in January at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and will be free to watch globally on Mubi for 24 hours starting Sunday, March 3. Russian filmmaker Aleksei German has passed away at the age of 74. We've shared one of our favorite scenes of his and would like to point to a piece we published by Maxim Pozdorovkin last March, occasioned by the traveling retrospective of German's work.
We are terrifically happy for and proud of David Cairns—Notebook columnist of The Forgotten and author of the Shadowplay blog—who has just seen the premiere of his new film co-directed with Paul Duane, Natan, at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The documentary is on Bernand Natan, a...
- 2/28/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
Western authority on the culture of Japan, his adopted homeland
Donald Richie, who has died aged 88, wrote extensively on Japan, his adopted homeland after his arrival in 1947 with the Us occupation forces. He was best known for his books on cinema, including The Japanese Film: Art and Industry (1959), the first major English-language study of the subject, co-written with Joseph L Anderson; The Films of Akira Kurosawa (1965); Ozu: His Life and Films (1974); and A Hundred Years of Japanese Film (2001). Richie played a pivotal role in introducing the director Yasujiro Ozu to foreign audiences and curated, in 1963, the first international Ozu retrospective, at the Berlin film festival. In 1983, he received the first Kawakita award, for individuals or organisations that have contributed to Japanese film culture.
Though recognised as the most important figure in introducing Japanese cinema to the west, Richie saw himself as a writer foremost and a film critic secondarily. His...
Donald Richie, who has died aged 88, wrote extensively on Japan, his adopted homeland after his arrival in 1947 with the Us occupation forces. He was best known for his books on cinema, including The Japanese Film: Art and Industry (1959), the first major English-language study of the subject, co-written with Joseph L Anderson; The Films of Akira Kurosawa (1965); Ozu: His Life and Films (1974); and A Hundred Years of Japanese Film (2001). Richie played a pivotal role in introducing the director Yasujiro Ozu to foreign audiences and curated, in 1963, the first international Ozu retrospective, at the Berlin film festival. In 1983, he received the first Kawakita award, for individuals or organisations that have contributed to Japanese film culture.
Though recognised as the most important figure in introducing Japanese cinema to the west, Richie saw himself as a writer foremost and a film critic secondarily. His...
- 2/21/2013
- by Jasper Sharp
- The Guardian - Film News
News.
Above: Yasujiro Ozu and a young Donald Richie, via Missing Ozu.
We are very saddened by the news that the writer and Japanese film scholar Donald Richie has left us. David Hudson is compiling tributes to the man and his work over at Fandor.
Pegleg is a terrifically promising new project developed by a friend of the Notebook and recently made public. It is a search engine and an archive that "crowd-sources full-length movies from YouTube." The platform automatically tweets each time a new movie is found by the community, and likewise tumbles. A quick browse of recently added titles reveals the exciting range such a project entails: films by Kieślowski, Miike, Josef von Sternberg, John Ford, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Lubitsch, Akerman, Philippe Garrel and more have been found by the community. Just as important as the utility of the site's search engine is how fun it is to find...
Above: Yasujiro Ozu and a young Donald Richie, via Missing Ozu.
We are very saddened by the news that the writer and Japanese film scholar Donald Richie has left us. David Hudson is compiling tributes to the man and his work over at Fandor.
Pegleg is a terrifically promising new project developed by a friend of the Notebook and recently made public. It is a search engine and an archive that "crowd-sources full-length movies from YouTube." The platform automatically tweets each time a new movie is found by the community, and likewise tumbles. A quick browse of recently added titles reveals the exciting range such a project entails: films by Kieślowski, Miike, Josef von Sternberg, John Ford, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Lubitsch, Akerman, Philippe Garrel and more have been found by the community. Just as important as the utility of the site's search engine is how fun it is to find...
- 2/21/2013
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Donald Richie, who spent more than 60 of his 88 years in Japan and introduced the English-speaking world to post-World War II Japanese cinema, died February 19 in Tokyo. He is best known for his writings on the great Japanese directors Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu. In 1959, Richie and Joseph Anderson wrote “The Japanese Film: Art and Industry” which is considered the first English language book on the Japanese cinema. In addition to writing nearly 40 books, including several on Kurosawa, he recorded commentary for the Criterion Collection’s DVDs of many films, including Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” and Kon Ichikawa’s “Fires on the Plain” and wrote the English subtitles for several of Kurosawa’s films. He was also active in the experimental film world in the 1950s and 1960s, making lyrical 8 and 16 mm movies. Born in Lima, Ohio in 1924, Richie first set foot in Japan in 1947 as part of the...
- 2/20/2013
- by Aljean Harmetz
- Thompson on Hollywood
A Planet Fury-approved selection of notable genre releases for November.
Rites of Spring (2011) Mpi Home Video DVD Available Now
After abducting the daughter of a wealthy socialite, a group of kidnappers seek refuge in an abandoned school in the middle of a wooded nowhere. Little do they know that they’ve chosen the hunting grounds of a ravenous creature that can only be sated by ritualistic sacrifices every spring. Writer/director Padraig Reynolds’ crime thriller/slasher hybrid received mixed reviews during its short festival run, but it’s a solidly crafted piece with some good performances and impressive cinematography by Carl Herse. The one-sheet art is a thing of beauty.
Heaven’s Gate (1981) Criterion Blu-ray and DVD Available Now
Michael Cimino’s critically panned revisionist western has slowly gained a reputation as an overlooked gem. While it’s no masterpiece, his director’s cut is far better than the confusing...
Rites of Spring (2011) Mpi Home Video DVD Available Now
After abducting the daughter of a wealthy socialite, a group of kidnappers seek refuge in an abandoned school in the middle of a wooded nowhere. Little do they know that they’ve chosen the hunting grounds of a ravenous creature that can only be sated by ritualistic sacrifices every spring. Writer/director Padraig Reynolds’ crime thriller/slasher hybrid received mixed reviews during its short festival run, but it’s a solidly crafted piece with some good performances and impressive cinematography by Carl Herse. The one-sheet art is a thing of beauty.
Heaven’s Gate (1981) Criterion Blu-ray and DVD Available Now
Michael Cimino’s critically panned revisionist western has slowly gained a reputation as an overlooked gem. While it’s no masterpiece, his director’s cut is far better than the confusing...
- 11/28/2012
- by Bradley Harding
- Planet Fury
By Allen Gardner
Pier Paolo Pasolini’S Trilogy Of Life (Criterion) Pier Paolo Pasolini was Italy’s last Neo-Realist, a product of post-ww II Europe who was fervently Catholic, openly gay, defiantly Marxist, and one of the most original voices of the 20th century’s second half. Before his brutal murder in 1975 (after the premiere of his still-controversial swan song, “Salo”), Pasolini directed a trilogy of films based on masterpieces of medieval literature: Boccaccio’s “The Decameron,” Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales,” and “The Thousand and One Nights (also known as “The Arabian Nights”). The three films celebrate the uninhibited, earthy, raw carnal nature of the original texts, leaving little to the imagination, but also offering Pasolini’s own very unique and pointed views on modern society, consumerism, religious and sexual mores (and hypocrisies), and an unexpurgated celebration of the human body, both male and female. Extraordinary production design by Dante Ferretti and another evocative,...
Pier Paolo Pasolini’S Trilogy Of Life (Criterion) Pier Paolo Pasolini was Italy’s last Neo-Realist, a product of post-ww II Europe who was fervently Catholic, openly gay, defiantly Marxist, and one of the most original voices of the 20th century’s second half. Before his brutal murder in 1975 (after the premiere of his still-controversial swan song, “Salo”), Pasolini directed a trilogy of films based on masterpieces of medieval literature: Boccaccio’s “The Decameron,” Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales,” and “The Thousand and One Nights (also known as “The Arabian Nights”). The three films celebrate the uninhibited, earthy, raw carnal nature of the original texts, leaving little to the imagination, but also offering Pasolini’s own very unique and pointed views on modern society, consumerism, religious and sexual mores (and hypocrisies), and an unexpurgated celebration of the human body, both male and female. Extraordinary production design by Dante Ferretti and another evocative,...
- 11/14/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Chicago – The Criterion Collection has had a long relationship with Akira Kurosawa fans, releasing several of his films in the past, including “The Seven Samurai,” “Yojimbo,” and “Ran.” They have chosen “Rashomon” as the latest in their line of films to upgrade for Blu-ray and re-released on Criterion DVD. We got the latter and it’s another beauty.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
First, a bit on the importance of “Rashomon.” Few films that are over six decades old have the same resonance and consistent power. We have been trained (and were even more so in 1950) to trust what we can see. Imagery is truth. And yet Kurosawa played with cinema’s version of truth, clarifying the idea that we are still seeing an interpretation of reality and not reality when we watch film. It’s a masterpiece, one of the best movies of all time and one that should probably be on the...
Rating: 4.5/5.0
First, a bit on the importance of “Rashomon.” Few films that are over six decades old have the same resonance and consistent power. We have been trained (and were even more so in 1950) to trust what we can see. Imagery is truth. And yet Kurosawa played with cinema’s version of truth, clarifying the idea that we are still seeing an interpretation of reality and not reality when we watch film. It’s a masterpiece, one of the best movies of all time and one that should probably be on the...
- 11/13/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The king is dead. Long live the king. Welles' "Citizen Kane" has been dethroned from the Sight & Sound list of the greatest films of all time, and replaced by Hitchcock's "Vertigo." It's not as if nobody saw this coming. The list first appeared in 1952, and "Vertigo" (1958) made the list for the first time only in 1982. Climbing slowly, it placed five votes behind "Kane" in 2002. Although many moviegoers would probably rank "Psycho" or maybe "North by Northwest" as Hitch's best, for S&S types his film to beat was "Notorious" (1946). That's the one I voted for until I went through "Vertigo" a shot at a time at the University of Virginia, became persuaded of its greatness, and put it on my 2002 list. But let's remember that all movie lists, even this most-respected one, are ultimately meaningless. Their tangible value is to provide movie lovers with viewing ideas. In the era of DVD,...
- 8/10/2012
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Chicago – Two of the best things about the Criterion release of Yasujiro Ozu’s “Late Spring” happen to be proof of why the film and its director have become so important to so many film historians — appreciations from two talented people influences by the moving work, now available on Criterion Blu-ray and re-released Criterion DVD. Critic Michael Atkinson writes a beautiful essay in the booklet and the great director Wim Wenders (“Wings of Desire”) provides a fantastic documentary from 1985, “Tokyo-ga.” about the director. Both are reason enough to buy the movie.
Blu-ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Atkinson makes a compelling case as to why Ozu has survived much more than most of his peers in the history of Japanese cinema. There’s something so simple about Ozu’s work, it touches a note of humanity without pretension that is both timeless and universal. Read the essay, then watch the movie, and then watch...
Blu-ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Atkinson makes a compelling case as to why Ozu has survived much more than most of his peers in the history of Japanese cinema. There’s something so simple about Ozu’s work, it touches a note of humanity without pretension that is both timeless and universal. Read the essay, then watch the movie, and then watch...
- 4/24/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Adam Mars-Jones's essay on Japanese film director Yasujiro Ozu goes a long way to demystifying a master
Adam Mars-Jones's new book, which arrives less than a year after his novel Cedilla, is an attempt to save postwar Japanese cinema from its reputation as a museum of mystical objects, a body of work so "hushed, serene and inexplicit" that the only sensible, even possible, response is to keep your mouth shut and bow. His favourite among these films, Yasujiro Ozu's domestic drama Late Spring (1949), has been discussed almost solely in terms of Japaneseness. But this is not a contribution to the study of "orientalism", a term that, as formulated by Edward Said (and critically parsed by Mars-Jones), "reduces all the ways in which cultures can misunderstand each other to mechanisms of control". The villains of Noriko Smiling aren't those who patronise Ozu, or overlook him, but who admire him in the wrong way.
Adam Mars-Jones's new book, which arrives less than a year after his novel Cedilla, is an attempt to save postwar Japanese cinema from its reputation as a museum of mystical objects, a body of work so "hushed, serene and inexplicit" that the only sensible, even possible, response is to keep your mouth shut and bow. His favourite among these films, Yasujiro Ozu's domestic drama Late Spring (1949), has been discussed almost solely in terms of Japaneseness. But this is not a contribution to the study of "orientalism", a term that, as formulated by Edward Said (and critically parsed by Mars-Jones), "reduces all the ways in which cultures can misunderstand each other to mechanisms of control". The villains of Noriko Smiling aren't those who patronise Ozu, or overlook him, but who admire him in the wrong way.
- 1/8/2012
- by Leo Robson
- The Guardian - Film News
DVD Playhouse—November 2011
By Allen Gardner
Tree Of Life (20th Century Fox) Terrence Malick’s latest effort is both the best film of 2011 and the finest work of his (arguably) mixed, but often masterly canon. A series of vignettes, mostly set in 1950s Texas, capture the memory of a man (Sean Penn) in present-day New York who looks back on his life, and his parents’ (Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain) troubled marriage, when word of his younger brother’s suicide reaches him. Almost indescribable beyond that, except to say no other film in history so perfectly evokes the magic and mystery of the human memory, which both crystalizes (and sometimes idealizes) the past. Like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, this is a challenging, polarizing work that you must let wash over you. If you go along for the ride, you’re in for a unique, rewarding cinematic experience. Also available on Blu-ray disc.
By Allen Gardner
Tree Of Life (20th Century Fox) Terrence Malick’s latest effort is both the best film of 2011 and the finest work of his (arguably) mixed, but often masterly canon. A series of vignettes, mostly set in 1950s Texas, capture the memory of a man (Sean Penn) in present-day New York who looks back on his life, and his parents’ (Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain) troubled marriage, when word of his younger brother’s suicide reaches him. Almost indescribable beyond that, except to say no other film in history so perfectly evokes the magic and mystery of the human memory, which both crystalizes (and sometimes idealizes) the past. Like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, this is a challenging, polarizing work that you must let wash over you. If you go along for the ride, you’re in for a unique, rewarding cinematic experience. Also available on Blu-ray disc.
- 11/25/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Chicago – I’m always amazed when smart people tell me they don’t see foreign films. The fact is that our foreign film market is worse than it’s ever been with fewer and fewer works from other countries actually making an impact in this one. I see dozens of foreign films a year and I’m still just chipping at the iceberg of the international film scene. One of the countries with the most vibrant filmmaking histories is Japan and for proof that they’ve been making intriguing dramas for decades now look no further than the Criterion edition of “Harakiri,” a striking drama that won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and has recently been released on Blu-ray for the first time.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Without the Criterion Collection, I wonder if “Harakiri” would even be on DVD, much less Blu-ray. Some of their titles — “Carlos,...
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Without the Criterion Collection, I wonder if “Harakiri” would even be on DVD, much less Blu-ray. Some of their titles — “Carlos,...
- 10/19/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Harakiri Directed by: Masaki Kobayashi Written by: Shinobu Hashimoto Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentaro Mikuni, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri is a sort of anti-samurai film that explores honour and moral decency within the strict adherence to a centuries old code. Kobayahsi's criticisms hurled towards this authoritative body is just as relevant now as it was in Edo period Japan. The result is a film that plays with the audience as it peels back the layers, strategically revealing plot revelations that tantalize the audience, creating a truly engrossing cinematic experience. Hanshiro Tsugumo, a Ronin Samurai, enters the estate of the Lyi Clan in search of a courtyard to perform Harakiri; an act of ritual suicide through disembowelment. Within the Bushido code, it's used both as punishment or voluntarily by a samurai looking to die with honour. In this case, Hanshiro is out of work due to the current...
- 10/18/2011
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas: 2-Disc Deluxe Edition (1974)
Synopsis: For some unexplained reason, letters to Santa Claus are being returned to the children of Junctionville. It seems some resident has angered St. Nick by calling him “a fraudulent myth!” Skeptical Albert Mouse has to be brought to his senses “and let up a little on the wonder why.” How Albert is persuaded to change his tune paves the way for Santa’s jolly return to town – and the joyous finale of the animated fable inspired by Clement Moore’s poem and produced by the merrymaking conjures of Rankin/bass studios. The voice talents of Joel grey, Tammy Grimes, John McGiver and George Gobel make this festive fable even more fun. (highdefdigest.com)
Special Features:
Tba
The 12 Dogs Of Christmas (2005)
Synopsis: A girl who uses dogs to...
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas: 2-Disc Deluxe Edition (1974)
Synopsis: For some unexplained reason, letters to Santa Claus are being returned to the children of Junctionville. It seems some resident has angered St. Nick by calling him “a fraudulent myth!” Skeptical Albert Mouse has to be brought to his senses “and let up a little on the wonder why.” How Albert is persuaded to change his tune paves the way for Santa’s jolly return to town – and the joyous finale of the animated fable inspired by Clement Moore’s poem and produced by the merrymaking conjures of Rankin/bass studios. The voice talents of Joel grey, Tammy Grimes, John McGiver and George Gobel make this festive fable even more fun. (highdefdigest.com)
Special Features:
Tba
The 12 Dogs Of Christmas (2005)
Synopsis: A girl who uses dogs to...
- 10/3/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Chicago – Very few films from 1963 have the timelessness of Akira Kurosawa’s perfect thriller “High and Low,” a daring piece of tension-building work that takes place almost entirely in one room and in real-time. With people like Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols, and David Mamet circling a potential remake for years, it’s no wonder the film was chosen for the Blu-ray upgrade this month by Criterion. It’s a classic from one of the form’s best directors.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Kingo Gondo (the great Toshiro Mifune) is a man caught in a nightmare of business needs versus morality. There is no way out that won’t lead to tragedy. He can save the life of an innocent child, but in doing so ruin his own and that of his family. What’s a man to do? Give up everything he’s worked for his entire life? What if a child...
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
Kingo Gondo (the great Toshiro Mifune) is a man caught in a nightmare of business needs versus morality. There is no way out that won’t lead to tragedy. He can save the life of an innocent child, but in doing so ruin his own and that of his family. What’s a man to do? Give up everything he’s worked for his entire life? What if a child...
- 7/26/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Synopsis: Jake and Elwood Blues endeavor to raise $5,000 for their childhood parrish by putting their old band back together uand taking their show on the road. While touring, they manage to wreak havoc on the entire city of Chicago and much of the midwest.
Special Features: Stories Behind the Making of The Blues Brothers: Go behind the scenes with Director John Landis, Dan Aykroyd and the Blues Brothers band; Transposing the Music: Highlights of the many spin-offs, tributes and merchandising developments, as well as stage shows, impersonators and pop culture inspired by the film; Remembering John: Friends, family and co-stars share their personal stories about the late great comedian; Theatrical trailer.
Dante’S Peak (1997)
Synopsis: Four years after the death of his fiancée in a volcanic eruption, vulcanologist Harry Dalton is sent to...
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Synopsis: Jake and Elwood Blues endeavor to raise $5,000 for their childhood parrish by putting their old band back together uand taking their show on the road. While touring, they manage to wreak havoc on the entire city of Chicago and much of the midwest.
Special Features: Stories Behind the Making of The Blues Brothers: Go behind the scenes with Director John Landis, Dan Aykroyd and the Blues Brothers band; Transposing the Music: Highlights of the many spin-offs, tributes and merchandising developments, as well as stage shows, impersonators and pop culture inspired by the film; Remembering John: Friends, family and co-stars share their personal stories about the late great comedian; Theatrical trailer.
Dante’S Peak (1997)
Synopsis: Four years after the death of his fiancée in a volcanic eruption, vulcanologist Harry Dalton is sent to...
- 7/25/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Criterion Collection will release the outstanding 1963 crime drama-thriller High and Low, by the legendary Japanese movie director Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai), on Blu-ray on July 26.
Toshiro Mifune makes a life or death decision in High and Low.
In the film, the great Toshiro Mifune (Rashomon) stars as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper.
Adapting Ed McBain’s detective novel King’s Ransom, Kurosawa moves effortlessly from compelling race-against-time thriller to exacting social commentary in High and Low. A tense masterpiece, the movie wholly deserves its reputation as both a highly influential domestic drama and a trend-setting police procedural.
Presented in Japanese with English subtitles, High and Low was last issued on DVD by Criterion in 2008. That version is still available.
The Blu-ray, which carries a list price of $39.95, will contain the following features, all of which originally appeared on the Criterion DVD:
• High-definition digital restoration,...
Toshiro Mifune makes a life or death decision in High and Low.
In the film, the great Toshiro Mifune (Rashomon) stars as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper.
Adapting Ed McBain’s detective novel King’s Ransom, Kurosawa moves effortlessly from compelling race-against-time thriller to exacting social commentary in High and Low. A tense masterpiece, the movie wholly deserves its reputation as both a highly influential domestic drama and a trend-setting police procedural.
Presented in Japanese with English subtitles, High and Low was last issued on DVD by Criterion in 2008. That version is still available.
The Blu-ray, which carries a list price of $39.95, will contain the following features, all of which originally appeared on the Criterion DVD:
• High-definition digital restoration,...
- 4/20/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
While we don’t cover a lot of the wonderful stuff Criterion releases, mostly because it doesn’t fit our format (you know, being the genre site of awesome), but anything Akira Kurosawa is awesome enough for us. Criterion Collection is releasing his 1963 crime epic – High and Low – July 26th on Blu-ray.
An executive mortgages all he owns to stage a coup and gain control of the National Shoe Company, with the intent of keeping the company out of the hands of incompetent and greedy executives. He needs the same money, though, to pay the ransom that will possibly save a child’s life. His resolution of that dilemma — the certain loss of the company vs. the probable loss of the child — makes for one distinct drama, and an ensuing elaborate police procedure makes for a second.
Not much in the way of all-new extras, but the DVD counterpart, which...
An executive mortgages all he owns to stage a coup and gain control of the National Shoe Company, with the intent of keeping the company out of the hands of incompetent and greedy executives. He needs the same money, though, to pay the ransom that will possibly save a child’s life. His resolution of that dilemma — the certain loss of the company vs. the probable loss of the child — makes for one distinct drama, and an ensuing elaborate police procedure makes for a second.
Not much in the way of all-new extras, but the DVD counterpart, which...
- 4/19/2011
- by Jon Peters
- Killer Films
Note: I’ll be updating this page as Criterion makes the release dates and final art available. – Ryan 4/15/2011
Well here we are, another mid-month Criterion new release announcement. This time last year, we were treated to the incredible one-two punch announcement of Black Narcissus and the Red Shoes as upgraded DVD/Blu-ray editions. This time around we have even more to be excited about.
First up, a couple of films that we’ve actually already covered on the podcast will finally be getting Blu-ray upgrades. One of our very first episodes was on Mike Leigh’s Naked (a film that I wasn’t too hot on, but I loved Leigh’s Topsy Turvy). Now you’ll finally be able to see this incredibly daring and raw look at England in the early 90s, with David Thewlis as the immortal Johnny. I found the dialogue to be a little too rapid and not very naturalistic,...
Well here we are, another mid-month Criterion new release announcement. This time last year, we were treated to the incredible one-two punch announcement of Black Narcissus and the Red Shoes as upgraded DVD/Blu-ray editions. This time around we have even more to be excited about.
First up, a couple of films that we’ve actually already covered on the podcast will finally be getting Blu-ray upgrades. One of our very first episodes was on Mike Leigh’s Naked (a film that I wasn’t too hot on, but I loved Leigh’s Topsy Turvy). Now you’ll finally be able to see this incredibly daring and raw look at England in the early 90s, with David Thewlis as the immortal Johnny. I found the dialogue to be a little too rapid and not very naturalistic,...
- 4/15/2011
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
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