When this set was announced back in April, I started an absurdly ambitious series to tie into it. Cinema Ozu has turned out to be more personally rewarding and enjoyable than any film studies class I took in college (with the possible exception of Chinese Cinema and Culture). To me, what these long-sought-after releases represent to the aspiring filmmaker or film historian is considerable: a look inside two of the most affecting films in one of the greatest filmographies in all of cinema.
In-depth exploration of the themes and historical context of The Only Son can be found here: Part A, Part B. I will update this post to include a link to There Was a Father when I post that "Cinema Ozu" article (which may end up a two-parter like Only Son).
The video transfers are as good as one can hope for from films that came out of this era, whose surviving film elements (negatives and positives) suffer from at times considerable unrepairable damage. There are scratches and mold spots (white splotches) throughout, but there's nothing that can be done about this. That said, the Criterion transfers on both compare very favorably to other versions that've been available. Contrast, in particular, is much improved. Thank god no one took digital crayons to these movies to make them shimmer and shine like a digitally bastardized "restoration". Live with and understand the damage, and you'll be a better-informed film lover.
In evaluating the audio, consider that even though these films come a little after talkies became the norm in Japan, the technology was still not great or as good as found in Hollywood pictures form the same era. In particular, The Only Son used a different audio system than the rest of Shochiku's talkies at the time.
Ozu was resistant to the onset of talkies, and when his hand was forced to make The Only Son a talkie, he made the stipulation that he be allowed to use the audio recording system devised by his then-regular cinematographer Hideo Mohara. He didn't like the existing system's quality. On top of that, Ozu had promised Mohara that he'd use Mohara's system. Audio is better on the post-war There Was a Father, which benefits from half a decade of maturation int he technology. As with the video, any more digital fiddling to remove crackle or hiss would destroy relevant audio data, like sound effects or speech. This is as good as these will sound.
Blu-ray resolution would have likely made the flaws in both areas on both titles yet more apparent, so I'm not crying over the lack of a Blu-ray edition of these films. In fact, the British Film Institute is doing a DVD rather than Blu-ray version of The Only Son as part of their very ambitious initiative to get every surviving Ozu film on Blu-ray or DVD by the end of 2011. Only Son is packed with the Late Spring Blu-ray due for release in the coming days (locked to UK region coding). I'd be curious to see how that disc compares to this one.
The inside of the slipcase is the same shade of red used on Ozu's trademark red kettle seen on the slipcase's front. In this hastily-taken photo, it's barely visible, but it's there.
The packaging, for me, reinforces why Criterion's particular brand of materialistic consumerism is among the most conscientious in home video. The art by Adrian Tomine is the perfect graphical representation of what are considered the great values in Ozu films. The container is just as (if not more in some moments) relevant than the contents of the container. The art in the booklets and on the actual discs are what no one could see before the set came out last Tuesday.
Bordwell and Thompson (l. and r., respectively)
The supplements are just right, and absolutely hit the spot. The extensive notes in each booklet combine perfectly with the densely-packed video interviews with David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson, as well as preeminent Japanese critic (and Ozu authority) Tadao Sato. The video interviews in particular put the movies in vibrant historical context against the rest of Ozu's career as well as World War II. It's nice to finally see a video interview with Bordwell, to whom I owe a huge debt for his Ozu & The Poetics of Cinema, which has been an absolutely indispensable resource throughout writing this series.
The video interviews and booklets are very appropriately portioned, considering the information I know to be available in documentaries, interviews, and commentaries on other Ozu releases from Criterion. This is a great jumping-on point for people who want to get to know Ozu's work. This is one of the most important releases of the year, whether you know Ozu's work or not.
It's wonderful that Barnes & Noble's now-annual 50% Off Criterion Sale has coincided with this release, because I have a feeling more people will blind-buy it than would have otherwise. At $20, this is the biggest steal of the year. Of course, it's still worth it at regular price too. I'll do some calculations and sort out how much all of the Criterion Ozu titles will cost at sale prices. Prepare your pocketbooks.
Cinema Ozu is an ongoing series of feature articles about the career and impact of Japanese filmmaker Ozu Yasujiro. I have seen many of his surviving films, but not all of them. Essential sources include David Bordwell's book Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema and definitive Ozu fansite "Ozu-san".
The beginning of this series is also timed to celebrate the July 2010 U.S. release of The Only Son and There Was a Father as a DVD double-set by The Criterion Collection.