NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were obtained directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Criterion Blu-ray compared to two other Blu-rays HERE

ADDITION: Shochiku - Region FREE  Blu-ray - July 2013: Good friend, MW, who alerted me to this Shochiku Blu-ray says: "And it is quite stunning! The best it has looked on Video-- ever!
It has been almost 60 years since I saw an original print at UCLA, so I cannot rely on my memory as to how accurately it resembles that print, but it certainly isn't the dupey versions that have existed since the original release. And it is better than any other restoration I have seen. By far.

It is truly a restoration. The image is rock steady (it wove a lot in every version I've seen both on video and on the screen) and the contrast is right. (By my recollection -- remember this is after 60 years -- the image is a little bit darker than I remember. But is not a heavy image. )

The Audio track is very clean. And as far as I can tell it is region free.

There are a bunch of title cards on the end of the film, in Japanese, which seem to be about the restoration. All my Japanese neighbors have moved on, so it may be a while before I can recruit someone to translate.

At any rate, this is as close to a rave as I know how to write. And the subtitles are based on the original subtitle set which captured the emotional range of the film better than any other set I have seen."

Yes, in DVDBeaver-ville we feel comparative analysis is the best judge and this new Shochiku restoration is radically different from the BFI 1080P - which now looks brittle and thin beside the Japanese transfer. The Shochiku leans to a light sepia/tan/grey contrast (which may very well be more accurate!) where the BFI is more 'black and white' but it appears unnaturally boosted at times next to the restoration. The damage present on the region 'B' rendering is, incredibly, almost totally irradiated on the Shochiku. If you toggle back and forth between the large click-able screen grabs you can see that one of these is out of ratio. It could be a little of both but to my eye it looks like the British edition is more irregular with some vertical stretching. Technically the Shochiku is slightly more robust. I watched both, toggling back and forth on two Blu-ray players and the region FREE Shochiku is vastly superior in the image. It may also get a notch ahead in the audio - which sounds very clear and even. It offers both optional English or Japanese subtitles. Extras seem to include a Japanese language commentary, two trailers and the package has an extensive book with photos and posters (some in color) - see photo below. I was floored by the presentation and the fact it is region FREE should make it desirable for many. One of the greatest films of all time - in a definitive Blu-ray transfer!

***

ADDITION: BFI Dual-format package - July 2010: There are less scratches than Late Spring but I just don't feel this source has equivalent density. Regardless, once again Criterion supplied the graded master materials, however BFI did their own A/V transfer/restoration. Damage should therefore be duplicated with that region 1 DVD. The Criterion was done way back in 2003 - before they enacted the letterboxing policy. Detail is one of the areas that the new 1080P transfer notably improves over all the DVDs. It is tighter and has better contrast - overall the image presentation is much better in motion. This is dual-layered with a high bitrate. While there is not much depth - the Criterion (best of the DVDs) looks flatter by comparison.

BFI have the Japanese soundtrack in a lossless linear PCM 2.0 at 2304 kbps. It does sound cleaner and crisper to my ears.  I should note that I prefer the BFI subtitle font size to any of the others.

Extras have a separate DVD sharing both Tokyo Story and Ozu's The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family reviewed HERE. It comes with a liner notes booklet with an essay by Professor Joan Mellen and Ozu biographer Tony Rayns.

An easy purchase to own what is often regarded as Ozu's greatest film in the best possible digital presentation. In repeat viewings it remains emotionally shattering. Absolutely recommended!

ADDITION - Tartan (Dec -04) - Tartan are using the more economical route to sell these DVDs. For the price of 1 1/2 of the Stellar Criterions, you can have three Ozu films. The image is undeniably weaker using the NTSC masters and not converting to PAL. The rest of the Noriko Trilogy (also includes Early Summer and Late Spring) is the same but an improvement over the Panorama editions. We have also compared now and they are, but still fall short for the more expensive and extra-laden Criterions. Stick with your Criterions folks, these Tartans were done on the cheap, and it shows!

 - Gary W. Tooze