(aka 'Chichi ariki' or 'There Was a Father")
Japan 1942
I honestly think that this may eclipse both "Late
Spring" and "Tokyo
Story" as my favorite favorite Ozu film. It is possibly
his most simplistic narrative, again dealing with familial communication -
this time a father and son. All the noted Ozu signatures are here with an
early shot of derricked hydro-electric lines and a few trains, also shots of
solitary smoking characters and camaraderie drinking of alcohol. I enjoyed Ozu
regular Chishu Ryu and his relative youthful appearance. This is a bit unique
from Ozu's other films in that there are an abundance of static shots (almost
like postcards) that pop up usually without musical accompaniment (or very
light traditional music audio). The film is so expressive with strong
overtones of love and respect filling many scenes. There Was a Father
is an extremely quiet, subtle and peaceful film - one which I crave deeply to
continue to revisit. Frankly this may be Ozu's best film - unrecognized
because of the poor condition of the print and therefore lack of availability.
It rates a strong 
out of
.
Gary Tooze
Theatrical Release: April 1st, 1942 - Tokyo
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Panorama - Region 3 - NTSC
| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution | Panorama (Hong Kong) - Region 3 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 1:34:12 | |
| Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.0 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
|
| Audio | Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | English, Traditional Chinese, None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Ozu
Biography (text screen) |
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| Comments: |
Goodness!... the print this DVD transfer was taken from was in extremely poor shape. Strong damage marks can be scene at 10, 25, 35 and 40 minutes respectively. Heavy scratches and a strange 'firefly-like' haze encompasses the entire frame of many scenes. I suspect Panorama even debated about putting it out at all - they really should make a statement about it on the box. It truly is a shame as this film is such a masterpiece. I will make enquiries to see if the retrospectives showed this in the same poor condition. If so, we may not see a restoration anytime soon - it would be a massive undertaking. Also,
commonly noted poor subtitles are at their peak of inefficiency here
with lots of absentee spaces, poor translation choices ("How is the Boy?
- "He passed-way" - "Good"- note: he didn't die - he passed his exams)
and spelling.
Audio is likewise weak and crackly. I suppose all of these problems
didn't deter the empathetic transfer of the films emotions to me but
I would really
appreciate seeing "There Was a Father" in a superior image and
audio (and subtitles) and really hope it can happen one day soon
although I have heard of nothing on the horizon. This DVD gets
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| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution | Panorama (Hong Kong) - Region 3 - NTSC | |
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Gary Tooze 1775 Rowntree Court Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 4V3 CANADA |
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Thank You!
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