(aka 'Early Spring' or 'Soshun')
Japan 1956
This
was made after a more than two-year gap following his preceding film, "Tokyo
Story" (during which period he spent a lot of time working on a
film that was to be directed by Kinuyo Tanaka -- which had become bogged down by
all sorts of business politics). Ozu re-visits the world of the young "salaryman"
for the first time since the 30s -- and doesn't particularly like what he finds.
Ozu looks at the corrosive impact of the transition to a corporation-centered
existence on white collar working men.
Shoji Sugiyama (Ryo IKEBE) and Masako (Ckikage AWASHIMA) have been married
around 7 or 8 years, but are childless (their only son having died several years
earlier). Shoji has shifted his focus to his career and pretty much disregards
his wife (or at least takes her very much for granted). After Shoji becomes
involved in dalliance with a co-worker, Chiyo, better known as "Goldfish"
(Keiko Kishi), Masako decides she's had enough...
This film is one of Ozu's most earnest. While there are some touches of humor
(for instance, Shoji's reunion with his army buddies, after which he is followed
home by two of them), the overall tone is serious. Kumeko Urabe provides some
earthy practicality as Masako's mother (now a noodle shop vendor -- unclear what
she did prior to her husband's death years before) and Chishu Ryu (as Shoji's
mentor, in business exile in the boondocks -- but not entirely regretting it)
provides quasi-paternal guidance.
Excerpt taken from Michael Kerpan's comments on IMdb located HERE.
Theatrical Release: January 28th, 1956 - Tokyo
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DVD Review: Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC
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| Distribution | Panorama Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC | |
| Runtime | 2:24:15 | |
| Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.0 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
| Subtitles | English, Chinese, None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Directors
Biography (text screens)
• Collectable handbill with production notes (in
English and Chinese) |
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| Comments: |
This is labeled as Panorama's 1st Ozu film (#1 on the spine) and frankly it is one of their poorer efforts considering the film was made less than 50 years ago. A (typical) non-progressive transfer that shows much wear, dirt and flickering contrast. It also has very poor subtitles with frequent errors and absentee gaps. It is encouraging that they have improved since this first release, but I would love to see it revisited and eventually restored, especially by Criterion. Ozu fans will still want to own it as it is another of his socially aware dramas with a more modern take on single relationships than I have seen in the past. It is also very reasonably priced. |
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| Distribution | Panorama Entertainment - Region 3 - NTSC | |
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