Notebook on Cities and Clothes)

Starring:Wim Wenders Collection
Product Type: DVD

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Ozu's Late Spring
A zephyr's touch
Quietly Stated, Profoundly Moving
Magnificent --- one of the most touching films I have ever seen
There've always been people from good and bad families

Late Spring - Criterion Collection
Starring: Chishu Ryu , Setsuko Hara , Yumeji Tsukioka , Haruko Sugimura , and Hohi Aoki
Director: Yasujiro Ozu , and Wim Wenders
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EOTWIS
Release Date: 2006-05-09

Amazon.com

A masterpiece of postwar Japanese cinema, Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring serves as an elegant primer for many of the themes that would define Ozu's later career. As with other Ozu classics, this is a calm, meditative drama about the dynamics of family, in this case the inevitable separation of 56-year-old father and widower Shukichi (Chishu Ryu) and his adult daughter Noriko (Setsuko Hara), who is content to care for her father and remain unmarried, despite the urging of friends and relatives to find a suitable husband. There are some viable candidates, and several attempts at matchmaking, but the likeliest match is a man who's already engaged. Noriko simply wishes for things to remain as they are, but when she does eventually marry a handsome chemist who "looks like Gary Cooper," Ozu's drama remains intimately focused on the subtle emotions at play; there's not a scene or sequence that feels out of place, and Late Spring serves a secondary function as a light and lively portrait of post-war Japan, as hints of Western influence (like a Coca-Cola sign in one of the film's most memorable scenes) that signal Japan's transition toward a modern commercial economy. Most of all, however, Late Spring is a carefully observed and quietly heartbreaking story of a parent who yearns to set things right for his daughter who must balance her father's love with her own prospects for a fulfilling future. And while Ozu would go on to examine familial issues in later, equally noteworthy films, Late Spring represents a milestone that would ensure Ozu his rightful place among the greatest of all Japanese directors. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVDs
Criterion's release of Late Spring contains a few minor flaws in terms of image quality (such as occasional emulsion scratches), but viewers can rest assured that this DVD was mastered from the finest available materials, and the film looks very good considering the conditions of post-war Japan that were typically harsh on films of that period. The "windowbox" framing format accurately preserves the film's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. There's a new and improved English subtitle translation, and the audio commentary by Richard Peña (an Ozu expert and program director of New York's Film Society of Lincoln Center) emphasizes the literary traditions that inform Ozu's films, in addition to the director's signature fixed-camera, low-angle style. Disc 2 includes Tokyo-ga, the 1985 feature by German director (and avid Ozu admirer) Wim Wenders. It's a tribute to Ozu's Japan, in which Wenders wanders the city searching for remnants of Tokyo as seen in Ozu's films, including interviews with Late Spring actor Chishu Ryu and Ozu's long-time cameraman Yuharu Atsuta. In keeping with Criterion tradition, a 21-page booklet is also included, containing informative essays by critic Michael Atkinson and renowned Japanese-film historian Donald Richie. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The first of a series of intimate family portraits that would cement Yasujiro Ozu's reputation as one of the most important directors in cinema history, Late Spring tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his only, beloved daughter. In the hands of two of the director's finest actors—Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara—this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan remains as potent and meaningful today as ever.

Customer Reviews:

Ozu's Late Spring.......2007-06-25

A lovingly crafted fable about family relations in mid-century Japan, "Late Spring" is a testament to Ozu's elegant visual style and tranquil humanism. Two of his favorite actors, Ryu and the resplendent Hara, have an especially beautiful rapport in this touching story of sacrifice, which hinges on Noriko's cheerful willingness to forego freedom, and Somiya's desire to see Noriko married, though he knows he'll lead a lonely life without her. With consummate skill, Ozu uses shots of parks, walkways, and gardens to illustrate his characters' emotional states. Poignant and languorously paced, this is a masterful study of father-daughter affection.

A zephyr's touch.......2007-06-23

LATE SPRING's story is so airy that it is best watched on an lazy late afternoon. It's so subtle that it would be a shame to reveal too many details and possibly ruin your 'experience' of this. If you're the type who wants some, check out other reviews. I intend to reveal as little as possible.

After some 20 minutes of glimpses into the everyday lives of the widower and his 27-year-old daughter living near Tokyo around 1949, the story eases into first gear. And quite a bit after that, we see the main conflict float into view. It resonates and grows at an unlikely setting, becoming an aching poignancy that carries to the end of the film.

There's no real outburst of emotion. Only a couple almost understated moments of honest expression amid tons of near-ritualistic etiquette, often with the people wearing broad masking smiles. (I'm part Japanese and it still seems somewhat alien to me.)

All filmed in director Ozu's exquisite style, still potent despite being in black and white. (I'm glad I first saw the Criterion DVD of FLOATING WEEDS by the same director because it had Roger Ebert's film commentary which taught me how to watch an Ozu film.)

As for DVD extras, I skipped thru most of Wim Wender's 90-minute tribute to Ozu, altho, near the end, it has a fascinating piece on Ozu's camera setups. In the commentary by Richard Peña, background information gives way to extensive interpretion the scenes (I prefer the other way around).

Sadly, this is film that could use some first class restoration work to eliminate the signs of decay. It certainly deserves it.

Quietly Stated, Profoundly Moving.......2007-05-23

There might not be a director that personifies "profundity through simplicity" like Ozu. Unlike Kurosawa and Mizoguchi, Ozu relied on the deepest humanities of his strong characterizations to create a dynamic and moving rendering of his simplest of narratives. In all honesty, I've not seen anything or anyone in film like Ozu. With that, I get to Late Spring. If there was ever a simpler narrative premise I don't know of one. A daughter - Noriko, played perfectly by Ozu mainstay Setsuko Hara - stays at home to help her aging father - Shukichi, played perfectly by Ozu mainstay Chishu Ryu. The father soon realizes it's time for his daughter to marry. The daughter's ambivalent feelings towards marriage are inclined towards not doing so out of love and dedication to her father. So the father crafts a small white lie of his impending re-marriage to gently nudge the daughter out of the nest.

No description of the narrative however could give any insight into the immense and poignant power of this film. The gentle interplay between Noriko and Shukichi is largely what makes this film so great. Through this, we get to know these characters so intimately we feel as if we know them not as fictional characters, but as very real ones. It's not just the fact that they are so likable, it's the fact that they're so human. Ozu's depictions of everyday people in everyday life confronting life's small but meaningful moments is what drives it all. Late Spring simply allows us a look into the lives of two people we feel we know from the beginning. By the end, their emotions effect us as much as them. The final scene of Ryu peeling a fruit (and I'll leave it there so as not to spoil it) carries infinitely more weight and emotion than it should. But this scene perfectly illustrates Ozu's ability to take the simple and make it profound.

The moving scenes are not just saved for the closing however. The extended Noh play serves as the film's centerpiece, and the turning point for its main characters. For 7 minutes we're allowed to view something that is likely completely alien to all of America, if not Western Civilization. But the words in the play actually reflect many of the underlying themes of the film. And a simple look and smile on Shukichi's part to his potential wife, and the noticing of this by Noriko, serves as the catalyst for the rest of the film. The scene immediately afterwards of Noriko and Shukichi walking side by side, only to have Noriko separate to go her own way, is perhaps my favorite scene in the film for what it represents.

Much has been said of Ozu's style in technical terms - low angle shots, sparse camera movement. But I'd like to comment on the emotional effect this style has. I would describe Ozu's style as one that's as minimally intrusive and obtrusive as possible. This essentially creates a window in the lives of very real people. One can almost gets the impression that they're not watching a brilliant film, but a real life documentary into the lives of its characters. What we end up with is a snapshot of a time and place, and most importantly of people whose lives end up mattering to us. It's startling how many subtleties this film reveals with repeat viewings. The reason for this is because of the underlying themes that Ozu expresses throughout the film. They are told in such intricate, subtle ways, that the complex depths of those ideas are revealed only with repeat viewings.

I honestly don't know if I can heap enough acclaim onto this film. Although not for everyone and every taste, this is a film unlike any other you're likely to ever see. The phrase "They sure don't make them like this anymore" springs to mind. Also, no review of this size could bring into light everything that makes this film so rich. Ozu's style combines with emotional characterization and an elaborate world in which they exist with underlying themes that are delicate, but extremely subtle and important. This creates a work that is so multi-layered, one can only choose a few layers while leaving out many others.

It's astounding to think that in this day of Plasma screens and 1080p and 5.1 surround sound and all the effects that CGI and computers can generate, a film as simple and quiet as this can be as effectively affecting as it is. Indeed, Late Spring as well as Ozu's other masterworks are more real in their fiction than all of reality television put together, and more deeply rich and rewarding than most anything you're likely to ever see.

Magnificent --- one of the most touching films I have ever seen.......2007-02-27

I almost hate writing reviews about movies like this, because there are only so many superlatives I know. Simply put, this is one of the most beautiful & touching films ever --- an utterly convincing portrait of a father/daughter relationship which must be forever changed. Noriko is perfectly content with this idyllic relationship as it is, but her father knows that ultimately she will be unfulfilled if she does not move on with her life, and in what has to be one of the most wonderful scenes I have ever seen in a film, he explains the essence of marriage & the creation of a new life & persona within the marriage. That scene alone is worth the price of the DVD.

Of course, with Criterion, you get what you pay for --- lots of really good commentary (discussing this movie within the greater context of Ozu's career, as well as an examination of everyday life in Occupied Japan) and other features. Five stars really doesn't seem to be enough for this. Every father of a daughter ought to watch this, I think.

There've always been people from good and bad families.......2007-02-26

They haven't made any films like this in decades, anywhere in the world. From a time when the word decency could be used more as a weapon than as a boomerang. Traditional family values is what we have here exposed, without lecturing. Those film critics that talk so much nonsense about Japanese films are just a bunch of hippies with bow ties, proletarians in nike shoes. John Ford himself made many movies like this one, where family values are proclaimed and sanctified thru his artistry, but critics don't want to see that, they only see what they want. Well, here's this director from Japan, right after WWII, giving us a last tour of the good old times when they are about to change.

Sure, it's about a father and his lovely daughter. But at the same time it's about those times I was talking about. The daughter doesn't want to change, just like all the decent people wouldn't want to change; but it's inevitable. It's life's law. Progress cannot be stopped, and daughters must marry off, to start a new family, maybe new societies.

There are such things as good and bad families. Just as there's right and wrong. This is a wonderful film. But I've seen more old films like this one, and they weren't Japanese. They were American and European. Why not give them the same Criterion treatment? Are "traditional values" only nice when they apply to foreign cultures? I see a double standard in these phony critics. Whatever they say about this film, it is not one that disfunctional families can feel identified with.

Wim Wenders Collection (The American Friend/Lightning Over Water/Notebook on Cities and Clothes)

Average customer rating:

A posthumous homage!
Another great box set from Anchor Bay!!!

Wim Wenders Collection (The American Friend/Lightning Over Water/Notebook on Cities and Clothes)
Starring: Wim Wenders Collection
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Wings of Desire
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The Conformist (Extended Edition)
The End of Violence

ASIN: B0001LJCQQ
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Customer Reviews:

A posthumous homage!.......2006-02-15

When Nicholas Ray ` s creative spark was vanishing and the winter dreams arrived at the end of the road, Wenders inquired him to make the last documental-interview around his thoughts, points of view and other subjects in NYC .

Ray was dying of cancer but far to behave himself as a Romantic figure, Ray makes what a man must do: accept the death `s call and not to give up.

I still remember a smart statement of Bette Davis : "To get old is not for the weak people." And the undeniable talent of this German filmmaker this bold and painful testimonial will endure the sudden reverses of the forgetfulness and the fragile collective memory.

"The glory is the sun of dead" Balzac.

Another great box set from Anchor Bay!!!.......2004-04-21

This is one great box set from Anchor Bay!!! 3 great Wim Wenders classics in one great collection!!! Contains "Lightning Over Water", "Notebook On Cities & Clothes" and "The American Friend". Each film is personally restored by Wenders himself and lodaed with facinating new extras!!! Extras include:Commentaires on all 3 films by Wenders himself including one(The American Friend) with guest Dennis Hopper!!!,deleted scenes with commentary by Wender:on "The American Friend" and and "Notebook On Cities & Clothes" and "Nicholas Ray:Especially For Pierre"-a 38 minute lecture by Nicholas Ray(on "Lightning Over Water" and more!!! If you like Wim Wenders, you'll love this wonderful box set!!! Two thumbs up!!! Way up!!! Five Stars!!! A+

Average customer rating:

The Wim Wenders Collection Vol 2

The Wim Wenders Collection, Vol. 2
Starring: Wim Wenders Collection
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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1900 (Special Collector's Edition)
The Conformist (Extended Edition)
La Jetee/Sans Soleil (Criterion Collection)
Wim Wenders Collection (The American Friend/Lightning Over Water/Notebook on Cities and Clothes)
Army of Shadows - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B0007WQGWC
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Amazon.com

An interesting gathering of fiction features and documentaries spanning nearly a quarter-century of filmmaking by one of the original giants of the German New Wave, The Wim Wenders Collection, Vol. 2 has both the famous and obscure. From Wenders' early career comes 1972's The Scarlet Letter, which helped define the director's passion for the theme of the outsider in society. Senta Berger stars as Hester Prynne, the 17th century heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's proto-feminist novel. Lou Castel plays her tormented lover, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Hans Christian Blech is the husband who disappeared and underwent a transformation while in captivity. The mesmerizing The Wrong Move (1974) was one of the films that brought Wenders international attention, and it's another adaptation: this time Goethe's Wilhelm Meister. Ruediger Vogeler, an icon in Wenders' first works, stars as Meister, a writer who takes a journey in a forest with several companions (among them Hanna Schygulla and Nastassja Kinski) and becomes the guest of a wealthy industrialist (Ivan Desny) with a dark secret. 1980's Lightning Over Water is a loving and tragic tribute to American film director Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause), a major inspiration to Wenders and a physically fragile artist at the time of production.

Ray has a small part in the extraordinary The American Friend, a major success in Wenders career and a thriller based on Patricia Highsmith's novels about sociopath Tom Ripley. Dennis Hopper plays an isolated, deranged version of Ripley, seen here as an art dealer who sets up a dying restorer (Bruno Ganz) to commit a murder, then regrets his actions and becomes the innocent man's ally. The rest of Vol. 2 is more of Wenders' fascinating documentaries, including the wonderful Tokyo-Ga, a moving and sporadically funny 1985 essay about contemporary Tokyo and how it measures up to the Tokyo portrayed in the masterpieces of the late filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. Room 666 (1984) is an unusual experiment in which several other world-class filmmakers consent to a spontaneous interview, one after the other, in a hotel room. Another experimental work, A Trick of Light (1996), concerns the Skladanowsky brothers, inventors of the Bioscope projector. Much of the film was shot using the film pioneers' own, 19th century equipment. Finally, Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989) is an intriguing piece about Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, whose design process is viewed in the context of the computer age and digital information. Special features include a filmed lecture by Nicholas Ray, and commentary by Wenders on each of the movies. --Tom Keogh

Description

Room 666: Film directors answer the question: "What is the future of cinema?".

Tokyo-Ga: Wim Wenders travels to Japan in search of the Tokyo seen in the films of Yasujiro Ozu

Wrong Move: Six days in the life of Wilhelm: a detached man without qualities. Couplings and rare bursts of feeling come as surprises; other characters remain alone.

Lightning Over Water: Wim Wenders helps his friend Nicholas Ray realize his final wish of completing a final film before his imminent death from cancer.

The Scarlet Letter: Based on a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

A Trick of Light: Award-winning Documentary

The American Friend: A metaphor for the relationship between American and German culture. Includes the cameo appearance of several Hollywood directors.

Notebook on Cities & Clothes: Wim Wenders talks with a Japanese fashion designer about the creative process and ponders the relationship between cities, identity and the cinema in the digital age.

Customer Reviews:

The Wim Wenders Collection Vol 2.......2007-02-12

A fantastic collection from a master filmmaker, comprising some of his best known as well as his less well known works. Denis Hopper in An American Friend, the work of Ozu and his cinematographer in Tokyo Ga are particular stand outs.

Average customer rating:

The Scarlet Letter - A Wim Wenders Film

Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

In 17th Century Salem, Hester is forced to wear a Scarlet letter A because she is an adulteress who has had a child out of wedlock. Having disappeared many years earlier, Hesters much older husband returns unrecognized by anybody in the town and determines to trap the man he believes had an affair with his wife.

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