- Note: Blu-ray discs are in a high definition format and need to be played on a Blu-ray player. To find out more about Blu-ray, visit our Hi-Def Learn & Shop store.
- Important Information on Firmware Updates: Having trouble with your Blu-ray disc player? Will certain discs just not play? You may need to update the firmware inside your player. Click here to learn more.
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Reviews
Product Description
SISTERS OF THE GION (1936)
Two giesha sisters disagree over how to deal with the men controlling their lives and livelihoods.
OSAKA ELEGY (1936)
Ayako agrees to enter into an affair with her married boss after he promises to support her and her father.
THE STORY OF THE LAST CRYSANTHEMUM (1939)
A young actor is forced to deal with his family after he becomes shunned by them over his new relationship.
UTAMARO AND HIS FIVE WOMEN (1946)
Utamaro, a great artist, lives to create portraits of beautiful women. And the brothels of Tokyo provide his models. A world of passion swirls around him and the women all vie for his attention.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, Blu-Ray/Region B DVD: LANGUAGES: Japanese ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Box Set, Interactive Menu, Multi-DVD Set, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Osaka Elegy (1936) Osaka Elegy: Ayako agrees to enter into an affair with her married boss after he promises to support her and her father. Sisters of the Gion (1936) The Story Of The Last Crysanthemum: A young actor is forced to deal with his family after he becomes shunned by them over his new relationship. The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939) Sisters Of The Gion: Two giesha sisters disagree over how to deal with the men controlling their lives and livelihoods. Utamaro and His Five Women (1946) Utamaro And His Five Women: A great artist lives to create portraits of beautiful women. A world of passion swirls around him and the women all vie for his attention. ...The Mizoguchi Collection - 4-Disc Box Set ( Naniwa hika / Gion no shimai / Zangiku monogatari / Utamaro o meguru gonin no onna ) ( Osaka Elegy / Sisters of the Gion / The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums / Utamaro and His Five Women ) (Blu-Ray)
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Burciu Mihai
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Two of this films Sisters of the Gion and Osaka Elegy were available in the US from Criterion's Eclipse Series. Both being from 1936 have suffered a lot during the 2nd war time, when many movies were burned and lost forever. Probably we will never have the chance of seeing other masterpieces of the silent era and the early talkies era. Coming back to this set...it is interesting that we find an artificial eye edition, instead of Masters Of Cinema (be not worried they have already released two packs with some precious masterpieces this year and maybe we will have more). I say this not a disrespectful manner! It is a praise in fact! The films's quality is pretty good considering the early mentioned aspects, but I am not certain that these discs are not only upscaled copies of the DVD's. The sound is a problem though, no master whatsoever. The two products are just categorized in Mizoguchi's pattern - oppression of women - and are a delight for classic Japanese cinema buffs.
The last two movies are also very important in the master's career and are produced in 1939 and 1946. There is a melancholy with a very pleasant echo in Mizoguchi's products and these two carry this torch, but stay within the chosen path. Regarding the quality of image and sound, I definitely have the same feeling as for the first two.
There are no extras or booklets within the box and this is a major fault for this box, clearly! It is kind of expensive without those elements but worth the buy for collectors nonetheless.
The last two movies are also very important in the master's career and are produced in 1939 and 1946. There is a melancholy with a very pleasant echo in Mizoguchi's products and these two carry this torch, but stay within the chosen path. Regarding the quality of image and sound, I definitely have the same feeling as for the first two.
There are no extras or booklets within the box and this is a major fault for this box, clearly! It is kind of expensive without those elements but worth the buy for collectors nonetheless.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
I must qualify this review by saying I have only watched the 'Utamaro's and his Five Women' disc. Whilst the brilliance of Mizoguchi's direction and the fine acting is apparent, the quality of the transfer is poor - suffering from what looks like frame judder with accompanying loss of sound quality. The fact this is a blu ray disc only serves to emphasise the poor quality. It looks like it has been transferred from a live projection rather than remastered. It does not matter how old the material is - I've seen some splendid examples of films much older than this one. I guess this is why companies like, for example, Eureka, remaster their releases. It's a shame that the works of such a great master of cinema as Mizoguchi has not been given top treatment.
I have now watched THE STORY OF THE LAST CRYSANTHEMUM and whilst, yes, this is not a high definition digital transfer, it is better than the UTAMARO disc, albeit in lowish contrast and with some 'developer-stain ghosting' from one of the transfer negatives/positives. It is a brilliant insight into the lives of Kabuki actors - and indeed we see some Kabuki performances towards the end of this bitter-sweet film.
I have now watched THE STORY OF THE LAST CRYSANTHEMUM and whilst, yes, this is not a high definition digital transfer, it is better than the UTAMARO disc, albeit in lowish contrast and with some 'developer-stain ghosting' from one of the transfer negatives/positives. It is a brilliant insight into the lives of Kabuki actors - and indeed we see some Kabuki performances towards the end of this bitter-sweet film.
21 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By gradnick
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
This 4-disc set of early Mizoguchi films is proof of the fact that Blu-ray releases are no guarantee of quality. One should of course be prepared to make allowances for source material of this age, but these Artificial Eye versions of OSAKA ELEGY and SISTER'S OF THE GION are inferior to those in Criterion's 4-disc MIZOGUCHI'S FALLEN WOMEN.
By comparison, these lack contrast, the subtitling is inferior, and both suffer from what I can only describe as a kind of digital banding (which I presume might be a compression anomaly). This banding becomes particularly evident in low-light shots and dark sections of the frame. Thankfully, it isn't apparent on UTAMARO AND HIS FIVE WOMAN or THE STORY OF THE LAST CRYSANTHEMUM, but given the underwhelming standard of the transfers, one might as well opt for the less expensive DVD versions (for what it's worth).
Despite my disappointment with this set as a whole, I am at least very pleased that UTAMARO and CRYSANTHEMUM (two very fine Mizoguchi films) are now available on DVD. Until new prints are found, or a company like Criterion or The Film Foundation decide to restore them, these are probably as good as we're likely to see.
While I'm having a moan, I may as well take a swipe at Artificial Eye's short branding animation that automatically plays after their discs are loaded. If it was silent (like the Criterion one), it wouldn't be an issue, but the annoying accompanying music is very grating, especially when the same clip is played (and cannot be fast-forwarded) immediately prior to the film playing. Grr. It's irritating when companies over-market themselves to those who have already bought into what they offer. In terms of generating brand awareness and loyalty, it must be somewhat counter-productive.
By comparison, these lack contrast, the subtitling is inferior, and both suffer from what I can only describe as a kind of digital banding (which I presume might be a compression anomaly). This banding becomes particularly evident in low-light shots and dark sections of the frame. Thankfully, it isn't apparent on UTAMARO AND HIS FIVE WOMAN or THE STORY OF THE LAST CRYSANTHEMUM, but given the underwhelming standard of the transfers, one might as well opt for the less expensive DVD versions (for what it's worth).
Despite my disappointment with this set as a whole, I am at least very pleased that UTAMARO and CRYSANTHEMUM (two very fine Mizoguchi films) are now available on DVD. Until new prints are found, or a company like Criterion or The Film Foundation decide to restore them, these are probably as good as we're likely to see.
While I'm having a moan, I may as well take a swipe at Artificial Eye's short branding animation that automatically plays after their discs are loaded. If it was silent (like the Criterion one), it wouldn't be an issue, but the annoying accompanying music is very grating, especially when the same clip is played (and cannot be fast-forwarded) immediately prior to the film playing. Grr. It's irritating when companies over-market themselves to those who have already bought into what they offer. In terms of generating brand awareness and loyalty, it must be somewhat counter-productive.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
MIZOGUCHI
Excellent collection of the great Japanese director's films. Three of the 4 films genrally rate 5 star in reviews with the fourth film normally rating 4 stars. Read more
Published 7 months ago by John Lockwood
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blue-ray review by "The Beaver"
For those undecided between the DVD and the Blu-ray issue, it looks as if the Blue-ray issue is a winner.
Review by "The Beaver" [...]
Review by "The Beaver" [...]
Published 14 months ago by J. Okerman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent films by a master director
I'm posting this review in an attempt to rectify the ridiculous review by M.C.Wootton who clearly does not understand the purpose of reviews, i.e. Read more
Published 16 months ago by J. R. Dersley
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
