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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. SISTERS OF THE GION (1936) Two giesha sisters disagree over how to deal with the men controlling their lives and livelihoods. UTAMARO AND HIS FIVE WIVES (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
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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.
29 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.to comment on the films and their presentation, NOT on supplier performance on dates of availability. These films were directed by an acknowledged master film maker and although this set is not yet available I'm awarding 5* to ocounteract the misguided and misleading review I've already referred to. No prospective purchaser should be put off by such an illogical review!
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
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.
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