alucyshyn

5 or 6 years ago, restored versions of several movies (1930's) directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, made the rounds of art theaters. I saw 4 or 5 a the Atlanta High Museum.

Does anyone know of plans to release Mizoguchi's classic films on DVD? They are truly incredible and have left a lasting impression on me.

Some the the titles I can remember: Ugetzu, Life of Oharu, Sansho Dayu (Sansho the Baliff).

I've found some on VHS but was hoping these have, or will be released on DVD.

pal

Hendrik

...a small point: the titles you mention are 1950s movies... and, afaik, none[*] of Mizoguchi's films are (currently) available on DVD - more's the pity!
[*] -> Correction: ONE of KM's films is available on a French DVD - with 'locked' French subtitles:
http://www.dvdfr.com/dvd/fiche.php3?id=3972

(...it happens to be one of my all-time-favorite movies, which I have on LD...)

. . . . . .

Gypo66

Another great filmmaker who joins Ozu, Bresson, Satyajit Ray, et al in the dubious distinction division of Least Represented Cine-Genius on DVD.

For what it's worth, I have all three of the Mizoguchi titles you mention on LD -- Criterions, no less. One more reason to keep the laserdisc player alive.

Donald Brown

Ah, and The 47 Ronin in Region 1! It doesn't have the greatest transfer but it's certainly watchable.

Criterion should still have the rights to the Mizoguchi films they released on LD, since I'm pretty sure they're part of the Janus Collection.

Hendrik

...ah yes, forgot about those 1941 & 1942 films...

...incidentally, and somewhat OT, I have the 1994 'remake' ("Shijushichinin no shihaku") by Kon Ichikawa on a Mei Ah disc (DVD-5 / Region 'All' / color / letterboxed ~1.85:1 / 129 minutes / DD 2.0 Surround)...

. . . . . .

redshift

There is also a Spanish R2 release of Kenji Mizoguchi's Life of Oharu (my favorite film, incidentally) from Filmax, but with Spanish subtitles only.

Another worthwhile release from Filmax (also with Spanish subs only) is Yasujiro Ozu's very rare The Munekata Sisters with the enviable cast of Kinuyo Tanaka (Kenji Mizoguchi's muse) and Hideko Takamine (Mikio Naruse's muse), along with Ozu perennial Chishu Ryu.

Grimfarrow

There are plenty of other great directors who are utterly unrepresented on DVD - Miklos Jancso, Theo Angelopoulos (expect for Ulysses' Gaze and the R2 Eternity and a Day), Bela Tarr, Aleksandr Sokurov, Mikio Naruse, etc.

Michael Estes

I'm hoping you moved there because:

1) You are putting together a DVD box set of the "turnover trilogy plus one" by Fruit Chan. All in the OAR and enhanced.

or maybe:

2) To restore the whole 167 minutes on a new DVD of Stanley Kwan's "Actress."

I can dream....

Gypo66

And while we're at it, let's not forget Wajda, Resnais and Chantal Akerman. For that matter, still TONS of great stuff unleased on DVD by Bunuel, Bergman, Pasolini, Fassbinder, Franju, Godard and really probably too many others to even list. Personally, I won't be truly happy until I see all fourteen thousand hours of Rivette's Amour Fou and Out 1: Spectre released on special DVD Box Sets. Let the floodgates open!

bdots48

I just picked up Wajda's Man of Marble and Man of Iron dvd's - I had no idea they were available - great films - I hope the dvds are OK. MGE/Vision label at my local Border's. $18.99 (used the 15% coupon from the paper - if you can find one and have a Border's nearby).

Grimfarrow

Here's some answers:

1) No. But I did I see "Hollywood Hong Kong", his newest. Pretty good, but surprisingly uneven considering his other works like "Made in Hong Kong" and "Durian Durian".

2) Hmmm.... I can try asking Stanley for you. He's on vacation though.

Michael Estes

I am interested in the actual running time of this film. IMDB says 167 minutes. I see that the VCD and VHS is 141 minutes. My Mega Star DVD is only 121. Since I have only seen this on DVD, I do not know exactly what was cut or why it was edited. There are certain sections where the editing feels almost arbitrary, but having never seen the unedited version, I can not say for sure. It is a shame to slice up this (or, of course, any other) film, as I felt that Kwan was telling an important story in an interesting manner. I want to see this in it's complete version in order to understand his complete vision. Regardless, some of the shot compositions are almost glorious in their complexity and depth.

Grimfarrow

I'll ask Stanley what's the running time of his complete edit of the film He said he'll call me when he gets back into town.