The Only Son/There Was a Father: Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu - (The Criterion Collection - #524) [2 DVD9] [2010]

These rare early films from Yasujiro Ozu are considered by many to be two of the Japanese director’s finest works, paving the way for a career among the most sensitive and significant in cinema. The Only Son and There Was a Father make a graceful pair, bookending a crucial period in Japanese history. In the former, Ozu’s first sound film, made during a time of intense economic crisis, a mother sacrifices her own happiness for her son’s education; the latter, released in the midst of World War II, stars Ozu stalwart Chishu Ryu as a widowed schoolteacher whose devotion to his son ends up driving them apart. Criterion proudly presents these nearly lost treasures for the first time on home video.








Yasujiro Ozu’s first talkie, the uncommonly poignant The Only Son is among the Japanese director’s greatest works. In its simple story about a good-natured mother who gives up everything to ensure her son’s education and future, Ozu touches on universal themes of sacrifice, family, love, and disappointment. Spanning many years, The Only Son is a family portrait in miniature, shot and edited with its maker’s customary exquisite control.


MOVIE:
DIRECTOR: Yasujiro Ozu
COUNTRY: Japan
YEAR: 1936


Cast & Credits

Cast
Tsune Nonomiya Choko Iida
Ryosuke (adult) Shinichi Himori
Ryosuke (child) Masao Hayama
Sugiko Yoshiko Tsubouchi
Otaka Mitsuko Yoshikawa
Okubo Chishu Ryu

Credits
Director Yasujiro Ozu
Story James Maki (a.k.a. Yasujiro Ozu)
Screenplay Tadao Ikeda and Masao Arata
Cinematography Shojiro Sugimoto
Sound Hideo Mohara and Eiichi Hesegawa
Art director Tatsuo Hamada
Music Senji Ito






Disc Features

* New high-definition digital transfer
* New video interviews with film scholars Tadao Sato, David Bordwell, and Kristin Thompson
* New and improved English subtitle translation
* PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic and historian Tony Rayns










Yasujiro Ozu’s frequent leading man Chishu Ryu is riveting as Shuhei, a widowed high school teacher who finds that the more he tries to do what is best for his son’s future, the more they are separated. Though primarily a delicately wrought story of parental love, There Was a Father offers themes of sacrifice that were deemed appropriately patriotic by Japanese censors at the time of its release during World War II, making it a uniquely political film in Ozu’s body of work.


MOVIE:
DIRECTOR: Yasujiro Ozu
COUNTRY: Japan
YEAR: 1942


Cast & Credits

Cast

Shuhei Horikawa Chishu Ryu
Ryohei (adult) Shuji Sano
Ryohei (child) Haruhiko Tsugawa
Yasutaro Kurokawa Shin Saburi
Makoto Hirata Takeshi Sakamoto
Fumi Mitsuko Mito
Seiichi Masayoshi Otsuka
Minoru Uchida Shinichi Himori


Credits
Director Yasujiro Ozu
Screenplay Yasujiro Ozu, Tadao Ikeda and Takao Yanai
Cinematography Yuharu Atsuta
Editing Yoshiyasu Hamamura
Music Kyoichi Saiki
Art director Tatsuo Hamada






Disc Features

* New high-definition digital transfer
* New video interview with film scholars David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson
* New and improved English subtitle translation
* PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic and historian Tony Rayns, an appreciation of actor Chishu Ryu by Japanese film scholar Donald Richie, and comments by Ryu on director Yasujiro Ozu



DVD:
DVD RELEASE: July 13, 2010
STUDIO: Criterion
CATALOG: 524 (#525 + #526)
SYSTEM: NTSC
SCREEN: 1.33:1
BLACK AND WHITE
AUDIO: Japanese Dolby Digital Mono
SUBTITLES: English
RUNTIME (MOVIE): 169 minutes (82 min + 87 min)


EXTRACTION:
ENGINE: DVD Decrypter
DVD: 2 Full Dual-Layer DVDs
FILE EXTENSION: Image (.ISO) + MDS file
FILE SIZE: 13.41 GB (7.03 GB + 6.38 GB)
SCANS HQ PDF(800 DPI): 93 MB


INFO:

AMAZON
DVD Beaver
CRITERION