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Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (21st April 2024). |
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The Film
 "Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu" "I Was Born, But..." 「大人の見る絵本 生れてはみたけれど」 (1932) The Yoshii family move to their new home in a suburb of Tokyo so the father (played by Tatsuo Saito) for work under the business of Mr. Iwasaki (played by Takeshi Sakamoto). His wife Mitsuko Yoshikawa), and his two sons Ryoichi (played by Hideo Sugawara) and the younger Keiji (played by Tomio Aoki AKA Tokkan Kozo) are dealing with the changes, and for the children it means a new school and new friends in the neighborhood. But making new friends with the schoolmates proves to be a difficult task due to bullying. Kamekichi (played by Zentaro Iijima) is the lead bully who has his legion of minions following him, and the first encounter with Ryoichi and Keiji lead to a brawl. When the brothers realize that going to school means having to encounter Kamekichi and the other boys every day, they decide to skip school daily and try to keep their activities a secret from their parents... 1932's "I Was Born, But..." was filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu's 24th film as a director. This is quite an impressive number considering that his first feature was in 1927. Ozu was receiving critical notices for his works, and in the previous years of 1930 and 1931, his works appeared in the top ten films of the year by Kinema Jumpo magazine. With the 1932 list, it would be the first time that an Ozu feature ranked at the number 1 spot, with "I Was Born, But..." and it wouldn't be his last, as he topped the list in 1933 with "Passing Fancy" and in 1934 with "A Story of Floating Weeds". But what set "I Was Born, But..." from all other Japanese films that year, and what makes it such a timeless story that Ozu would himself revisit the story's themes in a spiritual remake with "Good Morning" in 1959? The film's full title translates as "A Picture Book for Grownups: I Was Born, But...", but that may be slightly misleading as the film mostly revolves around the children characters rather than the adults. Sure there is an interesting story to tell with the adults in the story, but the focus how children see the world - from their relationships with peers and from the adults around them, and it doesn't get into the complicated details of the adults and their day to day routines in comparison. Ozu originally wrote the story (under his pen name "James Maki") to include more through the adult perspective but in the end, the script which was co-written by Akira Fushimi went towards the children as the true main characters and making the adults secondary. For the children, they don't care about the issues or the day to day routines of adults. For them it is about their lives and their troubles. Not getting beat up by classmates, being able to keep secret from the parents of their troubles, while also having fun together whenever possible. Ozu stages the relationships of the kids wonderfully, easily showing who's who through mannerism and facial features. The bully is much bigger than the others and has a towering presence. Ryoichi might only be 10 years old, but he is ready to stick up for his little brother Keiji at any time, and his stance when confronting the bully shows that size isn't everything for him. Keiji on the other hand might be quicker to cry but he is ready to copy his older brother when he has the chance, from making faces to mimicking gestures. Ozu's comfort in silent films were greatly influenced by Hollywood comedies and dramas, and the use of slapstick and gags inspired by American comedies were prevalent in the visuals of "I Was Born, But...". Silent films were still the norm at this time, with the first Japanese talkie being 1931's The Neighbor's Wife and Mine" from Shochiku. Some have stated that Ozu was reluctant to transition to sound, but a major factor was that Shochiku's studio in Kamata, Tokyo was not equipped for sound, and next to the studio was the grounds of the Niigata Engineering Company in which the constant industrial noise proved to be troublesome for films being shot with synchronized sound. The move from Kamata to the newly built Shochiku Ofuna studio in Kanagawa completed in January of 1936, the facilities were constructed with reinforced concrete and had space that was five times larger than Kamata. Ironically, Ozu's first film with synchronized sound, "The Only Son" was shot in 1936 in the Kamata studio after almost all the Shochiku staff moved to the new location, and became the final film to be shot at the Shochiku Kamata studio. Another example of great use of silent visuals is the film within the film scene, in which the families of workers at Mr. Iwasaki's company are treated to a short reel of film shot with Iwasaki's film camera. Not only does it include city streets and everyday images from the cityscape, it also includes shots of Ryoichi and Keiji's father acting like a bumbling fool for the camera for laughs. While all the coworkers and the children of the coworkers laugh at the wacky antics of Mr. Yoshii, his children are not. How is it that a man they looked up to as a towering figure of status become a court jester? While Ozu does a great job of recreating amateurish footage, he also does a wonderful job directing the characters in the short film as well as the reactions from the young boys. It's not only an example of comedic uses of silent film, but also being able to display a major dramatic change, as the kids themselves lose respect and admiration for their father in the scene with their facial features being the visual guide. Ozu may have had a long filmography that included many child characters that were annoying brats, but he also had the eye to give great direction for the children to showcase their brattiness, as he does here. It should also be noted that actor Chisu Ryu makes an uncredited appearance as the operator for the projector in this sequence. Not only does it cause questioning with their father, but also the status within the group of children. Even though Iwasaki's son Taro (played by Seiichi Kato is from a rich family, he is one of the bully Kamekichi's minions and not the leader of the group. This was still fairly early in Ozu's career, though some of his trademark visuals were already on display. Characters talking directly into camera, very minimal use of moving cameras and almost entirely relying on still compositions. There are a lot of outdoor sequences in the film, and one thing that was prevalent is shots of trains in backgrounds. In this case it was the Tokyu Ikegami Line, one of the trains that lead to Kamata station near the Shochiku Kamata studio. Ozu and his staff deliberately and carefully timed the outdoor action to the times that the trains passed by for specific shots, which shows a fairly busy looking background in the scenes. The production started in November 1931, but due to Hideo Sugawara being injured on set, the production had to be postponed until he could recover. Due to the incident, Ozu and the other staff worked on "Spring Comes from the Ladies" in December and January for a quick theatrical release from January 29th, 1932. Unfortunately, this is one of a number of silent films that Ozu directed that is considered lost. Following Sugawara's recovery and shooting being able to continue for "I Was Born, But...", the film was released theatrically on June 3rd, 1932. "I Was Born, But..." continues to be one of Ozu's most well known and widely seen silent film, as the themes of looking through the world through children's eyes, the relationships between family members, and the anxiety of moving to a new place are all relatable in any generation. While there could have been more scenes with the woes of the adults included, these would be better left to the imagination and thankfully Ozu called it right to see life through Ryoichi and Kenji. As stated, it made critical notices as Kinema Jumpo magazine named it the best Japanese film of the year, and in later publications, it ranked #17 in the 1979 list of the greatest Japanese films, #52 in the 1995 list, and #59 in the 2009 list. While it was highly praised domestically for decades, it took quite some time for it to have any international recognition, as many of Ozu's works were given international releases long after his passing. For western audiences it was more or less compared to "Good Morning" due to both films having the same basis, and in many ways "Good Morning" is the stronger more perfected film from an experienced master filmmaker. "I Was Born, But" could seem like a cruder version, but it stands high on its own and is very worthy of its high stance as one of the best films in Japanese cinema, silent or otherwise. The film employed three out of the six major child stars of Shochiku studios with Tomio Aoki, Hideo Sugawara, and Seiichi Kato. (The other three stars of the studio were Jun Yokoyama, Masao Hayama and Takayuki Suematsu.) Born on October 7th, 1923, Aoki made his film debut in 1929 at Shochiku for director Ozu's "The Life of an Office Worker" (a lost film), but it was his second film (also by Ozu) that made him a major star in "A Straightforward Boy" released the same year. The Japanese title, "Tokkan Kozo" became Aoki's nickname and for years was his credited name on screen. He worked on a number of other Ozu features with "Passing Fancy" (1933), "A Story of Floating Weeds" (1934), "An Inn in Tokyo" (1935), "The Only Son" (1936), and "What Did the Lady Forget?" (1937). During his teen years his roles became smaller, and his last film with Shochiku as a child actor was in 1939. He was drafted into the war, and after returning to Japan in 1946, he rejoined Shochiku studios. Unfortunately the roles offered were very small parts and it led to his move to Nikkatsu studios in 1954. While he appeared in a number of classic features in a two decade span with "The Burmese Harp" (1956), "Bakumatsu Taiyo Den" (1957), "I Am Waiting" (1957), "Rusty Knife" (1958), "Pigs and Battleships" (1961), "The Insect Woman" (1963), "Intentions of Murder" (1964), and many more, his roles were almost always as a supporting actor often without a name. In the 1970s when Nikkatsu started to focus more of their output on softcore pink films, he retired from acting in 1972 and only sporadically returned to film or television in minor cameo appearances, including 2001's "Pistol Opera". Aoki passed away on January 24th, 2004 at the age of 80 from lung cancer. With over 300 film credits and widely inspiring countless filmmakers and performers, the biggest tribute came from director Masayuki Suo, who included a character named "Tomio Aoki" in a number of his films and was always played by actor Naoto Takenaka. While Aoki became a major star for Shochiku as a child actor and continued in the profession as an adult, the whereabouts of Hideo Sugawara and Seiichi Kato (as well as the other three Shochiku child stars) were unknown after leaving Shochiku studios. Though some information about Sugawara became known in 2020. Born on January 3rd, 1921 (his daughter stated his birth year as 1921 though other older sources state 1924) in Hokkaido, his family moved to Tokyo following the passing of his father when he was four years old. At the age of six, he became a child actor for Shochiku and made his debut in the 1930 feature "Father". He first worked with "Tokyo Chorus" (1931) and then on "I Was Born, But..." the following year. From 1935 he left Shochiku to work for the short lived Shinko Kinema company and his final work was in 1940's "Netsujo no tsubasa" which translates as "Wings of Enthusiasm". His life after film was a mystery until 2020, when his daughter came forward to tell the media that he passed away in 2005. After his final film, he was drafted into the war and was stationed in Hanoi, Vietnam. After returning to Japan, he decided not to continue in the world of acting and instead worked at an ironworks company as he stated that "child actors don't become successful adult actors". When his daughter was in elementary school, he took her to a museum that screened a print of "I Was Born, But...". At the time, he didn't disclose to her that he was a child actor and he didn't tell her until after the screening that it was him playing the older brother in the film she just watched. She noted that she could see a lot of his personality and mannerisms in his performance in that particular film. He didn't discuss much about his days as an actor during his lifetime, but he was said to be full of energy especially at drinking parties, where he would often entertain everyone and also pay for everyone's tab. He suffered a stroke at 74 years of age, to which over a hundred of his friends and family visited him in hospital while he was recovering. He died in 2005 at the age of 83. Many years later when his 70 year old daughter Kushi Nomura saw in a newspaper that had an article about "I Was Born, But..." and stated that Sugawara's information was "unknown", it made her saddened that the world didn't know about her father's life after his acting career. In 2020 Tokyo Shinbun printed an article with information and stills of Sugawara and his life after movies, with support from his daughter. For Seiichi Kato, much of his life's details are unknown. He is said to be born in 1920 though there are no concrete records of his birthday or his hometown. He joined Shochiku studios in 1929 and worked with Ozu on "The Life of an Office Worker" (1929), "Passing Fancy" (1933), "A Mother Should Be Loved" (1934), "The Only Son" (1936). He was not drafted for the war and continued working at Shochiku as an adult, though his roles like the other children would become smaller and smaller as he became older. His laast known films were released in 1952, and his whereabouts after his retirement from the industry is a mystery. "There Was a Father" 「父ありき」 (1942) Shuhei Horikawa (played by Chisu Ryu) is a high school math teacher and a widower raising his only son Ryohei (played by Haruhiko Tsuda). During a school trip to the Tokyo area, an unfortunate accident occurs when one of his students drowns in a lake. Distraught as he was the chaperone, he decides to leave his position as a teacher to work in a textile factory instead. But wanting a better education for his son, he sends Ryohei to a boarding school in the city of Ueda, which upsets his young son, as they would only be able to meet infrequently. Ozu had the idea for the story for "There Was a Father" for a number of years and was planning to film it after his 1936 film "The Only Son". Unfortunately he was drafted into the war and his directing career had to be put on hold for a few years time. When he was able to return to Shochiku to direct, he refined the script further, and it became his second film made during the war period. There was an urge to place tones of Japanese patriotism and support for the fighting forces, so a number of changes were made to include them. During this time in Japan, it became a rule that English words were not to be used, and this meant signs with the alphabet or words that came from English were replaced with Japanese equivalents. This also extended to occupied Korea, in which the occupying Japanese government went as far to make sure to include Japanese language sequences, and even have some Korean productions to be entirely shot in the Japanese language. Ozu was a major fan of Hollywood films and his earlier films had many references to American culture, but the new restrictions would prevent his homages from being featured. He had a very clever idea to sneak in some English into the film in one sequence. As half of the film took place around a decade before the current events, he included a scene in which children were learning English at school and complaining about how complicated the language was. While Japanese censors may have objected to a modern day setting, it was to make clear that the scene took place before Japan went to war and it was smartly and sneakily included. The second half of the film takes place during the war, and while Ryu plays the father with differing makeup and hair applied to change his appearance, Ryohei as an adult is played by Shuji Sano, who was 30 playing a 25 year old, while Ryu was only 8 years older than Sano in real life. But with a great makeup job on Ryu and Sano's youthful appearance, it was made to be believable. "There Was a Father" is one of Ozu's simplest films as it has a small cast of characters though it does have some dark undertones with trauma and family separation for some complex emotional issues. For Shuhei losing his wife at a young age and having the responsibility of raising their child by himself, and there are moments that show his strictness with Ryohei, especially with the math homework. But after the death of one of his pupils under his watch, it might seem odd that he would send his son off to a far off boarding school. One might think he would want to be closer to his son and become even more overprotective. But there is a weakness to him. He is fearful that he would not be able to protect his son or be able to be a strong father presence as deaths have surrounded him. Even though the school's headmaster Makoto Hirata (played by Takeshi Sakamoto) asks Shuhei to reconsider his decisions as he is a popular teacher with the students and it wasn't his fault that the boy died, Ryohei cannot confront the trauma. Ryu's performance as the broken father is a complex one, though he tries to keep his emotions inward for most of the time, not letting his son see how broken he was. In the second half of the film, there is a better connection between Shuhei and Ryohei, who like his father has become a math teacher, and is engaged to be married to Fumi (played by Mitsuko Mito). Their time together as father and son is still from time to time, though they are able to share some pleasantries during their time together. Ozu incorporates time at home, at the bath house, and others to signify that their bond is still strong, yet it seems that more could have been done in the film to include a better confrontation between the two. Ryohei seems to easily dismiss about all the time spent apart during his junior high and high school years, and there isn't much that showcases Shuhei's confrontation with his past. The only example of this is when his former high school pupils invite him to a party to celebrate with other classmates. There are some revelations, including how Ryohei visits the grave of the dead pupil every year, and stories from their school days from the other pupils as well as Mr. Hirata. But his regrets, his trauma are glossed over for the most part as he seems more content in his current life. It almost seems like the harder emotional moments that are found in other Ozu works are missing here. It might lack the emotional punch that many might expect from Ozu, but there is still the light human touch that is part of his trademark style. The film was released theatrically on April 1st, 1942 and was another critical hit for Ozu, ranking at #2 on the best Japanese films of the year list for Kinema Jumpo magazine (with #1 going to the war propaganda film "The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malay"). As stated, the film included a number of propaganda references, with Ryohei readying to go to war, a number of Shuhei's former pupils now fighting in the Pacific, as well as some songs and more. These moments were cut or censored in the post-war period for reissue, reducing the original 94 minute runtime to 87 minutes. For the film's 4K restoration by Shochiku in 2023, 5 of the previously lost 7 minutes of footage was reintegrated for a 92 minute reconstructed version. Note this is a region B Blu-ray
Video
The BFI presents "I Was Born, But..." in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The transfer comes from a 2023 4K restoration by Shochiku and the National Film Archive of Japan, using a 35mm print located at the Harvard Film Archive and the 16mm duplicating negative from the Shochiku archive. Like most surviving Japanese silent films the era, the original film elements were not in the greatest condition, though this particular title was one of the more fortunate cases of being in a fairly watchable state over the years. This new 4K restoration tries to bring a better condition for viewing with extensive work done to clean and stabilize the image. For older transfers, the image was a little shaky, considering that Ozu was fairly locked in with mostly steady shots by this film, and that there was constant flickering in the greyscale. The restored version has wonderfully stabilized the image to reduce shaking to a bare minimum, though the one point that shakiness is prevalent is the opening credits, as the original optical printing of the credits over the background was inevitable due to the analog technology of the period. The names are slightly shaky and dancey while the background image stays stable. Detail is quite good from the opening shot of the wheel and the muddy road, as well as the clothing of the boys and the surroundings. It can vary from shot to shot of detail lacking due to the elements, with faces not being as sharp or with backgrounds, though much has been done to fix the various issues with softness of previous transfers without having any waxy digital looks. The film grain is kept intact though it has been reduced somewhat for a cleaner image. The lack of sharpness can sometimes be due to the grain management applied. The greyscale has been greatly balanced, though a deep effect of greys should not be expected. Damage marks such as debris and scratches have been removed, though there are some traces of remnants of tramline marks and speckles that can be found from time to time. It is easily the best the film has looked on home video and even with its flaws, a great job was done to bring new life back to the image. The runtime for "I Was Born, But..." is 91:09, which includes restoration notes at the start of the film. For "There Was a Father", the BFI presents the film in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The transfer also comes from a 2023 restoration by Shochiku and the National Film Archive of Japan. The 16mm duplicating negative of the censored post-war version along with an incomplete 35mm theatrical print which contained about five minutes of material that was later censored. When viewing any previous version of the film on home video, it was quite a challenge as the transfers from the 16mm dupe negative were filled with every sort of damage possible. A soft focus lacking true detail, constant flickering, scratches, stains, debris, warping, tears, missing frames, and much more. For the new restoration, most of the image comes from the 16mm dupe negative as the source, and much was done to fix the severe damage. The strict framing was stabilized so there is very little movement to be spotted. Greyscale was balanced to reduce flickering, detail is far better with a better balance, and scratches and debris were removed for a cleaner image. Though a lot of work was done to bring the film to this new restored state, there are still damage marks to be found, with some shots looking like it is raining due to the numerous tramline damage marks, and some minor instances of other spots popping into the screen. In addition, detail can be blurry from time to time. As for the reinstated footage from the theatrical print, at times the image can look incredibly blurry as if looking through a fishtank. Other times it can look sharper than the 16mm transfer, but having more damage marks visible. When a restored shot is reinserted, there is a slight difference in the quality of the picture as well as the sound, though much has been done to balance the greyscale. The 4K restoration’s grading was supervised by cinematographer Masashi Chikamori, who has worked with filmmaker Yoji Yamada on a number of productions over the recent decades, including on 2013’s “Tokyo Family”, a remake of Ozu’s “Tokyo Story”. Following WWII and the restructuring of Japan, the occupying allied forces prohibited a number of existing Japanese works that dealt with patriotism and the war, and “There Was a Father” was one of many works that suffered from censor cuts. A total of seven minutes were removed from the film for its reissue in post-war Japan. A number of films were eventually re-released uncut after the occupation, but unfortunately for “There Was a Father”, the original negative was lost and so were the original prints. The best existing element was an 87 minute 16mm duplicating negative of the post-war censored version. In the 1990s, the Russian state film archive Gosfilmofond discovered that it had an incomplete 75 minute 35mm print of “There Was a Father” missing two reels, though it was indeed a Japanese theatrical print that included uncensored scenes. Five of the seven censored minutes have been restored for the 2023 restoration. These are the sequences that were reinstated for the restoration, with the runtimes corresponding to the BFI Blu-ray release: 00:00 - 00:20 This includes the Venice Film Festival 2023 logo with restoration information in Japanese by Shochiku. 00:35 - 00:41 The original title card has been reinstated. The title was printed with the letters vertically from right to left, as 「きりあ父」. From post WWII, it became common for vertical writing in Japanese to be printed in the western form of left to right, so the censored version has a new title card with the title printed as 「父ありき」. Interestingly the censored version's end title had the film's title printed in the right to left as 「きりあ父」. 13:36 - 14:02 After Ryohei returns home from school and greets Mr. Hirata, he starts to hum the patriotic song “Umi Yukaba” by Kiyoshi Nobutoki. This sequence was reinstated. In the post-war version, after the greeting, it immediately cuts to a shot the train that Shuhei and Ryohei are taking. 34:14 - 34:18 There is a quick shot of a machine spinning. It is a repeated shot from about a minute prior and it’s not clear why this particular repeated shot was removed for the post-war version. 54:48 - 54:56 Shuhei mention’s his son’s upcoming physical examination for army duty. 59:54 - 59:58 A closing shot of Shuhei mentioning his son’s age and the following transition shot of travel bags is reinstated. This doesn’t seem to be a censor cut but for damage. In previous versions, it cuts to black rather than having a natural transition. 60:51 - 61:01 When Shuhei asks Ryohei about his examination results, Ryohei answers that he passed the army physical. In the post-war version, the father asks about an exam and then cuts abruptly to the father’s glad reaction and removes the son’s response. While the English subtitles in past versions mention the exam if for an army physical, the Japanese dialogue only says "exam" without mention of the military. 63:09 - 63:19 Shuhei holds Ryohei’s shoulder and says “Now I shall think only of being the Emperor’s shield” in consideration of his son’s upcoming military duty. In the post-war version, there is an abrupt jump cut of Shuhei’s arm moving from Ryohei’s shoulder to down by his own hip as it is a single static shot for the sequence. 67:32 - 67:53 During the party with Shuhei’s former pupils, there is an announcement that three of the invited students could not attend as they were off fighting in the war. 69:36 - 69:51 Again during the party, Hirata mentions to the former students that Shuhei’s son passed his army physical examination. 73:23 - 77:23 Shuhei recites “Song of Righteous Spirit” a poem that tells the sacrificial bravery of imperial naval officer Takeo Hirose, for the students who couldn’t join the party. This is by far the longest sequence that was removed, at a full four minutes in which Shuhei sings to poem for the entire room while all sit quietly. 92:05 - 92:51 In the final shot of Ryohei and Fumi on the train, the patriotic song “Umi Yukaba” which Ryohei hummed as a child in the earlier scene plays as background music with vocals. In the post-war version, the scene was intact but the music was removed in the final sequence. For the restored version, the song itself is reinstated though in an incomplete form, with the music suddenly cutting off before the final “The End” title appears. There are also a few frames of shots that were reinstated which haven’t been listed above. In all, two minutes of footage are still unaccounted for from the original 94 minute version. Considering how subpar this film looked on DVD and Blu-ray in the past, it is an absolute revelation in this 4K restoration. It may still have a number of imperfections, but this is the best the film has looked in decades, and for Ozu fans a way to experience the film in a form that is very close to its original state. The restored version of "There Was a Father" has a runtime of 93:06, including the stated restoration notes at the start.
Audio
"I Was Born, But..." Music LPCM 1.0 (composed by Ed Hughes and featuring The New Music Players) Like most Japanese films of the silent period, there was never an official score composed at the time. This score, written by composer Ed Hughes was commissioned by the 2002 Bath Film Festival with the support of ACE/South West Arts and was first performed live in the Assembly Rooms, Bath, by The New Music Players, conducted by Patrick Bailey on October 27th, 2002. For its home video debut, Hughes' score was recorded in studio at Wathen Hall, St Paul’s School, Hammersmith on August 22nd, 2010, and at Trinity College of Music on August 23rd, 2010 by The New Music Players and conducted by Roger Montgomery. It was released on the BFI Blu-ray/DVD dual format release of Ozu's "Good Morning" (1959) which included "I Was Born, But..." on the DVD as a bonus film, released in 2011. The score is quite playful and fits together with the rambunctious nature of the film, as well as having some somber moments for the more emotional scenes. The instruments are sometimes timed to certain sounds like hits and kicks, and there are also added instances of train sound effects added when a train passes by on screen, though none for others such as cars. The uncompressed mono audio track sounds clear throughout with each instrument sounding full yet not bombarding, and there are no instances of damage or distortion to be found. The film includes optional English subtitles for the Japanese intertitles. The intertitle cards have also been cleaned up to be in a much more readable state than they were in the past, brightening the letters while also stabilizing them and reducing flickering. The English subtitles are well timed with the intertitles, are easy to read and without errors. "There Was a Father" Japanese LPCM 1.0 Japanese LPCM 1.0 (alternate audio track, restored) There are two audio tracks available for the film. Technically both have been remastered from the original film materials, and like a few of the BFI's recent Ozu releases on Blu-ray, there are two choices. In their previous titles it was quite different in how they sounded, with the restored audio having less noise but having lesser fidelity, while the unrestored audio had slightly better pitches with voices but having crackle and hiss. For "There Was a Father", the sound was in just as bad shape as the image, so previous home video releases had major issues with hiss, pops, crackle, buzzing, and muffled dialogue. A number of tools were used to bring the soundtrack to a better state, but it seems there was only so much that could be done. Both audio tracks feature a distinct hiss, crackly background noise can be heard, and dialogue is often hard to understand due to muffled fidelity. The second audio track filters the audio a bit more to reduce the noise, but it is still noticeable. Sometimes it was hard to discern which audio track was which as they sounded quite similar for the most part. Even though it sounds much better than older transfers, it is one that will be hard for Japanese audiences to understand without subtitles for a number of sequences, especially in the early sequences. There are optional English subtitles which are well timed, easy to read, and without errors.
Extras
Audio commentary on “I Was Born, But…” by film critic Adrian Martin (2024) This new and exclusive commentary has Martin discussing the film with its use of visual gags by the children, noting that there are no female children in the story, seeing the world through children's eyes even if the film was marketed towards adults, the differences and similarities between the film and "Good Morning", the framing and camerawork that became Ozu's signature style, recalling a theatrical screening which had a terrible music score performed live (which he doesn't name) while he praises the Hughes score on this release, Ozu's direction with children and more. While he discusses a lot about what is seen on screen, he doesn't go into detail much with the behind the scenes and its release, such as he questions if Ozu timed out the action and the trains to pass behind characters (Ozu did) or about the information of many of the cast and crew. It is still an enjoyable commentary with a good amount of information included. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Audio commentary on “There Was a Father” by film critic Adrian Martin (2024) Martin returns for this commentary (though he did in fact record this commentary first) as he talks about the film's censorship and subsequent restoration with notes on certain scenes that were restored (but not all). He also discusses about Ozu's methods, the emotional depths of the characters, the repeated motifs seen in other Ozu works, references to writer Shigehiko Hasumi's book on Ozu which was recently translated into English, and more. Again, not a lot of depth in the making of, but there is a lot to enjoy in this commentary as well. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles Booklet A 20 page booklet is included with the first pressing. First is the essay "I Was Born, But..." by BFI curator Bryony Dixon on the film and its themes presented. This is followed by "Men Don't Cry" by film critic Tony Rayns on "There Was a Father" on its background and themes. Next is "A New Score for Yasujiro Ozu's I Was Born, But..." by composer Ed Hughes, which has him discussing the score's rhythm and tone, the differing cues, and more. Note this was also included in the booklet for the BFI's Blu-ray/DVD release of "Good Morning". As stated, the BFI previously released "I Was Born, But" as a bonus film with their release of the Blu-ray/DVD of "Good Morning" in 2011, with "I Was Born, But..." on the DVD only in standard definition. It did receive an HD upgrade in 2017 from the Criterion Collection in North America, with the film being in 1080p and having some exclusive extras. In 2019, the film was packaged as part of Carlotta France's 10-disc "Ozu en 20 Films" Blu-ray box, though it was a standard definition transfer and encoded in standard definition. The same disc was also issued in Carlotta's 6-disc "Ozu en Couleurs" Blu-ray box a year later. Both boxsets had extensive extras. At the end of 2023, the 4K restoration version was first released on Blu-ray in Japan by Shochiku as part of the 5-disc "5 Films of Ozu" set, which included no score and no extras. For "There Was a Father", it was first released on Blu-ray in 2011 by the BFI as a bonus film of their release of "Equinox Flower" (1958). It utilized an HD transfer by the Criterion Collection for their 2010 DVD set "Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu" which also included "The Only Son" (1936), plus some exclusive interviews as extras. It was then released in France by Carlotta in the aforementioned "Ozu en 20 Films" and "Ozu en Couleurs" Blu-ray boxes in 2019 and 2020 respectively. These did not use the Criterion HD transfer but a poor NTSC to PAL transfer of the film they previously used for their DVD edition. All of these previous releases only had the censored post-war version. For the 4K restored and reconstructed version, it saw its home video debut in Japan by Shochiku with "5 Films of Ozu" which had no extras. Carlotta France issued the 4K restored version in their "Ozu 6 films rares ou inédits" boxset from last month and included some exclusive extras. Notable clips: "A Family Affair: The Films of Yasujiro Ozu" restrospective trailer A clip of Ozu's "Days of Youth" (1929) with a score by Ed Hughes, courtesy of Ed Hughes A clip of Ozu's "Woman of Tokyo" (1933) with a score by Ed Hughes, courtesy of Ed Hughes
Overall
"Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu" is another great set from the BFI to accompany their recent "Three Films by Yasujiro Ozu" set for additional films to be made available in 4K restored forms, and with the reconstructed "There Was a Father" bringing it closer to its original form. The restorations have some weaknesses that are to be expected, though they are far beyond how they looked on home video releases previously. While the set like before only includes commentaries for each film and a first pressing booklet, there is still a great amount of information to be found within. Highly recommended. Note the ratings below are for "I Was Born, But...". Amazon UK link BFI Shop link
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