The Eclipse Series

[jw007]

Wow, compared to the Criterion thread, this is a tiny one... but I wanted to give my love for Eclipse with my latest purchase of Eclipse Series 12: Aki Kaurismäki’s Proletariat Trilogy. Here's a review I posted just last week in regard to this set:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...stcount=116573

[pro-bassoonist]

First post of this thread has been updated

Eclipse Series 42: Silent Ozu — Three Crime Dramas DVD

Eclipse Series 42: Silent Ozu—Three Crime Dramas

The great Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu is best known for the stately, meditative domestic dramas he made after World War II. But during his first decade at Shochiku studios, where he dabbled in many genres, he put out a trio of precisely rendered, magnificently shot and edited silent crime films about the hopes, dreams, and loves of small-time crooks. Heavily influenced in narrative and visual style by the American films that Ozu adored, these movies are revelatory early examples of his cinematic genius, accompanied here by new piano scores by Neil Brand.

Walk Cheerfully (1930)

In Yasujiro Ozu's Walk Cheerfully, which gracefully combines elements of the relationship drama and the gangster story, small-time hood Kenji, a.k.a. Ken the Knife, wants to go straight for good girl Yasue but finds that starting over isn't as simple as it sounds. This was the Japanese master's first true homage to American crime movies, and it is a fleetly told, expressively shot work of humor and emotional depth.

That Night's Wife (1930)

n noirish darkness, a man commits a shocking robbery. But, as we soon learn, this seeming criminal mastermind is actually a sensitive everyman driven to commit desperate deeds for the sake of his family. Unfolding over the course of one night, Yasujiro Ozu's That Night's Wife combines suspense with the emotional domestic drama one associates with the filmmaker's later masterpieces and employs beautifully evocative camera work.

Dragnet Girl (1933)

This formally accomplished and psychologically complex gangster tale pivots on the growing attraction between Joji, a hardened career criminal, and Kazuko, the sweet-natured older sister of a newly initiated young hoodlum—a relationship that provokes the jealousy of Joji's otherwise patient moll, Tokiko (The Life of Oharu's Kinuyo Tanaka). With effortlessly cool performances and visual inventiveness, Dragnet Girl is a bravura work from Yasujiro Ozu.

Pro-B

[blujazz]

If there was one thing I learned while watching these movies, is to never trust men with a moustache, especially those wearing pinstriped suits and come from the city.

But seriously, great collection of films here and at least three I would gladly re-watch again soon.

[pro-bassoonist]

Eclipse Series 44: Julien Duvivier in the Thirties

Eclipse Series 44: Julien Duvivier in the Thirties DVD PRE-ORDER



NEWS
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=17403

Remembered primarily for directing the classic crime drama Pépé le moko, Julien Duvivier was one of the finest filmmakers working in France in the 1930s. He made the transition from silents to talkies with ease, thanks to a formidable innate understanding of the cinematic medium, and he married his expressive camera work to a strikingly inventive use of sound with a singular dexterity. His deeply shadowed, fatalistic early sound films David Golder and La tête d'un homme anticipate the poetic realist style that would come to define the decade in French cinema, while the small-town family drama Poil de Carotte and the swooning tale of love and illusion Un carnet de bal showcase his stunning versatility. These four films—all featuring the great stage turned screen actor Harry Baur—are collected here, each evidence of an immense and often overlooked cinematic talent.

David Golder (1930)

The first sound film by Julien Duvivier also marked his first collaboration with the marvelous actor Harry Baur. Together, they brought to life the vivid protagonist of Irène Némirovsky's best-selling first novel, an avaricious, self-interested banker whose family life is as tempestuous as his business dealings. Directed with visual panache, this grim yet arresting tale showcases Duvivier's preternatural cinematic maturity during a transitional phase for the French film industry.

Poil de carotte (1932)

Julien Duvivier remade his own silent adaptation of a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century novella for the sound era, resulting in one of his most beloved films. In a tremendously moving performance, Robert Lynen plays the neglected young François, mockingly called Poil de Carotte ("Carrottop") by his family for his mop of red hair. Duvivier sensitively charts the rural daily life of a boy desperate to connect with others, especially his distracted father, played by the chameleonic Harry Baur.

La tête d'un homme (1933)

This meticulously crafted adaptation stars Harry Baur as novelist Georges Simenon's indelible creation Inspector Maigret, investigating the odd circumstances surrounding the killing of a wealthy American woman in Paris. Every bit Baur's equal is the Russian émigré actor Valéry Inkijinoff, cast as a nihilistic, reptilian medical student. Julien Duvivier gives the viewer one evocative image after another, constructing a work of sinister beauty.

Un carnet de ba (1937)

A rich widow, nostalgic for the lavish parties of her youth, sets off across Europe to reconnect with the many suitors who once courted her. In doing so, she embarks on a journey of discovery, both of herself and of how greatly the world has changed in two decades. Julien Duvivier's smash hit is a wry, visually inventive tale of romantic pragmatism that deftly combines comedy and drama.

Pro-B

[Purplenoon]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Eclipse Series 44: Julien Duvivier in the Thirties

Eclipse Series 44: Julien Duvivier in the Thirties DVD PRE-ORDER



NEWS
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=17403



Pro-B

Thanks for the excellent review of #44. I have just watched all four Duviviers in rapid succession, and loved them all. I am considering buying the Sacha Guitry Eclipse set. What's your take on these films? I'm particularly interested in 30s French films: Renoir, Bernard, Carne, etc. how does Guitry fit in with this esteemed company? He was primarily involved with the stage, so I wonder if his films are perhaps too "stagey"? Any other recommendations along these lines? Thanks.

[Hawkmonger]

I'm rather hoping now Criterion has launched in the UK that some of the Eclipse stuff could see a UK release as well. I would love that When Horror Came to Shochiku set.

[Andy Rampage]

Originally Posted by oildude

Lots of good ones. I'd start with any of these:

Eclipse 7: Postwar Kurosawa
Eclipse 17: Nikkatsu Noir
Eclipse 5: The First Films of Samuel Fuller
Eclipse 13: Mizoguchi's Fallen Women
Eclipse 38: Masaki Kobayashi Against the System
Eclipse 11: Larisa Shepitko

One that I find outstanding, and was my very first Eclipse set because I wanted to own the films in the set enough to overcome my aversion to buying more DVDs is Eclipse 11: Larisa Shepitko. Two excellent films and a cheap introduction to the Eclipse series.

My second Eclipse was the Samuel Fuller set. After that, I got interested in the many Japanese sets, eventually bought them all, and enjoy all of them.

That Nikkatsu Noir is a FUN ONE!


..I would also like to get my mitts on that Samuel Fuller set!!

[jlk5844]

Why are these relegated to DVD? It can't be because they don't see them selling well, there's plenty of Blu-rays they've released that are on the same wavelength if not lesser. You've got Ozu, Kurosawa, Bergman, Fassbinder, etc. in this series. Is it because the film elements they have are in poor shape and not good enough for HD?

As much as I'd love to see these upgraded to Blu-ray, I don't see that happening, not anytime soon. I've wanted the Shochiku horror set for years, but some others look really enticing. Despite my aversion to DVD, I might finally pick up one or two of these in the November sale.

[Akibiyori]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Why are these relegated to DVD?.

The big reason they started the line was apparently because their Japanese licensors were upset that the vast numbers of films Criterion licensed from them were coming out too slowly. Criterion recognized that it was better to get a lot of these films out cheaply and efficiently than just sit on them. A lot of them like the Shochiku Horror or Nikkatsu Noir sets don't require much in the way of scholarly illumination.

The film condition isn't usually a reason to Eclipse it - although a film like Tokyo Chorus IS in such terrible condition that it's pointless to go to the expense to make a new master - it's usually the available video master and the relative popular potential of the film. Ozu is a "name" director but his silent films don't remotely move the way Tokyo Story does.

In Kurosawa's case, with so many films to release, why should Criterion waste expenses working on marginal stuff like the Sanshiro Sugata films when they have other better Kurosawa films to work on (not to mention other films in general.)

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by Akibiyori

The big reason they started the line was apparently because their Japanese licensors were upset that the vast numbers of films Criterion licensed from them were coming out too slowly. Criterion recognized that it was better to get a lot of these films out cheaply and efficiently than just sit on them. A lot of them like the Shochiku Horror or Nikkatsu Noir sets don't require much in the way of scholarly illumination.

The film condition isn't usually a reason to Eclipse it - although a film like Tokyo Chorus IS in such terrible condition that it's pointless to go to the expense to make a new master - it's usually the available video master and the relative popular potential of the film. Ozu is a "name" director but his silent films don't remotely move the way Tokyo Story does.

In Kurosawa's case, with so many films to release, why should Criterion waste expenses working on marginal stuff like the Sanshiro Sugata films when they have other better Kurosawa films to work on (not to mention other films in general.)

Hmm. Well hopefully some of them are upgraded to Blu eventually. Of course they don't sell nearly as well as the classics that are on Blu, but given the more niche BD releases of theirs, I see no reason why a silent Ozu BD box wouldn't generate interest. Criterion aren't afraid to release some slow sellers on a frequent basis.

[Scottie]

Can anyone confirm if the releases are DVD-5, 9, 10, 14, or 18?

P.S. I will be updating this thread soon.

[Bronson13]

I'm probably gonna get the two Kurosawa releases.

[FilmEditor]

Just finished the Silent Ozu Crime films.

I liked them all, but wow, what a revelation Dragnet Girl was. That ending was masterpiece.

Thank you Eclipse!

[Random Ace]

Originally Posted by Andy Rampage

That Nikkatsu Noir is a FUN ONE!


..I would also like to get my mitts on that Samuel Fuller set!!

With A Colt is my Passport alone this is worth getting

[Xtempo]

Finally I only have 4 of the Eclipse series I really want: 7, 15, 26, and 41. Hopefully I buy 7 sometime but it seems really hard to find at the moment.

[Xtempo]

got 7 Postwar Kurosawa. not sure how I was able to get both Kurosawa sets this sale from Barnes and Noble when its impossible on Criterion's and B&N's sites but 2 local stores had them so now I only need 15, 26 and 41 to finish everything unless they keep releasing new ones but will they? It seems to be dead lately compared to the main collection.

[EvelynZox]

Does anyone know if Criterion is going to include an informational booklet with this release or any of the Eclipse box releases for that matter? It sure would be nice.

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by EvelynZox

Does anyone know if Criterion is going to include an informational booklet with this release or any of the Eclipse box releases for that matter? It sure would be nice.

What release?

Eclipse sets do not have booklets. They have a text printed in the interior side of the insert.

muchas gracais por las recomendaciones