by Chris MaGee
Okay, so this isn’t the most original rant topic. Cinephiles across North America whine and complain about what films should be or currently aren’t put out by The Criterion Collection, but The Pow-Wow hasn’t weighed in on this topic yet, so let’s add our two bit opinion to the pile, right?
Now, I want to start out by commending the folks at Criterion for making a huge amount of classic Japanese cinema available with amazing transfers, good subtitling and some truly amazing extras, in fact somewhere out there there’s a Chinese, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, or even Korean Film Pow-Wow that should really be ranting about the lack of representation from Criterion. Stanley Kwan, Tsai Ming Liang, Zhang Yimou, Jeong Jae-eun, Hou Hsiao-hsien, none of their films are part of the Collection, but this is the Japanese Film Pow-Wow, so let’s stick with the topic at hand.
We recently ran a DVD giveaway contest that asked our Facebook group members what film they most wanted to see come out on DVD and I was pleased to see people mentioning films by Nagisa Oshima, Hideo Gosha and even Sekichi Taniguchi… pleased and confused because you’d think that a company like Criterion would jump to get these directors works on DVD. It also got me jotting down a wish list of films that I’d personally like to see come out from Criterion, so here goes:
“A Page of Madness” and “Crossroads” – Teinosuke Kinugasa
Two silent films that hearken back to the beginnings of modern Japanese cinema and show us how German Expressionism had a strong impact on Kinugasa and other Japanese filmmakers.
“Tange Sazen - Dai-ippen” and “Oatsurae Jirokichi goshi” – Daisuke Itô
Not a well known name these days, Itô was one of the most important and popular directors in Japan during the 1920’s and 30’s. He was the first director to use close-ups and fast editing to bring a heightened excitement to his jidai-geki films and subsequently became the grandfather of all samurai films that followed.
“The Human Condition Trilogy” – Masaki Kobayashi
It’s been long rumoured that Criterion is working on a box set of this monumental trilogy. Kobayashi focuses his camera on Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai), a man out of step with the time he’s living in. A conscientious objector and socialist during a time of fascism and nationalism Kaji tries to hold true to his values while serving as a soldier in the Imperial Army.
“Eros Plus Massacre” and “The Affair” – Yoshishige Yoshida
Two classics of the Japanese New Wave. From the fictional exploration of real-life Japanese anarchist Sakae Ōsugi and the women in his life to the beautifully told story of an extra-martial affair these films are perfect for Criterion’s cinephile clientele.
“Moe no suzaku” and “The Mourning Forest” – Naomi Kawase
Criterion has made some really strange choices when including contemporary filmmakers in the Collection (I’m still not sure that Wes Anderson belongs in there), so to have an award winning director like Naomi Kawase on their roster would be a real boon. It just doesn’t make sense that the films of one of the most important voices in Japanese cinema today are still unavailable to the North American general public.
So, that’s my wish list. Granted there are a ton of runners up: Eclipse box-sets of Nagisa Oshima and Shohei Imamura, Susumu Hani, “Dodeskaden” by Akira Kurosawa, more Mikio Naruse, etc., etc. If you have some suggestions for Criterion then by all means leave them in the comments.
Now, I want to start out by commending the folks at Criterion for making a huge amount of classic Japanese cinema available with amazing transfers, good subtitling and some truly amazing extras, in fact somewhere out there there’s a Chinese, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, or even Korean Film Pow-Wow that should really be ranting about the lack of representation from Criterion. Stanley Kwan, Tsai Ming Liang, Zhang Yimou, Jeong Jae-eun, Hou Hsiao-hsien, none of their films are part of the Collection, but this is the Japanese Film Pow-Wow, so let’s stick with the topic at hand.
We recently ran a DVD giveaway contest that asked our Facebook group members what film they most wanted to see come out on DVD and I was pleased to see people mentioning films by Nagisa Oshima, Hideo Gosha and even Sekichi Taniguchi… pleased and confused because you’d think that a company like Criterion would jump to get these directors works on DVD. It also got me jotting down a wish list of films that I’d personally like to see come out from Criterion, so here goes:
“A Page of Madness” and “Crossroads” – Teinosuke Kinugasa
Two silent films that hearken back to the beginnings of modern Japanese cinema and show us how German Expressionism had a strong impact on Kinugasa and other Japanese filmmakers.
“Tange Sazen - Dai-ippen” and “Oatsurae Jirokichi goshi” – Daisuke Itô
Not a well known name these days, Itô was one of the most important and popular directors in Japan during the 1920’s and 30’s. He was the first director to use close-ups and fast editing to bring a heightened excitement to his jidai-geki films and subsequently became the grandfather of all samurai films that followed.
“The Human Condition Trilogy” – Masaki Kobayashi
It’s been long rumoured that Criterion is working on a box set of this monumental trilogy. Kobayashi focuses his camera on Kaji (Tatsuya Nakadai), a man out of step with the time he’s living in. A conscientious objector and socialist during a time of fascism and nationalism Kaji tries to hold true to his values while serving as a soldier in the Imperial Army.
“Eros Plus Massacre” and “The Affair” – Yoshishige Yoshida
Two classics of the Japanese New Wave. From the fictional exploration of real-life Japanese anarchist Sakae Ōsugi and the women in his life to the beautifully told story of an extra-martial affair these films are perfect for Criterion’s cinephile clientele.
“Moe no suzaku” and “The Mourning Forest” – Naomi Kawase
Criterion has made some really strange choices when including contemporary filmmakers in the Collection (I’m still not sure that Wes Anderson belongs in there), so to have an award winning director like Naomi Kawase on their roster would be a real boon. It just doesn’t make sense that the films of one of the most important voices in Japanese cinema today are still unavailable to the North American general public.
So, that’s my wish list. Granted there are a ton of runners up: Eclipse box-sets of Nagisa Oshima and Shohei Imamura, Susumu Hani, “Dodeskaden” by Akira Kurosawa, more Mikio Naruse, etc., etc. If you have some suggestions for Criterion then by all means leave them in the comments.
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1 comment:
unfortunately, criterion is not any of these :
a gaurantee of the quality of the disc & contents.
an ongoing series of films of indesputable value.
a seal of approval for a director or country.
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