8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.4 |
Though the widower Shuhei has been living comfortably for years with his grown daughter, a series of events leads him to accept and encourage her marriage and departure from their home.
Starring: Chishû Ryû, Shima Iwashita, Keiji Sada, Mariko Okada, Teruo YoshidaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 78% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Yasujiro Ozu's "Am Autumn Afternoon" a.k.a. "The Taste of Sake" (1962) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include two original Japanese trailer for the film; audio commentary with writer David Bordwell; and excerpts from an archival episode of the French TV series Cine regards featuring critic Michel Ciment and writer Georges Perec. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring essays by critic Geoff Andrew and scholar Donald Richie. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Mr. Hirayama
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Yasujiro Ozu's An Autumn Afternoon arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative at IMAGICA Corp. and IMAGICA West Corp. in Tokyo, where the film was restored in 2K resolution. The original monaural soundtrack was removed at 24-bit from a 35mm optical track print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle wrtr manually removed using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube's integrated workstation, and iZotope RX4.
Transfer supervisors: Takashi Kawamata, Masashi Chikamori.
Colorist: Osami Iseki/IMAGICA Copr., Tokyo."
The release uses as a foundation a new 4K restoration which offers a number of sizable improvements in all of the major areas we typically address in our reviews. Detail and clarity are very pleasing throughout the entire film and the indoor sequences now also boast improved image depth. Virtually all well-lit close-ups also look far better balanced. (Tighter is another term to describe the overall image improvement). Perhaps the most dramatic improvements, however, are in the area of image stability. Indeed, the basic frame instability and edge shimmer from the BFI Region-B release have been completely eliminated and the film now looks very impressive. Debris, damage marks, cuts, warps, and stains have been carefully removed as well. There are no traces of problematic sharpening or degraining corrections. Colors are stable and healthy, but the entire film has an overall warmer appearance (compare screencaptures #2 and 2 and #3 and 15 from our review of the BFI release). I believe that the color scheme of the 4K restoration is a lot more accurate as its basic color identities are far better defined (blues, greens, browns, and reds), but I also feel that there are a couple of outdoor sequences that should have a wider range of nuanced blues. Regardless, at present An Autumn Afternoon is certainly the most beautiful Ozu film available on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release Japanese LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
Dynamic intensity is quite limited, but this should not be surprising. After all, virtually all of Yasujiro Ozu's films have organic sound designs and music never really has a prominent role in them. The audio must have been remastered, however, as overall balance is better (listen to the transition and music theme around the 00.51.23 mark). The dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, background hiss, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.
Yasujiro Ozu's final film, An Autumn Afternoon, may well be his most elegant film. It tells a simple but moving story that anyone can relate to. The film has been restored in 4K and I think that it looks wonderful on Blu-ray. In fact, from all of the restored Ozu films that have transitioned to Blu-ray An Autumn Afternoon is arguably the best looking one. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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