Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Good Morning Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 3, 2011

Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu's "Ohayo" a.k.a. "Good Morning" (1959) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The release also contains Yasujiro Ozu's silent masterpiece "I was Born, but…" (1932). A fully illustrated booklet with a newly commissioned sleevenote essay by silent film curator Bryony Dixon and contemporary review by Jonathan Rosenbaum is also included. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The rebels

Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu completed his silent masterpiece I was Born, but… in 1932. The film is set in Tokyo and it is about a young suburban couple and their two sons (Tomio Aoki and Hideo Sugawara) who decide to go on a hunger-strike after their father (Tatsuo Saito) gravely disappoints them with his determination to please his boss.

Good Morning, Ozu’s third color film, is a remake of I was born, but…. The setting is once again suburban Tokyo, but this time around the two brothers (Koji Shitara and Masahiko Shimazu) decide to go on a no-talking strike after their parents refuse to buy them a TV.

The two films share similar observations about generational conflict and Japan’s industrial transformation, but their messages are indeed very different. In I was Born, but… the focus of attention is on the struggle of the two brothers to understand the compromising system of rules and regulations which adults have created for themselves. It is a strange system that contradicts practically all of their perceptions about right and wrong.

In Good Morning there is once again a clash of ideas, but the platform upon which they are introduced is radically different. The adults are given more time to justify their actions, and the entire film has a much more relaxed tone. There is a certain feeling that the adults act as they do because life has simply evolved and they have willingly adapted to it, not because they have been transformed into clowns by an unjust system.

The two brothers in Good Morning are also better manipulators. They go on a no-talking strike but are smart enough to obey their parents when they must, ensuring that their act is perceived as a serious but entertaining game for as long as possible, and winning their sympathy. Obviously, an open confrontation between the two brothers and their parents would have guaranteed a much different result.

Good Morning also links the clash of ideas to Japan’s industrial transformation. Indeed, it is not a coincidence that the two brothers repeatedly address their parents in English and are dreaming about having a TV. Times are changing and for them the TV is already a necessity, while for their parents it is still nothing more than a luxury item.

In I was Born, but… and Good Morning Ozu’s camera remains mostly static, often times observing the main protagonists from afar, as if it is too shy to get close to them. Typically, they come and go, then come and go again.

In Good Morning, the entire neighborhood is also filmed in a similar fashion -- in one scene the perfectly aligned homes look cold, almost devoid of life; in another, when people suddenly appear in front of Ozu’s static camera, they seem warm and friendly. This is middle-class Tokyo suburbia, artificial and sterile, set to boom.

Note: The BFI have included Ozu’s silent masterpiece I was Born, but… on a separate DVD, and included a newly recorded score for it by Ed Hughes and the New Music Players.

Good Morning Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Yasujirô Ozu's Good Morning arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the BFI.

The basics are intact -- fine object detail is good, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels consistent. Excluding various inherited color pulsations, color reproduction is also adequate. This being said, early into the film there are various traces of mild edge-enhancement, and most are rather easy to spot during the daylight scenes. Generally speaking, the fine film grain has been retained, but there are certain areas where mild doses of electronic noise have been mixed with it. Also, there are a few small scratches and debris popping up here and there, but no serious stability issues to report in this review. All in all, despite the various minor issues mentioned above, this Blu-ray release of Ozu's Good Morning represents a notable upgrade in quality over previous DVD releases of the film, and I have absolutely no problem recommending that you consider adding it up to your libraries. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Good Morning Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Japanese LPCM 2.0. For the record, the BFI have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The Japanese LPCM 2.0 track is very pleasing. The dialog is clean, stable, and relatively easy to follow. Understandably, its dynamic amplitude is rather limited, but the audio has plenty of depth. There are no balance issues with Toshiro Mayuzumi. Finally, I did not detect any serious pops, cracks, or audio dropouts to report in this review.

Good Morning Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• I was Born, but…(1932) - Ozu's silent masterpiece, with a newly recorded score by composer Ed Hughes and the New Music Players. With Japanese intertitles and optional English subtitles. (87 min, PAL).

Good Morning Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a very strong release, probably one of the very best in BFI's Blu-ray catalog. Good Morning is a fascinating film to behold, so simple yet so far-reaching in its observations about modernity. Do not hesitate to add it to your libraries, folks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.