Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 18, 2016

Kenji Mizoguchi's "The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum" (1939) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The only bonus feature on the disc is an exclusive new video interview with critic Phillip Lopate. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film scholar Dudley Andrew and technical credits. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked'.

The family gathering

NOTE: The text below was initially used in our review of British distributors Curzon Artificial Eye's The Mizoguchi Collection Blu-ray box set, which includes the following films: Osaka Elegy, Sisters of the Gion, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum, and Utamaro and His Five Women. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced form a new 4K restoration of The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum which was introduced in the Classics section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2015. The 4K restoration was completed by Shochiku Co., Ltd. in Japan.

Kikunosuke (Shôtarô Hanayagi) dreams of becoming a great actor, like his father, who is well-known all over Tokyo. Because of him, Kikunosuke has been able to land excellent roles and perform in some of the city's most prestigious theaters.

But Kikunosuke senses that he isn't as good as most of the people around him insist. Deep inside his heart he knows that the flattering words after each play come only because of his father. The only person who eventually tells him the truth is Otoku (Kakuko Mori), his brother's nurse. Her honesty immediately wins his heart, and for that she is promptly fired by Kikunosuke's mother. Kikunosuke begs his father to allow him to marry Otoku but is told that a man of his stature cannot marry a servant. Determined to spend the rest of his life with the only person who has been honest with him, Kikunosuke leaves his family.

Based on Shôfû Muramatsu's novel, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum is a beautiful romantic film with excellent observations about the division between men and women in pre-war Japan. Because of his social stature, Kikunosuke is faced with an impossible dilemma -- to be the person he wants to be, he must go against his heart, and confront his own family.

Mizoguchi carefully balances the light melodrama with the serious critique. The film's address of the social injustice the Japanese society tolerated at the time is very clear but never too direct. Naturally, the progression of the relationship between Kikunosuke and Otoku is never compromised.

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kenji Mizoguchi's The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum 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 and restored by Shochiku Co., Ltd., at IMAGICA Corporation in Tokyo. The restoration was undertaken from a 35mm fine-grain positive and a 35mm duplicate negative. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack print.

Transfer supervisor: Mitsufumi Hanada."

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum was first released on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom by Curzon Artificial Eye. It was included in this box set together with three additional films from Kenji Mizoguchi. It was a good effort, but there were various inherited source limitations.

Criterion's upcoming release is sourced from a new 4K restoration which has addressed a number of the big issues that are present on the old release. However, because of the nature of the existing materials, various limitations remain. I think that the biggest improvements are in three different categories. First, there are sizeable stability enhancements that have eliminated virtually all of the warps and transition issues. There are still some small jumps where time has left its mark, but the end result here is vastly superior. Second, overall image balance is substantially better. The film looks slightly darker, but there are healthy nuances that are missing on the previous release. Brightness levels are also better managed and the blacks, whites, and grays now appear much more convincing. These improvements affect overall depth and fluidity, which are far more convincing. Third, grain is better exposed and distributed. There are still some obvious fluctuations during the nighttime and darker footage, but even there improvements are quite easy to see (see screencaptures #1 and 3 and 5 and 6 to see what type of native fluctuations exist). I should also mention that efforts have been made to remove plenty of debris, specks, dirt, damage marks, and other visible age-related imperfections, but some very light vertical lines and fading/traces of deterioration remain. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Japanese LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

There are sizeable improvements in the audio department as well. For example, it immediately becomes obvious that serious work has been done to remove the background hiss that is present on the previous release. The cracks and pops have also been eliminated. It appears that specific stability enhancements have been performed as well because the mid/high registers are now better balanced. This being said, in the upper register there are still some light distortions, but they are managed in such a way that impact on clarity is minimal at best. (You should be able to hear the source limitations during the ceremony around 02.22.19, where the music and crowd noise bring them forward). The dialog is easy to follow.

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Phillip Lopate - in this brand new video interview, critic Phillip Lopate discusses the main qualities that define Kenji Mizoguchi's style (lensing choices/camera positioning, long takes, editing preferences), his reputation as a Director of Women, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum and the manner in which Kenji Mizoguchi purified his directing method, the kabuki sequences, the main protagonist and his difficult relationship with his family, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in New York in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (22 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film scholar Dudley Andrew and technical credits.

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum is a simple but very elegant and moving film about a young man who is forced to choose between the woman he loves and his conservative family in pre-war Japan. It comes from the great master Kenji Mizoguchi, whose work unfortunately rarely receives the same attention and respect as that of Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirô Ozu. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release of The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum is sourced from a new 4K restoration of the film which was completed in Japan by the Shochiku studio, and will almost certainly remain its definitive presentation. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.