An Autumn Afternoon is not only a beautifully written film but, to go along with the excellent performances, was beautifully shot by director Yasujiro Ozu and his longtime cinematographer Yûharu Atsuta. The Blu-ray released by The Criterion Collection brilliantly restores the picture and audio and while the features aren’t bountiful, are still interesting especially the commentary track.
An Autumn Afternoon
(1962)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama
Criterion Collection | NR – 113 min. – $39.95 | February 17, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Yasujiro Ozu Writer(s): Kogo Noda & Yasujiro Ozu (screenplay) Cast: Chishu Ryu, Shima Iwashita, Keiji Sada, Mariko Okada, Tehuo Yoshida, Noriko Maki, Shinichiro Mikami DISC INFO: Audio: Japanese (PCM 1.0) |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS
The last film by Yasujiro Ozu was also his final masterpiece; a gently heartbreaking story about a man’s dignified resignation to life’s shifting currents and society’s modernization. Though the widower Shuhei (CHISHU RYU) has been living comfortably for years with his grown daughter (SHIMA IWASHITA), a series of events leads him to accept and encourage her marriage and departure from their home. As elegantly composed and achingly tender as any of the Japanese master’s films, An Autumn Afternoon is one of cinema’s fondest farewells. (From Blu-ray back cover)
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5
The Blu-ray is contained in the standard clear HD Keep Case and comes with a foldout essay booklet.
Audio Commentary – Film Scholar David Bordwell, the author of “Ozu and the Politics of Cinema,” provides an informative and straight-forward commentary on the history of director Yasujiro Ozu and the film at hand.
Yasujiro Ozu and The Taste of Sake (14:40; HD) is an excerpt from a 1978 episode of a French television program with experts who look back on Ozu’s career.
Trailer 1 (2:05; HD)
Trailer 2 (3:13)
VIDEO – 4.5/5
Criterion Collection distributes An Autumn Afternoon on Blu-ray presented in the film’s original 1.37 aspect ratio. As described in the booklet, the transfer is from the original 35 mm camera negative and put through a 4K resolution. It’s a clean looking picture with oft rich colors throughout.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
Also getting an upgrade, the Japanese PCM 1.0 track is taken from the original 35 mm print where clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackles were manually removed. Although it’s the most dynamic track, it does have crisp and clear dialogue.
OVERALL – 4.0/5
Overall, An Autumn Afternoon is not only a beautifully written film but, to go along with the excellent performances, was beautifully shot by director Yasujiro Ozu and his longtime cinematographer Yûharu Atsuta. The Blu-ray released by The Criterion Collection brilliantly restores the picture and audio and while the features aren’t bountiful, are still interesting especially the commentary track.
Published: 02/19/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.