Shimizu Hiroshi on DVD, finally!! | 清水宏終於出碟

Woohoo... have been waiting for this for a long time, shochiku finally released the box set of Shimizu Hiroshi!

it is actually a surprise that it took sooo long to get these dvd released..i mean, as one of the best directors from japan, along with ozu and kenji mizoguchi, he definitely deserved more attention.. i was lucky to get a chance to see some of his films a few years ago at PFA, and all of the ones i saw were so impressive and interesting, like his most representative silent film "Japanese Girl at the harbor " and "mr. thank you"....

so now i heard there are gonna be five sets, with the first one reviewed by dvdbeaver already, check out the link to learn more: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews37/shimizuhiroshicollectionv1.htm

the good thing is the video quality looks fine and it does contain english subtitles! BUT the bad thing is that it the box set is really very expensive, suggested pricing is at least us$128 each......

The first set already contains 2 of my favorites i mentioned above... below are some info about the four films in the set:

Minato no Nihon Musume (Japanese Girls at the Harbor) (1933, B&W, 72min)One of Shimizu Hiroshi's most representative silent films, portrays the evolving relationships of two young women as fate takes them down different roads. Sunako and Dora, two schoolgirls attending a Christian school in the East-meets-West port city ofYokohama, pledge their eternal friendship to each other, but their lives begin a long spiral downward and apart after they meet westernized gangster Henry.

Arigatau-san (Mr. Thank You) (1936, B&W, 78min)Based on a short story by Nobel Prize-winning author Kawabata Yasunari, this lighthearted road film follows the rolling wheels of a country bus manned by a driver who says "thank you" to everyone he encounters. "Mr. Thank You" drives into various humorous and telling episodes with different passenger and travelers as he rumbles his way through the mountainous countryside. highlights commonShimizumotifs of location shooting, constant movement, and heartwarming sentiments, while at the same time subtly addressing real-world worries like Depression-era woes and the condition of Korean laborers.

Anma to Onna (The Masseurs and a Woman) (1938, B&W, 66min)revolves around a pair of traveling blind masseurs who stop at an inn. One of the masseurs, Tokuichi (Saburi Shin), takes an interest in a woman (Takamine Meiko) fromTokyowho seems be hiding a mysterious past. The film peeks in and out of the lives and stories of the characters in unexpected ways that defy narrative conventions.

Kanzashi (Ornamental Hairpin) (1941, B&W, 70min)Based on an Ibuse Masuji short story, this delightful escapist drama is set at a hot spring resort providing sanctuary to people of vastly different backgrounds and personalities bounded by one thing: their common desire to not leave. The resort's patrons include aTokyowoman (Tanaka Kinuyo) with a mysterious past who develops a brief relationship with a wounded soldier (Ryu Chishu). A comedic piece filmed and set during wartimeJapan, makes a statement with its lightness.