Eclipse Series 15: Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu

[Drucker]

I'm planning on going Saturday to Ornamental Hairpin. Would I be better off going to the Four Seasons films? I'm limited by mother's day/still having a baby at home quite frankly. Children of the Beehive is also playing at Japan society on May 16th and I may try to see that.

[Michael Kerpan]

Four Seasons is not available on DVD (except in the long-ago vol 2 of the Shochiku Shimizu sets). Children of the Beehive isn't available in any fashion (that I know of). I love Ornamental Hairpin, but it is included inthe Eclipse set (is this still in print).

[Drucker]

Okay, maybe I'll catch Beehive on Thursday at Japan society, then. There are so many films in this series, and I don't know where to start, or whether part 1 or part 2 is more worth my very limited time!

[Michael Kerpan]

I am too unfamiliar with most of the pt. 2 films to say what is best.

Beehive is pretty cinema verite-ish. Less "polished" than some of the other, earlier films (but fascinating).

[hearthesilence]

I don't know how many he's seen, but Fred Camper recommended Mr. Thank You, Beehive and The Masseurs and a Woman. Two of those are on the Eclipse set though.

[zedz]

Four Seasons of Children is an absolute masterpiece. Don't miss it if you have a chance.

[hearthesilence]

Posted today by Japan Society Film, has a bit more info about their screenings:

"I can't shoot films like Shimizu"— Yasujiro Ozu

"Hiroshi Shimizu - Part II: The Postwar and Independent Films" opens in one week with CHILDREN OF THE BEEHIVE on Thursday, May 16th! Of the 23 celluloid prints imported from Japan for "Hiroshi Shimizu", 13 have no English subtitles, so we'll be live-titling a substantial amount of these prints across Museum of the Moving Image and our screenings. In addition, Japan Society has made new subtitles from scratch for five films—including one lost for 70 years! "Hiroshi Shimizu" couldn't be possible without our collaboration with Museum of the Moving Image, the National Film Archive of Japan and Japan Foundation, New York—Shimizu's films remain unrestored, so celluloid imports from Japanese film archives are the only way to screen even his most famous productions.

Most of the films can only screen ONCE and likely won't ever play the country again, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rediscover the work of one of Japan's greatest masters: japansoc.org/Shimizu

[Michael Kerpan]

Most of the films can only screen ONCE and likely won't ever play the country again, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rediscover the work of one of Japan's greatest masters

Weeping....

[Matt]

One of the problems of the stranglehold the “pristine 4K restoration” has on home video right now is that these films will probably never be restored to that standard and thus will never be made available. Meanwhile, I’m in the boondocks, starved for Shimizu, and would settle for a decent iPhone video of a projected print. A Grapevine Video VHS tape. A Tai Seng VCD. Anything!

[Michael Kerpan]

Matt -- Even here in Boston, I am in the same boat.

[esl]

I have seen all but three of the films in part 1.

As for the films in part 2, Dancing Girl and Mr. Shosuke Ohara are available on DVD (Japanese language only; no subs) I have both. I have seen Beehive, The Shiinomi School, and A Mother’s Love when I lived in Japan, along with these other films from that period; Tokyo Profile, Jirō monogatari (Tale of Jirō) and Why Did These Women Become Like This?(all in Japanese with no subtitles).

Of the other films in part 2, several have been on my bucket list for a long time and would be my priority; Children and the Great Buddha, Children of the Beehive: What Happened Next and Image of a Mother. Would love to see all of films in part 2 that I haven’t seen, but sadly I have come to the realization that I am unlikely to.

But then Daiei did release a few years ago some Machiko Kyô films after her death(Dancing Girl was one of them). So, they could, if they wanted to, release other films that Shimizu did for them, but I suppose they feel they need some catalyst/reason that would cause people to purchase the DVD’s - so not likely.