Reply to Graham Steward

[Graham Steward]

Janet,

Sorry I haven't got back to you sooner, I was ill, but I'm better now so 
here goes...

Warwick's video library didn't have an awful lot of 'off-air' Ozu when I was 
there (I used to work there and copied all that they had). I don't know what 
else they have now, but Victor Perkins was probably the lecturer who made it 
available. He was the person who first introduced me to Ozu's work and very 
grateful I am for it too.  Hopefully he'll be there when you visit - see if 
you can arrange a meeting, because I'm sure he'd be very helpful in your 
search for materials.

As for Shochiku's web site, most of it's in Japanese unfortunately, but they 
have every surviving Shochiku Ozu film available on video. I'm sure that An 
Inn in Tokyo is available on video in Japan. God knows how you could 
possibly order a copy from Shochiku over the net though.  None of their 
films have subtitles, as far as I know, however.  Amazon.com and Reel.com 
both have all the English-subtitled videos available in the U.S., but these 
will all be NTSC format, not PAL which we use in the U.K.

How's your French ?  Fnac.com sells good quality french subtitled videos and 
have several films.  French tapes actually play back on  British PAL TVs, 
but always in black and white. Maybe they are worth a try ? For about 
14.00GBP each, the following are available:
Ohayo,
Tokyo Twilight,
End of Summer (Kohayakawake no aki),
Early Summer,
Late Autumn (?) (Akibyori),
Equinox Flower,
The Flavour of Green Tea over Rice,
Floating Weeds (1959),
An Autumn Afternoon,
Tokyo Story,
Late Spring,
Record of a Tenement Gentleman,
Munekata Sisters,

I've got several Ozu films in NTSC without subtitles, but it's rather 
frustrating not being able to understand the inter-titles or what the 
characters are saying. Do you know of any english scripts for any Ozu films 
?  I'd be grateful if you could let me know of any.

Graham


>
>I was interested to see that you had studied at Warwick.  I am going up 
>there in a couple of weeks to watch four of Ozu's films that are not off 
>air so couldn't be copied.  The librarian kindly copied another four for me 
>as well as the programme on TV 100 years of Japanese cinema.  As I expect 
>you know they have a professor who does specialise in Osu - is that where 
>you became interested in his films?
>
>I don't think the BFI have an Inn in Tokyo although it was in the 
>retrospective at the National which is where I saw it.  I have written to 
>them to ask if they have any reviews of the retrospective but am currently 
>waiting for a reply.
>
>I did try the Shochiku web site that you gave me but unfortunately I am 
>unable to read Japanese but I did see that one of the stills shown looks 
>like a shot from An In in Tokyo so perhaps they do have it.  Do you know 
>whether they have a site that is in English - I did try selecting various 
>things but didn't come across anything in English.
>
>Janet

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