81 / BD 3 Tokyo Sonata
- The Fanciful Norwegian
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81 / BD 3 Tokyo Sonata
Tokyo Sonata
Kiyoshi Kurosawa — the hugely acclaimed Japanese director famous for his groundbreaking, existential horror films such as Cure and Kairo [Pulse] — set Cannes alight in 2008 with this highly topical film: an eerie, poignant reflection on the mass uncertainty sweeping the world.
When Ryuhei Sasaki (played by Teruyuki Kagawa) is unceremoniously dumped from his ‘safe’ company job, his family’s happy, humdrum life is put at risk. Unwilling to accept the shame of unemployment, the loyal salaryman decides not to tell anyone, instead leaving home each morning in suit and tie with briefcase, spending his days searching for work and lining up for soup with the homeless. Outstanding performances; serene, elegant direction; and Kurosawa’s trademark chills are evident as he ratchets up the unsettling atmosphere and the grim hopelessness of Sasaki’s unemployment.
Widely regarded as Kurosawa’s finest achievement, The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes 2008.
DUAL FORMAT RELEASE INCLUDING BLU-RAY AND DVD VERSIONS OF THE FILM
• 1080p / 24fps AVC feature encode on the Blu-ray (all extras 480p SD) / region free / DTS-HD Master Audio / Dolby TrueHD
• Gorgeous high-definition transfer in the original aspect ratio
• Making Of documentary [61:00]
• Q&A, Tokyo, September 2008 [12:00]
• Première, Tokyo, September 2008 [15:00]
• DVD discussion [9:00]
• Original UK theatrical trailer [3:00]
• 28-PAGE BOOKLET – containing a new essay by B. Kite
Kiyoshi Kurosawa — the hugely acclaimed Japanese director famous for his groundbreaking, existential horror films such as Cure and Kairo [Pulse] — set Cannes alight in 2008 with this highly topical film: an eerie, poignant reflection on the mass uncertainty sweeping the world.
When Ryuhei Sasaki (played by Teruyuki Kagawa) is unceremoniously dumped from his ‘safe’ company job, his family’s happy, humdrum life is put at risk. Unwilling to accept the shame of unemployment, the loyal salaryman decides not to tell anyone, instead leaving home each morning in suit and tie with briefcase, spending his days searching for work and lining up for soup with the homeless. Outstanding performances; serene, elegant direction; and Kurosawa’s trademark chills are evident as he ratchets up the unsettling atmosphere and the grim hopelessness of Sasaki’s unemployment.
Widely regarded as Kurosawa’s finest achievement, The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes 2008.
DUAL FORMAT RELEASE INCLUDING BLU-RAY AND DVD VERSIONS OF THE FILM
• 1080p / 24fps AVC feature encode on the Blu-ray (all extras 480p SD) / region free / DTS-HD Master Audio / Dolby TrueHD
• Gorgeous high-definition transfer in the original aspect ratio
• Making Of documentary [61:00]
• Q&A, Tokyo, September 2008 [12:00]
• Première, Tokyo, September 2008 [15:00]
• DVD discussion [9:00]
• Original UK theatrical trailer [3:00]
• 28-PAGE BOOKLET – containing a new essay by B. Kite
- dadaistnun
- Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:31 am
Fantastic news! Bravo, Nick!The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:Nick's been holding out on us!!!!!
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
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- sidehacker
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I held off semi-hoping that Mad Detective was a one-off... Not wishing to be too negative, but isn't this slightly out of sync with the nature of the rest of the collection?
Are these intended as MoC's equivalent to CC's Michael Bay releases? If so - and the idea is to generate revenue to carry on putting out Vampyr, Franjus, etc... - is there really such strong market out there for modern Asian cinema? Don't Tartan usually hoover up the more commercially viable prospects?
Or are they serious contenders to compete with some of the best films ever made - like the rest of the collection?
What the hell - I've bought the rest so I'll buy these too!
Are these intended as MoC's equivalent to CC's Michael Bay releases? If so - and the idea is to generate revenue to carry on putting out Vampyr, Franjus, etc... - is there really such strong market out there for modern Asian cinema? Don't Tartan usually hoover up the more commercially viable prospects?
Or are they serious contenders to compete with some of the best films ever made - like the rest of the collection?
What the hell - I've bought the rest so I'll buy these too!
- sidehacker
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- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
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I guess I'm the only one here who thinks Johnnie To, at his very best, is pretty much as great as anything else in the MoC collection, barring maybe Naruse and Mizoguchi. I don't hold KK in the same regard, but I like his films a lot and am looking forward to this release.
I don't see why all of the "classics" that have made it into the Masters of Cinema series are automatically assumed by some to be "some of the best films ever made," whereas anything contemporary that's not overtly "classy" is considered unworthy.
I don't see why all of the "classics" that have made it into the Masters of Cinema series are automatically assumed by some to be "some of the best films ever made," whereas anything contemporary that's not overtly "classy" is considered unworthy.
- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
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I've now seen 30 films by Johnnie to -- and haven't regretted seeing even the flimsiest of these. Happily, lots and lots of them proved to be quite substantial artistically. Truth be told, I might prefer Ann Hui to be the first director from HK to get MOC treatment -- but I fear her work (unjustifiably) has too little commercial potential in the West. So, why not Johnnie To?mattkc wrote:I guess I'm the only one here who thinks Johnnie To, at his very best, is pretty much as great as anything else in the MoC collection, barring maybe Naruse and Mizoguchi. I don't hold KK in the same regard, but I like his films a lot and am looking forward to this release.
- Michael Kerpan
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- TheGodfather
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- Donald Brown
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This is now also confirmed for Blu-ray.
- sidehacker
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- Michael Kerpan
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The film is really much more metaphorical than Ozu's and Naruse's. Best way to imagine is a much more subtle Kurosawa actually - but with the last act of the film going, as usual, quite far. Not a typical Japanese family drama for sure, despite whatever Derek Elley has to say. If you can find it, read the Q&A with Teruyugi Kagawa in the presskit - it's a very good summation of the film.Michael Kerpan wrote:I don't expect it to be _like_ Ozu and Naruse -- just "in the tradition".Grimfarrow wrote:Then you'll be in for a surprise.Michael Kerpan wrote:KK's Tokyo Sonata seems to be in the tradition of Ozu and Naruse.
- Michael Kerpan
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Hahaha that's ok. The director also likes to resist going into details about the metaphorical stuff as well.Michael Kerpan wrote:I tend to resist the metaphorical level in KK's films (and enjoy them immensely despite -- or because of -- this). This may not be the "right" way to watch his work -- but I don't really worry much about this.
But FWIW, quite a few people in Cannes said to me that they believe this is Kurosawa's best film.
- pro-bassoonist
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- Tommaso
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Looks great (cover and website). I haven't seen the film, but what about this plot description:
Am I alone in being reminded of ...ahm.. a certain film by a certain F.W. Murnau?When Ryuhei Sasaki (played by Teruyuki Kagawa) is unceremoniously dumped from his ‘safe’ company job, his family's happy, humdrum life is put at risk. Unwilling to accept the shame of unemployment, the loyal salaryman decides not to tell anyone, instead leaving home each morning in suit and tie with briefcase, spending his days searching for work and lining up for soup with the homeless.
- Cinetwist
- Joined: Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:00 am
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Funnily enough, I didn't think of The Last Laugh (sorry for English title!), which is of course a masterpiece. I initially thought of Laurent Cantet's masterful Time Out. It seems to be a vein of drama that's really worth mining. So hopefully this will be great too.Tommaso wrote:Looks great (cover and website). I haven't seen the film, but what about this plot description:
Am I alone in being reminded of ...ahm.. a certain film by a certain F.W. Murnau?When Ryuhei Sasaki (played by Teruyuki Kagawa) is unceremoniously dumped from his ‘safe’ company job, his family's happy, humdrum life is put at risk. Unwilling to accept the shame of unemployment, the loyal salaryman decides not to tell anyone, instead leaving home each morning in suit and tie with briefcase, spending his days searching for work and lining up for soup with the homeless.