Jun Ichikawa on DVD

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Grimfarrow · #26 Post by **Grimfarrow** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 5:04 am

I took a bunch of friends to see it, and about half of them nearly burst into tears during the film. Only one person was quite unaffected by the film.

And glacially slow? It's a Michael Bay production compared to my favourite director's films. I seriously don't find it remotely slow.

Amy Taubin has a great write-up of Tony Takitani in FILM COMMENT - worth a look. She had plenty of good things to say about the film. So does SIGHT & SOUND's Tony Rayns.

benm · #27 Post by **benm** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 2:23 pm

it screened at last year's Vancouver IFF and i was pretty keen on seeing how well a murakami story would translate and i was completely disappointed. i normally enjoy slow japanese films but i thought it was boring and a poor representation of murakami's writing.

i don't know if it's some weird belief that our favourite authors won't translate into another medium but i find that none of the movies made based on books of some my favourites (murakami, vonnegut and ellis) have been even remotely effective.

so i wouldn't recommend this movie at all, even to someone who hasn't read murakami.

Anonymous · #28 Post by **Anonymous** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:26 pm

i was able to catch the film at the la film fest. having read the short story before, i was vexed with how direct and literal the adaptation was. the friend i watched the film with mentioned how "tony takitani" might have been an adaptation of a murakami story, but it doesn't quite have the emotional inspiration that say wong kar-wai uses in his own films.

granted he didn't read the short story before watching the film, i agree with him there. the adaptation focuses on translating murakami's story, but because the film is only 80 or so mins long, the film isn't able to capture the qualities there are with tony takitani's story as it translates over the original text. ichikawa's film feels at times that it vignettes several parts of tony's life to cover parts that were mentioned in the story. ichikawa uses a dolly shot into black (seen in the trailer) to help suggest this. i think somewhere in between trying to cover all the information in the short story and developing it in film, left unncecessary facts that were mentioned in text that don't translate well.

there are some visual cues taken from the story (no spoilers, but mainly the ones of clothing, etc), but i think ichikawa might have been cursed with how visual murakami's writing style is and how much he should've followed it. i want to say that the film didn't feel slow at all, but instead could've been longer (or more focused) in duration..

the film isn't good nor bad, just that because it's an adaptation of murakami (the first?), many viewers will be watching the film with a critical eye. i'm curious of the opinions from those people who haven't read nor heard of murakami.

Grimfarrow · #29 Post by **Grimfarrow** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 12:03 am

The film is now playing in NY and is getting stellar reviews. i was worried that North American critics wouldn't get it, but to my surprise, they do.

Michael Kerpan · #30 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 3:51 pm

Saw Tony Takitani.

Loved it. Ditto for the other 3 family members that saw it. ;~}

Steven H · #31 Post by **Steven H** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:08 pm

The Strand DVD of this film is listed here at dvdplanet.com, for a January 6th release, and dvdempire.com for a Jan. 10th release, but amazon.com says January 31st.

Strand seems to be offering it on their site here with a %20 discount, which amounts to free shipping, basically. Anyone have any experience, good or bad, buying from Strand?

Michael · #32 Post by **Michael** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:34 pm

Another fan of Tony Takitani. I've never seen a film like this. Exquisite photography and music. Must see for everyone on this forum.

Michael Kerpan · #33 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:15 am

Jun Ichikawa is a fine -- outrageously under-appreciated -- director. Little of his work is available on DVD (or video) -- even in Japan.

I had worried about how the voiceover was handled -- based on initial reports -- but I wound up liking this aspect (among many others). ;~}

Other films available with subs:

Tsugumi title is the name of the main character (Panorama HK) A tale of two teen-aged cousins -- one with a long-term illness but a strong personality -- based on a story by Banana Yoshimoto. Passable DVD.

Tokyo yakyoku / Tokyo Rhapsody (Panorama HK) A husband returns home to his family after a long (unexplained) absence. Wonderful depiction of a working-class part of Tokyo rarely shown in contemporary films.

Tokyo Marigold (Japanese DVD) A tale of 20-somethings in modern-day Tokyo (centered on grown up child actress / teen idol Rena Tanaka). (English subs accessible by Japanese menu -- but not remote control).

Available without subs: "Ryoma's Wife, Her Husband and Her Lover" and "Tadon to chikuwa".

Alas -- that's it so far.

Steven H · #34 Post by **Steven H** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:15 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:Available without subs: "Ryoma's Wife, Her Husband and Her Lover" and "Tadon to chikuwa".

Have you seen either of these Michael? Of course, they sound very interesting, but as always with Japanese releases, they're expensive and that throws off my ability to wildly purchase without synopsis.

More Ichikawa Jun the better, though.

Michael Kerpan · #35 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:23 pm

Steven H wrote:
Michael Kerpan wrote:Available without subs: "Ryoma's Wife, Her Husband and Her Lover" and "Tadon to chikuwa".
Have you seen either of these Michael? Of course, they sound very interesting, but as always with Japanese releases, they're expensive and that throws off my ability to wildly purchase without synopsis.

More Ichikawa Jun the better, though.

No -- I haven't seen these. "Ryoma's Wife" got pretty poor reviews -- and apparently JI himself wasn't especially happy (in retrospect) with this first attempt at a historical film.

"Tadon to chikuwa": is described in Mark Schilling's book on 90s Japanese cinema -- and (despite the deluxe casting of Koji Yakusho AND Hiroyuki Sanada) sounded just a bit too weird for my taste. ;~}

I'd love to see things like "Osaka Story" "Dying in the Hospital" and "Tokyo Siblings". Sigh.

Steven H · #36 Post by **Steven H** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:54 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:No -- I haven't seen these. "Ryoma's Wife" got pretty poor reviews -- and apparently JI himself wasn't especially happy (in retrospect) with this first attempt at a historical film.

"Tadon to chikuwa": is described in Mark Schilling's book on 90s Japanese cinema -- and (despite the deluxe casting of Koji Yakusho AND Hiroyuki Sanada) sounded just a bit too weird for my taste. ;~}

I'd love to see things like "Osaka Story" "Dying in the Hospital" and "Tokyo Siblings". Sigh.

I like weird, so it may be worth looking into. I'm with you on those last three... ever since reading about them in Richie's 100 Years of Japanese Cinema, they've been on my mind.

Michael · #37 Post by **Michael** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 5:51 pm

I had worried about how the voiceover was handled -- based on initial reports -- but I wound up liking this aspect (among many others). ;~}

Same here but I ended up loving it. It really worked. Like an old soul telling a melancholy bedtime story or even a lullaby.

Have you seen either of these Michael?

Now I'm going to. Tony Takitani is my first Ichikawa.

Michael Kerpan · #38 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:36 pm

Young Michael -- I can't recall whether the Panorama releases were all-region or R3 -- but I think they may be all-region. You can order these from YesAsia -- among other places. "Tokyo Marigold" is definitely R2 -- so you need a multi-region player to watch this one (and it is more expensive). All are worth checking out.

Oh for a retrospective that showed all JI's otherwise unavailable stuff.

MEK (Old Michael)

Michael · #39 Post by **Michael** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:13 am

Thanks for the very valuable, helpful details, Michael. (You're NOT old!)

My understanding of the Japanese culture is embarassingly slim. Is the wife a symbol of the consumer culture (started from America?) that is spreading across Europe and Japan?

Michael Kerpan · #40 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:34 am

I do believe that young urban Japanese do indeed like to shop (who doesn't) -- but I think Mrs. Takitani is more "mythic" than realistic. ;~}

Rie Miyazawa was an interesting choice for the role -- as she has suffered from anorexia and had tried to commit suicide in the past.

Grimfarrow · #41 Post by **Grimfarrow** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 12:02 pm

Murakami's characters are also arguably more Western-influenced than most Japanese.

Steven H · #42 Post by **Steven H** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 9:34 pm

spoilers...

Fantastic film that begs for a second viewing. Did anyone else get tricked by Ogata playing father and son? I didn't notice until the credits. I *definitely* didn't think it was "glacially slow", it seemed to almost begin and end too quickly. Gorgeous imagery, and I loved how the camera basically stuck to travelling in one direction the whole time ("novel" like).

I can't wait to show this to as many people will watch it.

Grimfarrow · #43 Post by **Grimfarrow** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:55 am

The fantastic score to TONY TAKITANI, composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, is now available on iTunes! I really wish I could buy it, but I don't have a US credit card anymore

And the soundtrack is ONLY available on the US site, not others. Boohoo.

Steven H · #44 Post by **Steven H** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:20 pm

Ichikawa Jun's new film, How To Become Myself Tomorrow, got a pretty positive review from Mark Schilling in couple months back (I didn't notice until now.) Here's an excerpt:

Based on a novel by 30-year-old Kaori Mado, his film does not romanticize or stereotype in the now-common manga-to-movie fashion. If anything, his style may be too uninflected for an audience used to the exaggerations, for melodramatic or comic effect, of the pop-cinema mainstream.

But Ichikawa also has a keen eye for the moments of truth or flashes of beauty that suggest a larger, transcendent reality. Like many Japanese directors, he often uses shots of trees, clouds, crowds of other "found" phenomena for transitions, but the best of these images evoke what might be called the eternal in the present, the universal in the mundane, in ways few others can equal. Yasujiro Ozu also did this sort of thing with his famed "pillow shots," but his emphasis was usually on the human world (office buildings, houses, clothes flapping on laundry poles). Ichikawa reaches beyond to the natural or, if you will, the holy.

I have to admit that after seeing the [url=mms://bpsw00.goo.ne.jp/entame/special/watatsuku/yokoku01_1000k.wmv]trailer[/url] I really didn't want anything to do with this film (that song...) but Schilling's review makes it sound like it fits in a little bit better with what I would have expected from Ichikawa so I'm changing my tune. However, it looks like the only thing on the horizon is an unsubtitled DVD from Japan.

lordrsb · #45 Post by **lordrsb** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:31 am

I'm sorry for 'bumping' this topic, but I've perused it numerous times during my search for Ichikawa DVDs and having just signed up (I'm new), wanted to seek further help from other forumites.

I've got Tsugumi and Tokyo Lullaby and plan to get hold of Tokyo Marigold, but my search for DVDs with English subtitles (other than the worldwide Tony Takitani release, of course) has been fruitless; however, I found the following page with information about the How to Become Myself DVD release, which I previously thought lacked any subtitles.

Is this misinformation? Or an expanded release? Also, has anyone managed to discover other English-monolinguist-friendly Ichikawa releases?

Sorry for all the questions, chaps!

Michael Kerpan · #46 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:24 am

lordrsb wrote:I've got Tsugumi and Tokyo Lullaby and plan to get hold of Tokyo Marigold, but my search for DVDs with English subtitles (other than the worldwide Tony Takitani release, of course) has been fruitless; however, I found the following page with information about the How to Become Myself DVD release, which I previously thought lacked any subtitles.

Is this misinformation? Or an expanded release? Also, has anyone managed to discover other English-monolinguist-friendly Ichikawa releases?

Well, this is obviously a Thai release. No way to tell if this is legit or a bootleg -- short of actually buying it. My guess is that it is a bootleg -- assuming the cover picture is accurate (just a clone of the Japanese packaging).

A Tokyo Marigold warning -- the subtitles are there on the Japanese DVD -- but I could only turn them on via a (rather buried) menu item selection.

As to the availability of other (commercial) English-subbed releases -- sadly, the answer is that there are no others. In fact, many of his films seem to be _totally_ unavailable -- even unsubbed..

lordrsb · #47 Post by **lordrsb** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 3:31 pm

Ah well, it's a shame to see his films be ignored by the home video distributors. (Also, I can't seem to get onto that Thai site any more.) Thanks for the warning re. Tokyo Marigold.

I vaguely remember finding one of his films available to stream from a website with English subtitles. Of course, this doesn't compare to a DVD release (although, having said that, Tokyo Lullaby had the worst transfer of any legitimate DVD I've watched), but the quality was reasonable enough. However, I didn't watch it at the time and neglected to note the address.

*Sigh* Guess I'll have to just wait and see what happens in the future...

Michael Kerpan · #48 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 1:03 am

Ichikawa's 1995 Tokyo kyodai (Tokyo Brother and Sister) has finally made it to DVD, albeit unsubbed anf non-anamorphic and without any extras. Still beggars can't be choosers. No sign yet of his Dying at a Hospital or Osaka Story, as far as I can tell. Really a shame that he has not garnered at least posthumous recognition.

FerdinandGriffon · #49 Post by **FerdinandGriffon** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 1:09 am

Anyone know of a way to see 1991's No Life King?

Michael Kerpan · #50 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:19 am

No Life King? Perhaps there was a (high-priced) home video release 20+ years ago, but nothing sincve then, I'm pretty sure.

Also still totally missing, Kurepu (1993) and Zawa-zawa Shimo-Kitazawa (2000), plus some short films. )I almost managed to snag a video copy of Zawa-zawa -- but the plan fell through).

Jun Ichikawa on DVD

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