Hiroshi Shimizu DVD Box Set with English Subtitles

Submerged in quite a lot of work before my trip to Hong Kong next week, but logboy sent a link to a DVD release that definitely deserves a mention.

Shochiku Home Video is releasing the first in a series of 4-disc box sets on the work of Shimizu Hiroshi (清水宏監督), with the added bonus of English subtitles. Recalling Shimizu's great skill at staging drama in natural settings, the first set is entitled "Mountain Scenery" Yamaai No Fûkei (『山あいの風景』). The first set includes:

Mr. Thank You (Arigatô-san, 『有りがたうさん』)
Ornamental Hairpin (Kanzashi, 『簪(かんざし)』)
The Masseurs and a Woman (Anma to Onna, 『按摩と女』』)
Japanese Girls at the Harbor (Minato no Nihon Musume, 『港の日本娘』』)　(silent film, on the bonus disc)

Back in 2003 Tokyo FILMeX and the National Film Center collaborated on their first full retrospective (a mini Okamoto Kihachi program had been done in 2001) with the films of Shimizu Hiroshi (日本語はこちら). The films were excellent. Especially memorable was the screening of Japanese Girls at the Harbor which featured live orchestration and Dutch-Japanese star Inoue Yukiko in attendance! You can read a big Midnight Eye feature on Shimizu here (and follow the link at the bottom for Round-Up reviews).

You can also read synopses for the first two and last title at the FILMeX retrospective link above and about the third film, which played in the retro's slightly expanded version at the Hong Kong fest in 2004 here. The screenplay for The Masseurs and a Woman was the source material for Ishii Katsuhito's new film, mentioned in my previous post.

You can order the set on YesAsia's English page here. Amazon Japan offers a considerable pre-order discount 9,324 yen (about US$90) and free shipping within Japan.

Update: Don Ryuganji writes about a new Ishii Katsuhito acting/short film initiative and links to Shochiku's official page for the Shimizu box sets. The English title for the first volume is simply "Hiroshi Shimizu Film Collection Vol. 1 ~ Landscape ~".