When A Woman Ascends The Stairs (1960) On DVD
Actor: Hideko Takamine, Tatsuya Nakadai, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan, Daisuke Katô
Director: Mikio Naruse
Genre: Foreign
Year: 1960
Studio: Criterion
Length: 111
Released: February 20, 2007
Rating: Unrated (Video)
Format: DVD
Misc: NTSC, Black & White
Language: Japanese
Subtitles : English
DESCRIPTION:
Although its title is not instantly recognizable in the Great Movies canon, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs qualifies as a modest, graceful masterpiece. This 1959 film by Mikio Naruse has, like the director's reputation in general, slowly gained traction in the decades after Naruse's death in 1969... much like a woman quietly, discreetly walking up a staircase (the film's central and repeated image). The film considers the plight of a hostess in a goodtime-establishment in Tokyo's famous Ginza district; with her youth gone, it is now time to buy a bar of her own or latch onto a husband/benefactor. She is played by Hideko Takamine, a veteran of 17 Naruse films, whose melancholy, indomitable performance is the soul of the movie. The postwar production design is enhanced by the drinks-after-dark jazz music, which really roots in the film in an arena of almost desperate 1950s capitalism. The black-and-white widescreen photography, a jumble of slanting signs and beams and screens, fits Naruse's subtle method, which eschews big melodrama in favor of an incredibly nuanced appreciation for life's quiet disappointments. Naruse can offer no greater triumph than simply placing one's foot on a stair each night and summoning the strength to climb the staircase to work. In this film, that's enough. --Robert Horton
On the DVD
Bonus features are not extensive on Criterion's excellent disc, but they include an informative commentary track with Japanese-film guru Donald Richie and a lovely 13-minute interview with Tatsuya Nakadai, the mighty actor who was still a young up-and-comer when he played a supporting role in this film. A strong booklet includes a touching memorial essay about Naruse by leading lady Hideko Takamine and an appreciative essay by Philip Lopate, who keenly observes of the film, "[T]he preference for enlightened stoicism over glib redemption is pure Naruse."
Special Features:
- New, high-definition digital transfer
- Commentary by Japanese film scholar Donald Richie
- New video interview with actor Tatsuya Nakadai
- Original theatrical trailer
- New and improved subtitle translation
- A booklet featuring essays by Audie Bock, Catherine Russell, Phillip Lopate, and Hideko Takamine
Actor: Hideko Takamine, Tatsuya Nakadai, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan, Daisuke Katô
Director: Mikio Naruse
Genre: Foreign
Year: 1960
Studio: Criterion
Length: 111
Released: February 20, 2007
Rating: Unrated (Video)
Format: DVD
Misc: NTSC, Black & White
Language: Japanese
Subtitles : English
DESCRIPTION:
Although its title is not instantly recognizable in the Great Movies canon, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs qualifies as a modest, graceful masterpiece. This 1959 film by Mikio Naruse has, like the director's reputation in general, slowly gained traction in the decades after Naruse's death in 1969... much like a woman quietly, discreetly walking up a staircase (the film's central and repeated image). The film considers the plight of a hostess in a goodtime-establishment in Tokyo's famous Ginza district; with her youth gone, it is now time to buy a bar of her own or latch onto a husband/benefactor. She is played by Hideko Takamine, a veteran of 17 Naruse films, whose melancholy, indomitable performance is the soul of the movie. The postwar production design is enhanced by the drinks-after-dark jazz music, which really roots in the film in an arena of almost desperate 1950s capitalism. The black-and-white widescreen photography, a jumble of slanting signs and beams and screens, fits Naruse's subtle method, which eschews big melodrama in favor of an incredibly nuanced appreciation for life's quiet disappointments. Naruse can offer no greater triumph than simply placing one's foot on a stair each night and summoning the strength to climb the staircase to work. In this film, that's enough. --Robert Horton
On the DVD
Bonus features are not extensive on Criterion's excellent disc, but they include an informative commentary track with Japanese-film guru Donald Richie and a lovely 13-minute interview with Tatsuya Nakadai, the mighty actor who was still a young up-and-comer when he played a supporting role in this film. A strong booklet includes a touching memorial essay about Naruse by leading lady Hideko Takamine and an appreciative essay by Philip Lopate, who keenly observes of the film, "[T]he preference for enlightened stoicism over glib redemption is pure Naruse."
Special Features:
- New, high-definition digital transfer
- Commentary by Japanese film scholar Donald Richie
- New video interview with actor Tatsuya Nakadai
- Original theatrical trailer
- New and improved subtitle translation
- A booklet featuring essays by Audie Bock, Catherine Russell, Phillip Lopate, and Hideko Takamine
| Product Name | When A Woman Ascends The Stairs (1960) On DVD |
|---|---|
| This item is returnable | No |
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