A Story Written with Water: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1965
Director: Kiju Yoshida
Writers: Toshirô Ishidô, Rumiko Kora, Kiju Yoshida
Cast: Mariko Okada, Yasunori Irikawa, Ruriko Asaoka, Isao Yamagata, Shin Kishida, Masakazu Kuwayama, Keiko Yumi

Release Date: March 25th, 2024 (UK)
Approximate running time: 120 Minutes 10 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £14.99 (UK)

"Telling the story of a man torn between his fiance and the familial bond of his mother, Yoshida creates a dazzling narrative that uses flashbacks to tell its story of obsession and desire." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "A Story Written with Water was transferred in High-Definition by Nikkatsu Corporation and supplied to Radiance Films as a High-Definition digital file."

A Story Written with Water comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 39.3 GB

Feature: 32.6 GB

The source used for this transfer is in great shape; image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and there does not appear to be any digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option: a LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. The audio is in great shape. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras: 

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 25 seconds, LPCM mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with director Kiju Yoshida (2 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital Stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Mariko Okada (11 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital Stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with scholar Jennifer Coates, author of Making Icons: Repetition and the Female Image in Japanese Cinema, 1945-1964 (21 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings and a 20-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Ebb and Flow: The Decline of the Studios, The Growth of Independent Production and Kiju Yoshida Stories Written on Water written by Alexander Jacoby, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Directed by Kiju Yoshida, whose other notable films are Eros + Massacre, Heroic Purgatory, and Coup d'Etat.

The narrative revolves around a young man whose bond with his mother is driving a wedge between him and his fiancee.

Though Kiju Yoshida considers himself an anti-auteur, he has a strong visual eye. His films have many striking moments, and many of them are filled with symbolism. One such moment in A Story Written with Water that springs to mind is the way that he juxtaposes the mother's face over the fiance's face during lovemaking.

At two hours in length, the well-constructed narrative does an amazing job holding your attention. Despite a deliberately paced narrative, there is never an issue with pacing. Another strength of the narrative is how it gives key moments an ample amount of time to resonate. With a phenomenal finale, which perfectly summarizes A Story Written with Water, the title of the film.

The non-linear narrative takes place in present and past time periods, and there is even one moment that takes place in neither time frame. Also, when the narrative shifts from one time period to another, it does so in a way that never announces itself. That said, despite its non-linear narrative that jumps around from present to past, the result is a story that is easy to digest.

Mariko Okada (Floating Clouds) portrays Shizuka, the mother of the protagonist. Though she was only 32 at the time, her casting in a role that would usually go to a much older actress actually works in A Story Written with Water’s favor. She delivers an exceptional performance that is utterly convincing, and there is never a moment where you doubt her authenticity.

Another performance of note is Yasunori Irikawa (The Living Skeleton) in the role of the protagonist, Shizuo. He delivers an equally powerful performance that complements Mariko Okada’s performance. That said, the rest of the cast are very good in their roles.

Though A Story Written with Water deals with taboo subject matter, when it comes to intimate moments between son and mother, they are never explicit. Also, without giving away too much about the plot, there is a subplot involving who the protagonist's father really is that is connected to the film’s main theme of incest. Ultimately, A Story Written with Water is an extraordinary melodrama that quickly draws you in and lingers on in your mind after its final haunting image.

A Story Written with Water gets an exceptional release from Radiance Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note: This is a single pressing that is limited to 3,000 copies.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Kiju Yoshida: Love + Anarchism: Limited Edition – Arrow Academy (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Theatrical Release Dates: Japan, 1969 (Eros + Massacre), Japan, 1970 (Heroic Purgatory), Japan, 1973 (Coup d’Etat)
Director: Kiju Yoshida (All Films)
Cast: Mariko Okada, Toshiyuki Hosokawa, Yûko Kusunoki, Kazuko Inano, Etsushi Takahashi, Daijirô Harada, Toshiko Ii (Eros + Massacre), Mariko Okada, Kaizo Kamoda, Naho Kimura, Yoshiaki Makita, Kaneko Iwasaki, Tôru Takeuchi, Kazumi Tsutsui (Heroic Purgatory), Rentarô Mikuni, Yasuo Miyake, Akiko Kurano, Tadahiko Sugano, Masako Yagi, Yasuyo Matsumura, Kei Iinuma, Masao Imafuku, Kazunaga Tsuji, Taketoshi Naitô (Coup d’Etat)

Release Date: May 8th, 2017 (UK), May 9th, 2017 (USA)
Approximate Running Times: 216 Minutes 25 Seconds (Eros + Massacre Director’s Cut), 165 Minutes 15 Seconds (Eros + Massacre Theatrical Version), 118 Minutes 7 Seconds (Heroic Purgatory), 109 Minutes 51 Seconds (Coup d’Etat)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Eros + Massacre), 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Heroic Purgatory / Coup d’Etat)
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region Free/Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: OOP

"The work of Kijû Yoshida is one of Japanese cinema's obscure pleasures. A contemporary of Nagisa Ôshima (Death by Hanging, In the Realm of the Senses) and Masahiro Shinoda (Pale Flower, Assassination), Yoshida started out as an assistant to Keisuke Kinoshita before making his directorial debut at age 27. In the decades that followed he produced more than 20 features and documentaries, yet each and every one has proven difficult to see in the English speaking world.

This collection brings together three works from the late 60s and early 70s, a loose trilogy united by their radical politics and an even more radical shooting style. Eros + Massacre, presented here in both its 164-minute theatrical version and the full-length 215-minute director's cut, tells the parallel stories of early 20th-century anarchist (and free love advocate) Sakae Osugi and a pair of student activists. Their stories interact and intertwine, resulting in a complex, rewarding work that is arguably Yoshida's masterpiece.

Heroic Purgatory pushes the dazzling cinematic language of Eros + Massacre even further, presenting a bleak but dreamlike investigation into the political discourses taking place in early 70s Japan. Coup d'état returns to the past for a biopic of Ikki Kita, the right-wing extremist who sought to overthrow the government in 1936. Yoshida considered the film to be the culmination of his work, promptly retiring from feature filmmaking following its completion." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5 (Eros + Massacre Director’s Cut), 4.25/5 (Eros + Massacre Theatrical Version), 4.5/5 (Heroic Purgatory), 3.5/5 (Coup d’Etat)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfers, "The transfers of Eros + Massacre, Heroic Purgatory and Coup d'état were supervised and approved by Kiju Yoshida, and supplied to Arrow Films on master tape via Carlotta Films, France."

Eros + Massacre director’s cut comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45 GB

Feature: 44.3 GB

Eros + Massacre theatrical version comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.9 GB

Feature: 41.6 GB

Heroic Purgatory and Coup d’Etat come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46 GB

Feature: 22 GB (Heroic Purgatory), 21.2 GB (Coup d’Etat)

The sources used for these transfers are in great shape, and though there are some moments that look overly bright, they have a bleached white look. These look intentional. Image clarity is strong and at times solid, and though black levels look very good, there are times they are not as convincing, notably Coup d'Etat's transfer. Also, there are no issues with compression. That said, the moments exclusive to the Eros + Massacre director’s cut are not as strong as the footage it shares with the theatrical cut. Heroic Purgatory has the strongest transfer, while the two versions of Eros + Massacre are not that far behind, while Coup d'Etat is the weakest.

Audio: 4/5

Each film comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese, and each film comes with removable English subtitles. All of the audio tracks are in great shape; there are no issues with distortion or background noise. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, these audio trucks sound very good.

Extras:

Extras on disc one include an introduction with author David Desser for the director’s version of Eros + Massacre (9 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and nine scene specific audio commentary tracks with David Desser for the director’s version of Eros + Massacre.

Extras on disc two include a theatrical trailer for Eros + Massacre (3 minutes 30 seconds, LPCM mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an introduction with author David Desser for the theatrical version of Eros + Massacre (11 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary titled Yoshida …or: The Explosion of the Story (30 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese and English with removable English subtitles) and eight scene specific audio commentary tracks with David Desser for the theatrical version of Eros + Massacre.

Extras on disc three include a theatrical trailer for Heroic Purgatory (3 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Heroic Purgatory (2 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), introduction’s with Kiju Yoshida for Heroic Purgatory (6 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles) and Coup d’Etat (5 minutes 22 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), introduction’s with David Desser for Heroic Purgatory (9 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and Coup d’Etat (8 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), ten scene specific audio commentary tracks with David Desser for Heroic Purgatory and seven scene specific audio commentary tracks with David Desser for Coup d’Etat.

Other extras include reversible cover art and a 80-page with cast & crew information for each film, an essay titled Yoshida, a Career written by David Desser, an essay titled The Revolution Triptych written by Isolde Standish, an essay titled Kiju Yoshida and ATG: The Reluctant Partner written by Dick Stegewerns and information about the transfers.

Included with this release are DVDs that have the same content as the Blu-ray included as part of this combo release.

Summary:

Eros + Massacre, Heroic Purgatory, and Coup d’Etat are a trilogy of films directed by Kiju Yoshida that are all linked by radicalism.

Eros and Massacre: The narrative follows two parallel stories. The first of these stories revolves around an anarchist named Sakae Osugi and his relationships with three women. The second of these stories revolves around two activists who are researching Sakae Osugi.

Eros + Massacre’s dueling narratives take place in different eras; the scenes revolving around Sakae Osugi take place during the 1920s, and the scenes with the activists take place during the 1960s. Structurally, the way in which Eros + Massacre’s narrative is presented is far from conventional, and there is not an even balance between these two distinctively different time periods.

Though Eros + Massacre is based on the life and death of Sakae Osugi, there were some changes that had to be made to Eros + Massacre due to one of Sakae Osugi’s former lovers threatening director Kiju Yoshida for using her name. She was an active politician in Japan. while the Eros + Massacre was being made.

The advantage of having two versions of Eros + Massacre is more than just one version being shorter than the other version. The shorter version removes more from the narrative that takes place during the 1920s. Ultimately, Eros + Massacre deserves its reputation as Kiju Yoshida’s masterpiece.

Heroic Purgatory: After interacting with a lost teenager that his wife brought home, a man recalls his youth as a revolutionary.

Though Heroic Purgatory was inspired by real-life individuals and historic events like Eros + Massacre and Coup d’Etat, the other films make up Kiju Yoshida’s trilogy about radicalism. Those two films are more straightforward adaptations of their sources, while Heroic Purgatory’s use of real-life people and events is more obscure.

Heroic Purgatory's narrative follows an abstract structure that defies space and time. The narrative takes place in three different eras’: the past, the present, and the future. Despite a conventional opening setup that is easy to follow, the further the narrative progresses, things get more complicated.

Coup d’Etat: An ultranationalist intellectual’s ideas inspire a military coup against the Japanese government.

Out of the three films that make up the Kiju Yoshida radicalism trilogy, Coup d’Etat has the most conventional narrative. The attempted coup in Japan in 1936, inspired by the writings of an intellectual named Ikki Kita, is the source of the Coup d’Etat.

Radicalism, fragmented narratives, and destructive bourgeois female characters are elements that Eros + Massacre and Heroic Purgatory share. And with Coup d’Etat switching the gender in regards to this type of character, while it shares all of the other elements.

When discussing these three films, one cannot overlook or understate the role that the visuals play. Another strength is how the music and visuals work together to heighten the mood.

Content-wise, though, these three films are often challenging as they push the boundaries of cinema. Fortunately, these films take on universal themes that are easy to identify with.

Arrow Academy’s Kiju Yoshida: Love + Anarchism is an exceptional release, highly recommended.

Note: This has been re-released as a standard version that drops the box and book that are part of the limited edition release.

Written by Michael Den Boer