The End of Summer (Kohayagawa Ke no Aki) 4K Remaster

A one-of-a-kind masterpiece that the world-renowned master Yasujiro Ozu made at Toho is revived in the finest visual beauty! The long-awaited 4K remastered Blu-ray arrives! Set in Kansai in the Showa era, it follows the comical yet lonely joys and sorrows of life woven by one long-established family. A gem of a masterpiece born from a miraculous collaboration between Toho and Shochiku! Director Yasujiro Ozu, a leading figure of Shochiku, was invited to the Toho studios and made this valuable work from the later part of his career. Realized through an ardent offer from Toho's renowned producer Sanezumi Fujimoto, the film caused a great stir because Toho's foremost star actors of the time and the regular players familiar from Ozu's films appeared together in a miraculous ensemble. Against a backdrop of the atmospheric streets of Osaka and Kyoto, the visual beauty captured by the distinguished cinematographer Asakazu Nakai, also a regular on Kurosawa's films, shines through. This drama of family bonds and of the life and death that everyone must face has continued to be loved by many people and has carved its name into film history in Japan and abroad. Taking the leading role is the distinguished actor Nakamura Ganjiro II, a pillar of the Kamigata kabuki world. He plays Manbei, the free-spirited old master of the house who repeatedly meets his former mistress in secret, with plenty of mischievous humor. The women who surround him are played by star actresses who brilliantly graced the silver screen of the Showa era, including Setsuko Hara, filled with grace and melancholy, Yoko Tsukasa, radiating a modern youthfulness, and Michiyo Aratama, with her dignified presence. Hisaya Morishige and other distinguished actors who represent the history of Japanese cinema fill out the supporting cast, delivering a superb ensemble that is both comical and tinged with pathos. In this clear autumn, one bond, loved ones warming one another! The Kohayagawa family, sake brewers for generations, is being pressed by a modern large company and is considering a merger. The head of the house, Hisao, is the husband of the eldest daughter. He intends to protect the family business while the previous head, Manbei, is still in good health, but Manbei himself is infatuated with Tsune, whom he has met again after 19 years, and keeps stealing away from the eyes of the family for their trysts... An unprecedented artistic epic in which Yasujiro Ozu, a treasure of the Japanese film world, took the helm at Toho for the first time. Against the backdrop of a sake brewery in Fushimi, Kyoto, it depicts a family system in the midst of collapse while portraying, with rich poetic feeling and through laughter, the history of the people who live within it and the pathos of human beings. Bonus footage includes a teaser, a trailer, and a still gallery (still images).

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世界的巨匠小津安二郎が東宝で手掛けた唯一無二の名作が最高峰の映像美で蘇る! 待望の4KリマスターBlu-rayが登場! 昭和の関西を舞台に、ある老舗一家が織りなす可笑しくも寂しい人生の哀歓。東宝と松竹の奇跡的コラボレーションが生んだ珠玉の傑作! 松竹を代表する小津安二郎監督が、東宝のスタジオへと招かれて制作した、キャリア後期の貴重な一作。東宝の名プロデューサー・藤本真澄からの熱烈なオファーによって実現した本作は、当時の東宝きってのスター俳優たちと、小津映画お馴染みの常連陣が奇跡的な共演を果たしたことで大きな話題を呼んだ。大阪や京都の風情あふれる町並みを背景に、黒澤映画の常連でもある名撮影監督・中井朝一が捉えた映像美が光る。家族の絆と誰もが迎える生と死のドラマは多くの人々に愛され続け、国内外の映画史にその名を刻んだ。主演を務めるのは、上方歌舞伎界の重鎮である名優・二代目中村鴈治郎。かつての愛人と密会を重ねる奔放な老主人・万兵衛を、茶目っ気たっぷりに演じきる。彼を囲む女性陣には、気品と憂いを湛えた原節子、モダンな若さを放つ司葉子、凛とした存在感の新珠三千代ら、昭和の銀幕を華やかに飾ったスター女優たちが集結。さらに森繁久彌ほか日本映画史を代表する名優たちが脇を固め、コミカルかつ哀愁漂う極上のアンサンブルを披露している。清澄なこの秋に一つ絆 暖めあう愛する人びと! 代々造り酒屋の小早川家は、近代的な大会社からおされ合併を検討している。当主の久夫は長女の婿。先代の万兵衛が元気なうちは暖簾を守ろうと考えているが、当の万兵衛は19年ぶりに再会したつねにご執心で、家族の目を盗んで逢引きを重ねていた・・・。日本映画界の至宝小津安二郎が、東宝で初めてメガホンをとった空前の芸術大作。京都伏見の造り酒屋を背景にして、崩壊しつつある家族制度を描きながら、そこに生きる人間の歴史、そして人間の哀れさを笑いの中で詩情豊かに描きあげる。映像特典には特報/予告編/スチールギャラリー (静止画)を収録。