cinesmith wrote: ↑Thu Jan 14, 2021 11:45 pm
My other question would be- Where do you even find any of these with english subtitles?
Helmut Käutner (seen 0) <---
Yves Allégret (seen 0) <--
Kô Nakahira (seen 0) <--
Boris Barnet (seen 0) <--
First off, the recend Edward Yang blu-rays are amazing, some restorations, like Taipei Story (my favourite) toured arthouse. Not all have been released though. I'm still waiting on the A Confucian Confusion restoration though. Only one of his 7-8 films I have not yet seen. Was psyched to see That Day, on the Beach last year - his first solo feature - and it looks gorgeous - but it felt far too much like a soap opera. I was also stunned when I could not care for Mahjong (the one I saw before that). The rest are all great and well worth seeking out. I'd recommend seeing Taipei Story, The Terrorizers and maybe even Yi Yi before jumping into A Brighter Sumner Day though.
As for the directors listed, they are all reasonably available - though Nakahira least of all. He is mostly remembered for kicking off the Japanese New Wave with Crazed Fruit (should be easy to find) but the start of that new wave was studio lead (ironically). I fittingly saw an early film by him just yesterday, Yuwaku / Temptation (1957) - a pleasant youth focused comedy with a large character gallery, young artists and multi-viewpoint voice overs that felt closer to hipper and less accomplished Ichikawa. He can be interesting though - I loved Mikkai (1959) - short, but stunning and evocative. Seen 5 so far.
Kautner should be the easiest to find, he is simply massive in terms of importance for Third Reich and post-war German cinema - without really being swallowed into Nazi propaganda (with a few exceptions) and doing a great job processing and reflecting on the period after the war. Seen 17. Under the Bridges is the one everyone loves - shot in the final days of the war - but it doesn't show. A strong romance - though I never quite loved it - same for the visually evocative Große Freiheit Nr. 7. For me his best is In jenen Tagen / Seven Journeys (1947) - an incredible look at the time up to that poin, following the "life"of a car as it is passed from owner to owner. Other recommendations have to be Romance in a Minor Key and the zany The Original Sin.
Only seen 4 films by Yves Allégret. I always brushed him of as a director of good, popular French films, without a strong atmosphere of his own. That impression was shattered a bit by his incredible The Proud and the Beautiful, starring both Michèle Morgan and Gérard Philip. It is one of those films where you can truly feel the eat of the sun and the frames just come alive. I might complain about the ending but it deserves to be seen. Rough and stunning. (and hopefully easy available).
Barnet I have to admit I never liked that much - not my type of comedy. Somehow I have seen 10 films by him. Surprised myself looking it up. The serial he did with the wonderful Fyodor Otsep, named Miss Mend is my favorite - and it should be easy enough to find. You should be able to find Outskirts, etc. in regular dvd stores though (I'd expect) but I guess it also depends where you live.
