MovieChat Forums > Sanshô dayû Discussion > The Perils and Rewards of Blind Buys

The Perils and Rewards of Blind Buys

posted 16 years ago by NYCeGuyEddy
6 replies | jump to latest

Like many movie lovers/DVD collectors, I have a stack of unwatched films sitting on my bookcase still in their wrappers. "Sansho the Bailiff" was one... until tonight. What a wonderful film! I bought the Criterion edition sight unseen, based on the opinions of several posters on this and other forums. I've "stubbed my toe" many times over the years by taking advice on movies and making blind purchases or rentals. It can be a real waste of time and/or money. Because of that, I sometimes feel a little apprehension when slipping that unseen disc into my DVD player. Little moments like these remind me why it's necessary to take risks, otherwise I might never have seen this masterpiece. The poignant and inspirational tale, the impeccable direction and ethereal cinematography...absolutely splendid. Frankly, it's worth stomaching a few clunkers in order to discover a gem like this one. Criterion's presentation of "Sansho" is a real treat, too. Among other things, I was quite impressed with the video quality: the film looks almost flawless.

[–] FZ-FX 16 years ago

Glad you took the risk and bought it. After watching Ugetsu (the first Mizoguchi film to be released by Criterion) I was dumbfounded why I had never heard the man mentioned among western critics and immediately started looking for more of his work. I snagged a crappy bootleg copy of Sansho, and the chance to re-watch a high-quality treatment of the film was one of my favorite movie-watching experiences last year. Definitely one of the greatest films of all time.

[–] elliot-1 16 years ago

I've seen about 10 Mizoguchi films so far, and I've loved all of them. The 47 Ronin was the closest I came to not loving one - it is very, very slow indeed (and bear in mind I like Tarkovsky). I highly recommend you try to find a copy of The Life of Oharu; Criterion is probably going to release it at some point. The problem with Mizoguchi is tracking down his films - this is easier if you have the capability to watch European DVDs, as quite a few have been released in the UK. Criterion is releasing a 4 film set of his in a few months though.

I had the good fortune when I was starting my cinephile hobby to live in the UK when FilmFour was still superb (it's since been completely neutered). They had a channel which only showed foreign films, and I saw many things on that, that have never been released on DVD anywhere; obscure Mizoguchi, Ozu, Bergman, Max Ophuls, etc etc. Man, I wish someone would start such a channel in the US.

"I was dumbfounded why I had never heard the man mentioned among western critics"

Mizoguchi is considered, pretty much worldwide, to be one of the top 3 Japanese film makers, although it does seem like he is fairly obscure for all of that.

[–] cinema_forever19 16 years ago

I kinda do the same thing - make blind purchases. However, I try to read around a lot before I make a purchase, or I might watch a trailer or video or two on YouTube. But I try to make sure that I'm interested in the movie before I buy it. Although for me, I make sure to watch all the movies that I buy, I don't let them go to waste. ;)

I just recently bought Ugetsu and Sansho the Bailiff, being the first time I've seen both films. Ugetsu was very good, in fact, I thought it was brilliant. But that was until I watched Sansho the Bailiff, now that's a movie! It was absolutely breath-taking! I can honestly say that I would definitely rank it amongst my Top 10 of all-time, or at least my Top 25! Ugetsu is still excellent, but Sansho blew it out of the water, IMO!

Ugetsu 8/10
Sansho the Bailiff 10/10

[–] NYCeGuyEddy 15 years ago

I try to be careful, too. But I've been burned before with certain films, regardless of research. Probably the most cost effective way to deal with the issue is to subscribe to Netflix (if you watch that many films), and buy the movies you really like.

I think both Ugetsu and Sansho are masterpieces, both tens, but I slightly prefer Sansho. :)

Thank you, elliot-1, for the input.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] KingCobra686 8 years ago

Public libraries are a cheap way to watch movies like this if you have a decent library near you. Thats how I found a copy of this to watch. Much safer than dropping big money on Criterion blind purchases.