Silent Era : Home Video Reviews

Silent Era Home Page > Home Video > Passing Fancy

Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved.

Passing Fancy
(1933)

This three-film collection, culled from the earliest years of Yasujirô Ozu’s long cinematic career.

Due to the entrenchment of the Benshi narrator tradition in Japanese film exhibition, the production of Japanese silent films extended well into the 1930s. These three films are excellent examples of the continued development of the Japanese silent film and excellent films in the Ozu oeuvre.

The Criterion Collection
2008 DVD edition

Silent Ozu: Three Family Comedies (1931-1933), black & white, 291 minutes total, not rated, including Passing Fancy (1933), black & white, 100 minutes, not rated.

The Criterion Collection, ECL047 (Eclipse series 10),
UPC 7-15515-02912-4, ISBN 978-1-60465-033-4.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 1 NTSC DVD discs (three DVDs in the set); 1.20:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; Japanese language intertitles, optional English language subtitles; 15 chapter stops; three slimline DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcase; $44.95.
Release date: 22 April 2008.
Country of origin: USA

This DVD edition has been mastered from a very-good 35mm source print, with some sections of advanced wear and beginning decomposition.

The film is accompanied by a music score performed on piano by Donald Sosin.

As would be expected of a Criterion Collection release, this collection has been lovingly produced for home video and is enthusiastically recommended.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.