The Ozu Collection: The Student Comedies

This box set of four of Ozu's early silent comedies is part of the BFI's ongoing project to release all of the master director's work on dual-format Blu-ray/DVD. As ever, this is a handsome edition with high quality transfers and a useful booklet with essays on each of the films (just in case – heaven forbid – you need to be brought up to speed on Japanese silent cinema).

The four films are themed on student life, reflecting the influence of Harold Lloyd's The Freshman on Ozu. This is acknowledged not just in the plot of the film; Ozu has the walls of the students' digs covered with Hollywood posters. Japanese cinema would continue this dynamic relationship with Hollywood over the next half century.

While these comedies lack the sheer energy of the their American counterparts, there are decent gags, surprisingly restrained, almost soulful, performances, and that sublime sense of stepping back in time that only watching silent films can give. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]