Kinoshita and World War II (Criterion Collection - Eclipse Series 41)

Keisuke Kinoshita's debut feature "Port of Flowers" (1943) follows a pair of con men whose attempt to fleece a harbor town's residents runs up against an attack of conscience. Eitarô Ozawa, Ken Uehara star. "The Living Magoroku" (1943) concerns a superstitious farm family leery of offering their best fields for the war effort. Uehara, Fumiko Katsuragi star. A close-knit neighborhood pulls together when the government asks them to relocate in "Jubilation Street" (1944). Uehara, Eijiro Tono star. A soldier's parents wrestle with the prospect of their son's departure to the front in "Army" (1944). Chishû Ryû, Kinuyo Tanaka star. A clan of pacifist intellectuals has to deal with the grim realities of post-war Japan in "Morning for the Osone Family" (1946). Haruko Sugimura, Toshinosuke Nagao star. 6 3/4 hrs. total on five discs. Standard; Soundtrack: Japanese Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English. In Japanese with English subtitles.