#1125: ITAMI, Juzo: The Funeral (1984)

ITAMI, Juzo (Japan)
The Funeral [1984]

Spine #1125

Blu-ray

It’s death, Japanese style, in the rollicking and wistful first feature from maverick writer-director Juzo Itami. In the wake of her father’s sudden passing, a successful actor (Itami’s wife and frequent collaborator, Nobuko Miyamoto) and her lascivious husband (Tsutomu Yamazaki) leave Tokyo and return to her family home to oversee a traditional funeral. Over the course of three days of mourning that bring illicit escapades in the woods, a surprisingly materialistic priest (Chishu Ryu), and cinema’s most epic sandwich handoff, the tensions between public propriety and private hypocrisy are laid bare. Deftly weaving dark comedy with poignant family drama, The Funeral is a fearless satire of the clash between old and new in Japanese society in which nothing, not even the finality of death, is off-limits.

124 minutes
Color

Monaural
in Japanese
1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2022

Director/Writers

Juzo Itami was 51 when he wrote and directed The Funeral.

Other Itami films in the Collection:

#868: Tampopo (1985)

The Film

a

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Forty-page booklet featuring an essay by author Pico Iyer, along with excerpts from Itami’s 1985 book The Funeral Diary and from a 2007 remembrance of Itami by actor Yamazaki.

Commentary

None.

Interviews

With actors Miyamoto and Ikeuchi.

Creative Marriages: Juzo Itami & Nobuko Miyamoto

A short program produced by the Criterion Channel.

Commercials

For Ichiroku Tart by director Itami.

Trailers

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

By Director
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