The Ozu thread.

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This is the thread where we praise and discuss the Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, who would have turned 100 this year.

Actually, it's just an excuse for me to post this lovely quote I found from one of Ozu's old classmates, who became a train station conductor:

"I could prepare a first class ticket for the night express from Kyoto to Ofuna, but Ozu always politely rejected it and took a seat in the second class carriage. Ozu said he wanted to watch the movements of the fans on the ceiling. The same switch turns all the fans on, but their movements are quite different - one goes around faster, another goes around slower. Each fan has its own character. For all that, however, the time comes only 2 or 3 times a journey when their movements are perfectly synchronised. Sometimes it didn't happen and Ozu was disappointed. Watching from Kyoto to Ofuna gives him a chance to see the synchronisation."

(This reminds me of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's explanation of his film Millennium Mambo as related to me by his producer, Peggy Chiao: When observing falling leaves from a distance, they all seem the same, but up close one discovers that each leaf has its own quiet path and velocity as it falls to the earth.)

― Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 10 February 2003 21:54 (10 years ago) Permalink

If my memory is correct, the film I'm going to see at the Japanese Embassy tomorrow night, Ohayo, is one of his, so I'll get back to you after that (probably Wednesday). Otherwise, search anything seasonal, and of course Tokyo Story.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 10 February 2003 22:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

I like all the ones w/ Autumn in the title, esp. the one where the Dad peels an orange and stares wistfully off into the sunset, lamenting the passage of time, the need for change, the small betrayls we all make, THE END

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Monday, 10 February 2003 22:02 (10 years ago) Permalink

Ohayo is one of his later films, and it's not quite a remake but a revisiting of the themes/locations of his silent film I Was Born, But.... Much of the film revolves around the idea of farting noises-as-communication.

Ozu's old studio, Shochiku, is planning major events for his centennary. They've restored all of his extant films (most of his silents are lost, sadly) and are preparing subtitled prints for distribution around the world. At the moment no Ozu films are being distributed in the US, but that should change shortly. Also several companies in the UK and the US are planning DVD issues of several Ozu films. And finally there are rumblings that Shochiku plans to release every one of his extant films (that's 30+, people) onto DVD in one, undoubtedly phenomenally expensive, set.

For more info see www.ozuyasujiro.com.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 10 February 2003 22:13 (10 years ago) Permalink

Look how low the camera is positioned!

― Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 10 February 2003 22:30 (10 years ago) Permalink

Shochiku were f8ckers, all the old Japanese film stables were.

― Mary (Mary), Sunday, 16 February 2003 06:16 (10 years ago) Permalink

How do you mean, Mary?

And what did you think of Ohayo, Martin?

― Amateurist (amateurist), Sunday, 16 February 2003 06:22 (10 years ago) Permalink

Ooh sorry, I forgot! Ohayo was fun, hardly at all like his others. It's a comedy with lots of farting, but mostly about how human communication works, how small talk functions in adult society, how misunderstandings occur, and so on. It was a bit like watching a comedy Hitchcock rather than a suspense one, and I don't suppose it appears on lists of his best, but I enjoyed it.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 16 February 2003 11:04 (10 years ago) Permalink

Actually Ohayo (known as Good Morning in the US) isn't all that anomalous. Ozu's earliest surviving films include many comedies, and even many of his postwar melodramas (like Record of a Tenement Gentleman) have a lot of humor--not all of it gentle, either. I think Ozu's reputation as dour is a somewhat unfortunate legacy of: which films of his were the first to be shown in Europe and the US; the arguments of such fans as Paul Schrader re. Ozu's "transcendent" style.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 17 February 2003 06:27 (10 years ago) Permalink

(What was lost in that last garbled sentence was my idea that Schrader's book has helped to perpetuate the misconception that Ozu is a director of somber films.)

― Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 17 February 2003 06:53 (10 years ago) Permalink

I much prefer somber to dour as a description. Yes, I'm aware that he made lots of comedies early on, but my experience of him before now hadn't included any of those. It's Tokyo Story and those with seasons in the titles that I've had the chance to see previously.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 17 February 2003 13:41 (10 years ago) Permalink

Sorry, Martin, that was me in pedantic mode. You're right that somber is an accurate description of a lot of his films, Tokyo Story included.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Monday, 17 February 2003 14:38 (10 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

I got to see two rare 1930s Ozu films today, Woman of Tokyo and Only Son (this is the part of the post where I say "haha suckerz!"). I'll report back on them when I have a few moments.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Sunday, 20 April 2003 20:48 (10 years ago) Permalink

7 months pass...

Ozu retro in Paris now. Will be attending everyday if the fates allow. Just saw Tokyo Story and bawled like a baby in front of two girls I just met, then made a quick exit.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 22 November 2003 23:33 (9 years ago) Permalink

whistled the theme on the way home

its lovely

― amateur!st (amateurist), Saturday, 22 November 2003 23:34 (9 years ago) Permalink

("Ozu"... "Japanese director", uhuh! ...Okey, but what's the English spelling of that mighty fine Greek beverage again??...)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Sunday, 23 November 2003 00:03 (9 years ago) Permalink

ouzo, at least in english.
http://www.greecefoods.com/ouzo/

― teeny (teeny), Sunday, 23 November 2003 00:28 (9 years ago) Permalink

thanks, teeny :)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Sunday, 23 November 2003 00:37 (9 years ago) Permalink

Floating Weeds and Late Summer were my film highlights of summer 2003. The funeral scene at the end of the latter is extraordinary.

― Daniel (dancity), Sunday, 23 November 2003 02:26 (9 years ago) Permalink

Tokyo Story affected me deeply, possibly more than any other movie I've seen. There's a culture gap between my parents and I - I was born in the states, they were not - and they often adhere to their ways and expectations. When they are unreasonable to me, I sometimes just laugh at them. This seems cruel and mean (and yes, it is), but to be fair, you need to hear what they sometimes say. For example, right before I left for college, my father told me that I should break up with my girlfriend so I could concentrate on my studies. This is just one example out of many.

My father is about to retire, and I've noticed a bit of regret within him - that maybe he could've been a better father. Seeing Tokyo Story a few years ago really made it clear to me that no matter how justified I might have felt, whenever I went against their advice or wishes, I usually acted like a jerk. In the film, the mother dies, thinking that her children are disrespectful, selfish brats. It didn't really hit me before, with that much clarity, just how utterly horrible that would be. I think about the movie all the time; I really do. Whenever my father sternly says to me, "You need to get married," instead of laughing, I now just listen, patiently.

― Anisette, Sunday, 23 November 2003 05:24 (9 years ago) Permalink

For example, right before I left for college, my father told me that I should break up with my girlfriend so I could concentrate on my studies.

Um, he's got a point.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 23 November 2003 07:57 (9 years ago) Permalink

Floating Weeds and Late Summer were my film highlights of summer 2003. The funeral scene at the end of the latter is extraordinary.

Do you mean "End of Summer"? It actually goes under different titles in English, but the Japanese title translates as "Last Happiness for the Kohayagawa Family," thus the French title was "Dernier caprice."

I just saw it on Friday, and you're right, many people in the audience were weeping at the end.

This is one of a very few films Ozu made for the Toho company, which he could do because he had fulfilled his contract with rival Shochiku by producing a film for them that year already. I think Toho allowed him greater financial resources but he couldn't use some of his favored crew who were contracted to Shochiku, so here he uses Kurosawa's cameraman instead of Yuharu Atsuta, and the score was written not by the great Kojun Saitô but by Toshirô Mayuzumi, with whom Ozu worked I believe only this once. The reasons were obvious to me--compared to the graceful scores of Tokyo Story etc., which underline but do not overpower the emotions latent in the action (or non-action) on screen, the score for "End of Summer" is rather militant, aggressive...with dramatic bursts of darkness and shifts in tone. I thought it was inappropriate, but at the same time it was interesting to see how the film fared anyhow (well I think).

Anisette I think one of the great things about "Tokyo Story" and indeed many Ozu films is how, as in Renoir's great films, each character has their reasons for acting and feeling as they do, even if certain actions might be unforgivable. The dialogue between the youngest daughter and Setsuko Hara toward the end of the film crystallizes this, and in fact offers the audience two distinct perspectives from which to judge the action: the daughter's fury at the insensitivity of her brothers and sisters, and Noriko's greater sympathy for all parties (a feeling which is made all the more poignant by her breakdown in front of her father in law, where she confesses to selfishness and of not thinking of her late husband every day--in light of this confession one could think that her attentiveness to her in laws is a way of trying to forgive herself).

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:03 (9 years ago) Permalink

For one thing one of the ostensibly least sympathetic characters, the younger son who works in Osaka...I found myself identifying with him very much. His frustration with the funeral rites, his refusal (unspoken but it's clear) to wear the traditional funereal garb, his distractedness...but as is clear from the dialogue with his coworker, his genuine concern for his parents which he just isn't able to make manifest before it's too late.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:06 (9 years ago) Permalink

If you liked "Tokyo Story" BTW you must see my favorite Ozu, "Early Summer" (the Japanese title translates to "Wheat Harvest Season" which is actually quite important if you see the film), which was made two years before with almost all the same actors and crew, and is (like other Ozu films in this period) essentially a rearranging of the plot points, family structure, etc. to produce a kind of variation of the same film. In this film the conclusion is much different, and for me it can be said to surpass "Tokyo Story" only insofar as Ozu's experiments with editing and camera placement are even more playful and awesome here. But also the character played by Setsuko Hara--also named Noriko--has an even more evident stubborn streak here, albeit one that she plays down until the end. It's interesting that he used Hara to embody these characters that superficially could be considered models of feminine obseqiousness etc., and indeed she was known in Japan as the "eternal virgin," but in reality are quite modern and independent.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:10 (9 years ago) Permalink

Also Anisette "Tokyo Story" was inspired in part by an American film that Ozu and his screenwriter Noda saw while prisoners of war, one that was made in the mid-30s by the great Leo McCarey. It's called "Make Way for Tomorrow" and likewise deals with the plight of the elderly, the alternating concern and indifference of their children.... It's even more tragic in its way that "Tokyo Story," and no less moving. Naturally it was a total box office flop in its day and has largely been forgotten. But if you ever have a chance to see it, I'm convinced it's one of the greatest Hollywood films ever made (there is an extraordinary humanity in it, a richness in the portrayals, that makes one understand why Ozu borrowed from it).

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:13 (9 years ago) Permalink

Another similiarity b/t "Tokyo Story" and "Early Summer" is the prescence-through-absence of a boy lost in the war. In the case of the latter film it's not Noriko's husband but her older brother, and he assumes an even greater importance in that film than the dead boy does in "Tokyo Story." It's interesting because as I understand, and as the retired Military Chief blurts out suddenly in "Tokyo Story" (the bar scene), talking about the horrible losses suffered by the Japanese was fairly taboo in those days--so soon after the war, still I believe under American governorship or just coming out of it. The end of "Early Summer," which I won't reveal, is a stunning tribute-by-metaphor to those war dead, whose stories provide a kind of tragic background to the relatively humorous or at least light action in the foreground.... The two lines intersect (almost literally--it's hard to explain) at the end of the film and the effect is overwhelming.

By means of a cagey explanation--again, I won't actually reveal the plot here--in Japan (someone correct me if I've got this somewhat wrong) a shaft of wheat represents a dead person, synbolizing the endless renewal...from death to the bonteous wheat harvest, etc. This is why the Japanese title is important.

At some point the Western distributors of Ozu's films decided to give the late films, similar sounding titles referencing the seasons. In a way this is apt because his late films are, as I mentioned before, like variations or rotations on a theme (Ozu jokingly referred to himself as a "tofu seller"). But on some occasions (also as noted above) the English titles obscure the specificity of meaning in the film (sometimes a very Japanese specifity).

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:19 (9 years ago) Permalink

Sorry for overposting.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:20 (9 years ago) Permalink

don't stop - im enjoying it.

― jed (jed_e_3), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:24 (9 years ago) Permalink

I'm trying to get some friends to see "Early Summer" on Tuesday but I'm afraid they won't come and if they do come I'm afraid they won't understand what I see in it and I'll have to kill myself.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:27 (9 years ago) Permalink

i haven't seen any of them but you're making me want to.

― jed (jed_e_3), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:32 (9 years ago) Permalink

good that's the idea!!

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 14:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

colin - you missed the ozu retro at the gft in august. i went to see 'floating weeds' and 'end of summer', the colours are extraordinary, as-if-hand-painted-onto-the-negative [insert word for opposite of pallor].

― raphael diligent (Cozen), Sunday, 23 November 2003 16:32 (9 years ago) Permalink

Unfortunately the Ozu retro in Paris is not using new prints. I guess french-Fubtitled prints weren't struck during the recent spate of Ozu activity. The print tonight of "An Autumn Afternoon" was in rough shape, as was the print of "Tokyo Story"...probably because they've been screened often, unlike "The End of Summer" which is comparatively obscure.

We'll see what the prints of the silents look like...hopefully they're not the same prints that have been banging around for 20 years.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 18:00 (9 years ago) Permalink

The hand-painted quality you mention--I think this comes from the fact that Ozu is so fond of bright primary colors--wasn't evident in the print tonight, but "The End of Summer" did look that way. I hope their print of "Ohayo" is decent because to me that has the most extraorindary mix of color/mass/shape/line of any Ozu film. It's like a Mondrian painting except much more exciting.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 18:01 (9 years ago) Permalink

I wonder if Ozu's reputation isn't a bit greater in the English-speaking world than in France.... Today's film was nearly sold out, but the other evenings have been sparser than I would have anticipated, and the retro hasn't gotten a great amount of press.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Sunday, 23 November 2003 18:04 (9 years ago) Permalink

what i liked from what i can remember:

i. they felt like i wasn't supposed to be seeing them. like they were a kind of historical archive of japanese (?) relationships and etiquettes of the time acted out rather than written then locked away in a timecapsule (i.e. japan).
ii. they were relentlessly slow.
iii. it ws quite odd seeing the same actors playing similar roles differently, it's a simple thing to say i suppose but it jst fetched up as quite odd.
iv. the colours!
v. the scene near the end of one of them (sorry my memory is really quite sketchy of these films, i'm not too sure i'm tht big a fan of ozu) with the old woman and the old woman picking things from a river, smoke in the background, 'someone must have died', 'but the crows haven't moved' (i may be mis-remembering this).
vi. the cramped architecture.
vii. i didn't notice the music at all, is it really that good?
viii. the colours!

― raphael diligent (Cozen), Sunday, 23 November 2003 19:14 (9 years ago) Permalink

'the old woman and an old man'

― raphael diligent (Cozen), Sunday, 23 November 2003 19:16 (9 years ago) Permalink

i like it when you talk abt how you cry at the cinema amst. i emptied myself of tears like a child at the end of yi-yi and was quite surprised recently when in class i mentioned tht i'd done this some people were quite mock-disparaging. (side question: if it makes you cry is it really good? because ken loach always gets me in quite a severe way but i'm not sure i love his films.)

― raphael diligent (Cozen), Sunday, 23 November 2003 19:20 (9 years ago) Permalink

I don't know if he's any more popular here. I went to see Floating Weeds a month or two ago, and the cinema wasn't very full at all.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 23 November 2003 20:19 (9 years ago) Permalink

the cinema was empty for 'floating weeds' (3pm midweek) but 75% full for 'end of summer' (8pm midweek) which makes me think it ws jst a timing thing.

― raphael diligent (Cozen), Sunday, 23 November 2003 21:01 (9 years ago) Permalink

I saw Floating Weeds in the evening, though, so it wasn't just that - I'm not trying to suggest that Ozu is particularly unpopular here, just that I see no great distinction between his rep and standing here and in France, as far as I am aware.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 23 November 2003 21:24 (9 years ago) Permalink

David, I thought the score for "The End of Summer" was subpar.

I enjoyed the strange jazzy score for "An Autumn Afternoon" which stays at full blast no matter if its a comic or a noncomic scene, and even serves--welcomely-- to confuse the two, such that half the audience will be laughing and half dabbing their eyes at the same time. The score for "Early Summer" just seemed to underline a few too many times emotions that were already made plain through other means, and also tried--unsuccesfully thank god--to smother other, more complex emotions that might emerge unexpectedly as they are wont to do when watching Ozu's films.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 24 November 2003 10:08 (9 years ago) Permalink

The old man at the river in "The End of Summer" is Chishu Ryu, in one of his few non-starring roles in late Ozu films.

You're probably right that Ozu's reputation is no greater in England than here in France. I was just surprised, given Paris's reputation as the Mecca of great cinema, that this series has arrived without much fanfare.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 24 November 2003 10:10 (9 years ago) Permalink

the recent rereleases of late ozu films in england actually got v bad reviews, even though they got pretty good attention compared w/ other recent rereleases (ie pialat's 'van gogh'). as it stands only 'tokyo story' is available on vhs; but there isn't a good enough discourse surrounding him to make him any more popular. reviews tend to centre of his humanity, modesty, etc, which aren't big sellers. i'd love to see writing that comes from a position of knowledge on japan's transition from imperial state to u.s. protectorate for example.

― enrique (Enrique), Monday, 24 November 2003 10:24 (9 years ago) Permalink

but that too would seem to miss much of the point. i mean why would you want to devote yourself to a symptomatic reading of the most deliberate of all filmmakers?

his films sometimes fare ok on video but for the moment i have no interest in video at all.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 24 November 2003 10:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

sadly most ppl depend on video; it's not ideal, but what can you do?

why would you want to devote yourself to a symptomatic reading of the most deliberate of all filmmakers?

might be rewarding. i'm not quite sure what you mean anyway: lang and hitchcock were deliberate filmmakers and ppl still read their times into their work, so why not ozu? he was working through the most momentous 2 decades in japanese history, after all.

― enrique (Enrique), Monday, 24 November 2003 10:45 (9 years ago) Permalink

yes i suppose youre right, and ozu does address himself to these issues time and again. certainly he was a man of the 20th century. i think bordwell's book points to but hardly exhausts some ideas along these lines which could be followed further.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 24 November 2003 11:05 (9 years ago) Permalink

i saw a mahoosive book the other day called 'the imperial screen' abt japanese thirties cinema. i reckon it'd be a pip (urgh can't remember author), but the hitch is -- i've never seen a thirties japanese film. late night tv is begging for content, so why not just put 'em up?

― enrique (Enrique), Monday, 24 November 2003 11:10 (9 years ago) Permalink

Is David Bordwell's bk on Ozu still in print? A gd entry point.

I saw the recent re-release of 'Floating Weeds' - reminded me of John Ford a great deal - the colours, the folksy humour, the conservatism with a small c, etc.

Wasn't the original negative of 'Tokyo Story' destroyed in a fire?

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Monday, 24 November 2003 11:14 (9 years ago) Permalink

Yes so it tends to look worse than the other films of its vintage.

Hmm...Ford and Ozu...

Bordwell's book is in print as far as I know, and there is no better book on Ozu.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 24 November 2003 11:38 (9 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 181 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

I noticed that Dragnet Girl is on Youtube, but all the full-length versions are completely silent, no piano accompaniment or anything. After current work deadlines are passed I'm going to check it out -- somebody recommend me some instrumental music to play along with the film, plz? Watching a couple minutes of it in complete silence was too weird and off-putting.

― I Don't Wanna Be Dissed (By Anyone But You) (WilliamC), Thursday, 28 February 2013 16:38 (2 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Hollywoodlove:

http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/ozus-cinephilia

― Pope Rusty I (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 30 March 2013 04:43 (1 month ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

Going to see a silent gangster feature called 'Walk Cheerfully' next week, with Benshi accompaniment, stoked!

― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:15 (1 month ago) Permalink

still the best director that ever was

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:19 (1 month ago) Permalink

i still have never seen any of this guy's films -- prob the singlest biggest gap in my film-knowledge.

― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:23 (1 month ago) Permalink

dude

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:28 (1 month ago) Permalink

yeah i know!

should i leave work right now and go rent 'tokyo story'?

― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:29 (1 month ago) Permalink

Hmm, whats a good in, other than Tokyo Story? Floating Weeds maybe.

― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:30 (1 month ago) Permalink

"still the best director that ever was"

otm, THOUGH he had the tendency to repeat himself.

― nostormo, Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:30 (1 month ago) Permalink

Late Spring

― nostormo, Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:31 (1 month ago) Permalink

In one of his most famous interview quotes, Ozu likened himself to a maker of tofu: “I just want to make a tray of good tofu. If people want something else, they should go to the restaurants and shops.”

― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:32 (1 month ago) Permalink

now you made me want to drink some Miso soup

― nostormo, Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:34 (1 month ago) Permalink

xpost

Late Spring, a few years earlier than Tokyo Story, would be the one I'd recommend as a starter, fwiw. Floating Weeds is v slightly untypical of 'late' ozu, and not an particular favourite of mine. if you're going for one of the colour movies, I really like the one sometimes known as The End of Summer.

bought a copy of the new bfi gangster film set for £12 in glasgow fopp, gd price:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/blu-rays-dvds/ozu-collection-gangster-films

― Ward Fowler, Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:35 (1 month ago) Permalink

otm, THOUGH he had the tendency to repeat himself.

you don't get it, do you

http://www.troll.me/images/facepalm-picard/son-i-am-disappointed.jpg

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:36 (1 month ago) Permalink

I love all his colour movies tbh

― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:37 (1 month ago) Permalink

Late Spring or Early Summer, J.D.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:37 (1 month ago) Permalink

fortunately we're at the threshold of both.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:38 (1 month ago) Permalink

i got it, and i understand it's part of his ideology/technique, but still

― nostormo, Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:39 (1 month ago) Permalink

I'll grant this: it's hard to tell them apart ('Which has Setsuko Hara smiling like a tetanus patient over the vicissitudes of life"?)

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:41 (1 month ago) Permalink

A friend appeared with a charity shop bought copy of Tokyo Ga for me last week, had never properly seem it before now.

― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:41 (1 month ago) Permalink

just to demonstrate my opinion:

my first Ozu was Tokyo Story, which was a jaw dropping experience, and became one of my favorite films ever.

the second one was Late Spring, which was great, but i think i'd have appreciate it more if i didn't see Tokyo Story before.

― nostormo, Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:43 (1 month ago) Permalink

I swear there's an office set that is exactly the same in Equinox Flower and Late Autumn, had me reaching for the DVD box.

― Late night with Amazing Bo (MaresNest), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:44 (1 month ago) Permalink

I saw late spring recently and loved it. i saw tokyo story a few years ago and found it tiresome, but that may have been because i was young and immature. i'll rewatch it someday.

― you're going home in a crispy ambulance (cajunsunday), Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:48 (1 month ago) Permalink

he never topped Tokyo Story, all the others ive seen looks like reharsal for the big thing (even the one's after Tokyo).

full disclosure: i only saw 4 of his films.

― nostormo, Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:50 (1 month ago) Permalink

i'm sure i've mentioned it before, prob on this thread, but the original negative of tokyo story was destroyed in a fire many years ago and so the subsequent prints have never been as pristine as other ozus of similar vintage - and tokyo story is also one of his longest films. again, the bfi blu-ray of tokyo story has good sleevenotes that go some way to explaining why tokyo story became ozu's most celebrated film, in europe and the US, at least.

― Ward Fowler, Thursday, 18 April 2013 20:54 (1 month ago) Permalink

Watched Tokyo Story first, like everyone else, and watches a lot of others after, but usually spaced pretty far out. I've loved them all, but Late Spring was the definite "masterpiece moment."

― cacao nibs (Eric H.), Thursday, 18 April 2013 21:04 (1 month ago) Permalink

lol
I do that with sun ra lps

― daft on the causes of punk (schlump), Thursday, 18 April 2013 21:13 (1 month ago) Permalink

aside from tokyo story my favorites are late spring, tokyo twilight and equinox flower. really i think they are all great if you dig his style.

something that always bothered me a little about tokyo story: the introduction of the youngest son, late in the movie seems to add nothing to the story and is a little confusing if you haven't been closely following the earlier dialog that mentions him.

― fit and working again, Thursday, 18 April 2013 22:45 (1 month ago) Permalink

Chishu Ryu's cameo at the end of The End of Summer <3<3<3

― bentelec, Thursday, 18 April 2013 23:41 (1 month ago) Permalink

I watched The End of Summer earlier this week and thought it was a bit weak tbh. But nothing really could compare to the other postwar films of his I've seen. (I went Late Spring > Tokyo Story > An Autumn Afternoon > Floating Weeds) Late Spring would be a great starting point, imo.

I liked both the early silents I've seen -- I Was Born, But... and That Night's Wife.

By my quick count, Hulu has 28 Ozus under the Criterion banner.

― Thirty-Six Views of ILX, by Mari3sa (WilliamC), Thursday, 18 April 2013 23:45 (1 month ago) Permalink

Equinox Flower is terrific, yeah. Late Autumn is a variant on Late Spring: the mom replaces the dad.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 18 April 2013 23:45 (1 month ago) Permalink

Donald Richie's commentary tracks are exemplary.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 18 April 2013 23:46 (1 month ago) Permalink

Rewatched High and Low recently after a few late Ozus and realized I was inadvertently having a Masahiko Shimazu festival (the super deadpan child actor).

― bentelec, Thursday, 18 April 2013 23:52 (1 month ago) Permalink

Walk Cheerfully + Benshi was ace, good to know that even his Gangster movies are totally glacial.

― ヘイシグ・ブローズ (MaresNest), Monday, 22 April 2013 21:12 (1 month ago) Permalink

you were there too? I was super blown over by the effort they'd gone to - the music was fantastically well-planned, the benshi super funny and on-point, and all just for a members-only screening.

i think my favourite thing about the film was the excellent number of shots of hats.

― snapchats and tattoos (c sharp major), Tuesday, 23 April 2013 07:14 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

I was! I feel lucky, a mate of mine is in a band with Tomoko and is a member so he had a jump on tickets. The musicians were great I agree, the shakuhachi player is the venerable Clive Bell who writes for The Wire.

I didn't expect the jaunty little 'hail and well met' dance routines in this film, I'd assumed wrongly that it was a student thing, I wonder if Japanese dudes actually *did* that in the 20's?

― ヘイシグ・ブローズ (MaresNest), Tuesday, 23 April 2013 07:46 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

hah, I reckon not any more than dudes in the US in the 30s spontaneously broke into song whenever they had an emotion.

― snapchats and tattoos (c sharp major), Tuesday, 23 April 2013 08:17 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

Good point, I guess I'm just not used to having to suspend my disbelief with Ozu.

― ヘイシグ・ブローズ (MaresNest), Tuesday, 23 April 2013 12:06 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

big retro in NYC, June 7-27

― Pope Rusty I (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 23 April 2013 12:33 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

To this day the only one I've seen is Good Morning but my god what a delightful film!

― hoda nkotb (Stevie D(eux)), Wednesday, 24 April 2013 13:15 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

that one might be my favorite

it's the only ozu film with a shart joke that's for sure

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 24 April 2013 14:48 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

"I wonder if Japanese dudes actually *did* that in the 20's?"

probably not, but the correct question is, "wouldn't it have been delightful if they did?"

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 24 April 2013 14:49 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

it's the only ozu film with a shart joke that's for sure

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, April 24, 2013 9:48 AM (54 seconds ago)

if my japanese instructor is any indication, older japanese people think farts are the funniest thing in the world.

― love's secret borad (clouds), Wednesday, 24 April 2013 14:50 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

not just a shart joke btw but REOCCURING shart joke

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 24 April 2013 15:22 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

I just watched early summer. lovely stuff.

― you're going home in a crispy ambulance (cajunsunday), Wednesday, 24 April 2013 21:29 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

not just a shart joke btw but REOCCURING shart joke

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, April 24, 2013 11:22 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark

looks like i've been giving Ozu the short shrift all this time

― turds (Hungry4Ass), Wednesday, 24 April 2013 21:30 (4 weeks ago) Permalink

I think you mean "the shart shrift."

― cacao nibs (Eric H.), Tuesday, 30 April 2013 17:34 (3 weeks ago) Permalink

l'esprit de l'escalier strikes again!

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 1 May 2013 08:48 (3 weeks ago) Permalink

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/video/video-yasujiro-ozu-art-benshi

― MaresNest, Thursday, 9 May 2013 08:54 (1 week ago) Permalink

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