The Ozu thread.

I don't know where to stick this: Donald Richie dead

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/world/asia/donald-richie-american-expert-on-japan-is-dead-at-88.html?_r=0

Oh no

pretty much the inspiration for me to learn japanese - rip

ah fuck

i found a copy of his japanese cinema monograph in the recesses the school library when i was in the lower sixth and i think i read it twice, along with a copy of junichiro tanizaki's 'diary of a mad old man' (strange purchases for a school library and remaindered after precisely 0 other people read them)

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.

Hollywoodlove:

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

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

still the best director that ever was

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

!!

dude

yeah i know!

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

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

"still the best director that ever was"

otm, THOUGH he had the tendency to repeat himself.

Late Spring

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.”

now you made me want to drink some Miso soup

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

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

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

I love all his colour movies tbh

Late Spring or Early Summer, J.D.

fortunately we're at the threshold of both.

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

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"?)

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

lol
I do that with sun ra lps

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.

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

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.

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

Donald Richie's commentary tracks are exemplary.

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).

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

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.

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?

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

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

big retro in NYC, June 7-27

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

that one might be my favorite

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

"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?"

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.

not just a shart joke btw but REOCCURING shart joke