Yasujiro Ozu ranks, along with Kurosawa, as one of Japan's greatest film directors. His towering masterpiece, TOKYO STORY, is considered by many to be one of the greatest motion pictures ever made. The film was released in 1953, over two decades after Ozu's directorial debut. TOKYO STORY therefore, represents a watershed moment in the auteur's illustrious career: the beginning of his late period, when Yasujiro, the accomplished innovator, grew into the height of his powers and earned a reputation for truly masterful filmmaking.
This collection offers all the gems from this truly epic portion of Mr. Ozu's oeuvre. From 1956 to 1961 Ozu produced five seminal pieces. Each deals with all the subtleties of family drama. These are films wrought in the shadow of WWII. They are dark, contemplative pieces, but they also hold out a hope for the future, for the younger generation rising to take the reins.
EARLY SPRING follows a Gregor Samsa type figure who turns toward a coquettish colleague for comfort. TOKYO TWILIGHT juxtaposes two sisters mired in a host of familial headaches. EQUINOX FLOWER, Ozu's first foray into color, captures the tensions that can arise between an old fashioned father and his more progressive offspring. In LATE AUTUMN, Setsuko Hara, delivers a typically brilliant performance as a mother coaxing her daughter into matrimony. THE END OF SUMMER chronicles the mayhem that ensues when a somewhat immature family man rekindles an old extramarital flame.
Each film stands on its own as an iteration of Ozu's singular genius. But it is the collection as a whole, the reiteration of genius, that gives audiences a sense of Ozu the auteur: Ozu the artist with a body of work united in both form and content.
"From the opening seconds Ozu fans find themselves at home..."
- John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
"watching them side by side brings about a more complete understanding and appreciation of the master's work, not to mention the sublime peace and happiness that comes from the work itself."
