Directing

Yasujirō Ozu

Born December 11, 1903 · Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan

Died December 12, 1963 · aged 60

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are prominent themes in Ozu's work. His most lauded films include Late Spring (1949), Tokyo Story (1953), Floating Wee…

Known For

Wings of Desire

Wings of Desire · 1987

Wings of Desire

MovieDramaFantasy

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.

Tokyo Story

Tokyo Story · 1953

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

Late Spring

Late Spring · 1949

Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.

An Autumn Afternoon

An Autumn Afternoon · 1962

An Autumn Afternoon

Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.

Good Morning

Good Morning · 1959

MovieComedyFamily

Two boys beg their parents for a television set, nagging them until all patience is lost. The parents order the boys to be quiet and the boys do exactly that--refusing to utter a word. The boys' silence ultimately puts the whole neighborhood into turmoil.

Early Spring

Early Spring · 1956

MovieDramaRomance

A young salaryman and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he embarks on an extramarital affair.

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice · 1952

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice

The arranged marriage between a capricious woman from Tokyo high society and a quiet rustic man is tested by a marital crisis.

Late Autumn

Late Autumn · 1960

MovieDramaComedy

A woman and her daughter are each forced to contend with an increasing pressure to marry, particularly from three men who knew her late husband.

Filmography

Sort

Wings of Desire

Wings of Desire · 1987

Wings of Desire

MovieDramaFantasy

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.

In Memory Of

Tokyo Story

Tokyo Story · 1953

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

Director

Late Spring

Late Spring · 1949

Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.

Director

An Autumn Afternoon

An Autumn Afternoon · 1962

An Autumn Afternoon

Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.

Screenplay

Good Morning

Good Morning · 1959

MovieComedyFamily

Two boys beg their parents for a television set, nagging them until all patience is lost. The parents order the boys to be quiet and the boys do exactly that--refusing to utter a word. The boys' silence ultimately puts the whole neighborhood into turmoil.

Director

Early Spring

Early Spring · 1956

MovieDramaRomance

A young salaryman and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he embarks on an extramarital affair.

Director

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice · 1952

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice

The arranged marriage between a capricious woman from Tokyo high society and a quiet rustic man is tested by a marital crisis.

Director

Late Autumn

Late Autumn · 1960

MovieDramaComedy

A woman and her daughter are each forced to contend with an increasing pressure to marry, particularly from three men who knew her late husband.

Screenplay

Tokyo Twilight

Tokyo Twilight · 1957

Two sisters learn about the existence of their long-lost biological mother, but the younger is unable to accept the fact that she was abandoned as a child.

Director

Floating Weeds

Floating Weeds · 1959

A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

Screenplay

The Only Son

The Only Son · 1936

A rural widow sends her only son to Tokyo to receive a better education. Years later, she visits him and finds he has become a night school teacher struggling to support his wife and son.

Director

There Was a Father

There Was a Father · 1942

There Was a Father

Shuhei Horikawa, a poor schoolteacher, struggles to raise his son Ryohei by himself, despite neither money nor prospects.

Director

The End of Summer

The End of Summer · 1961

The End of Summer

The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.

Screenplay

Equinox Flower

Equinox Flower · 1958

MovieComedyDrama

Wataru's outwardly liberal views on marriage are severely tested when his daughter declares her love for a coworker and is adamant to live her own way, instead of agreeing to an arranged marriage. Outwitted by his female relatives, Hirayama stubbornly refuses to admit defeat.

Director

Early Summer

Early Summer · 1951

In postwar Tokyo, Noriko lives with her extended family. Although she enjoys her career and her social life, her more traditional family worries about her single marital status at the advanced age of 28. 40-year-old business associate Takako proposes, Noriko's family press her into accepting, but when her widowed childhood friend Kenkichi returns to the neighborhood, she finds her heart leading in another direction.

Director

I Was Born, But...

I Was Born, But... · 1932

I Was Born, But...

MovieComedyDrama

Brothers Keiji and Ryoichi move to a new neighborhood in the Tokyo suburbs after their father, an office clerk, is promoted. The boys join the local gang as lowly new kids and emerge as natural leaders after defeating a bully. While visiting the home of their father's boss, the brothers witness the ridicule their father endures to please his superior. Angry and embarrassed, the boys find their naive ideas about power being challenged.

Idea

A Hen in the Wind

A Hen in the Wind · 1948

A Hen in the Wind

Tokiko patiently awaits her husband's return from WWII when her four-year old son falls ill. She takes him to the doctor but has no means of paying, so she resorts to prostitution. A month later, her husband returns to find his desperate wife, who tells him the truth. Together, they must deal with the consequences.

Director

A Story of Floating Weeds

A Story of Floating Weeds · 1934

A Story of Floating Weeds

An aging actor returns to a small town with his troupe and reunites with his former lover and illegitimate son, a scenario that enrages his current mistress and results in heartbreak for all.

Director

Dreams of Youth

Dreams of Youth · 1928

Dreams of Youth

Lost silent film

Director

The Luck Which Touched the Leg

The Luck Which Touched the Leg · 1930

The Luck Which Touched the Leg

A salaryman finds some money in the street and gets a reward for returning it to its rightful owner. However his colleagues immediately start borrowing money and selling him things he doesn't need, much to his wife's annoyance. Considered to be a lost film.

Director

Record of a Tenement Gentleman

Record of a Tenement Gentleman · 1947

Record of a Tenement Gentleman

MovieDramaComedy

A hard-hearted old woman in a bombed-out Tokyo neighborhood reluctantly takes in an abandoned boy, leading to a heartwarming bond between them.

Director

Sword of Penitence

Sword of Penitence · 1927

Sword of Penitence

Two criminal brothers try to go straight but face opposition from one of their criminal cohorts. Considered to be a lost film.

Director

The Munekata Sisters

The Munekata Sisters · 1950

The Munekata Sisters

Setsuko is in an unhappy marriage to Mimura, an unemployed, alcoholic engineer. She had always been in love with Hiroshi but both failed to propose when Hiroshi left for France a few years ago. But now he's back and Mariko tries to reunite them, although she too is secretly in love with Hiroshi.

Director

What Did the Lady Forget?

What Did the Lady Forget? · 1937

What Did the Lady Forget?

MovieDramaComedy

A professor, Komiya, and his bossy wife, Tokiko, are to look after Setsuko, their high-spirited niece from Osaka. Despite being a minor, Setsuko is a liberated woman who does whatever she wants, including smoking. She even convinces Koyima to take her to a geisha house. When she gets rather tipsy, the professor calls Okada, one of his students, to take her home. The wife becomes suspicious of Setsuko when she sees Okada bringing her home.

Director

Ozu

Commemorating the 120th anniversary of Ozu Yasujiro's birth, six up-and-coming filmmakers remade six of his early silent films as a contemporary mini-series.

Original Story