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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Filmography

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I Flunked, But...

I Flunked, But... · 1930

I Flunked, But...

After the plans of a group of college students to cheat on their final exams goes awry, they're left to reassess their lives and educations and get back on track.

Director

The Moon Has Risen

The Moon Has Risen · 1955

The Moon Has Risen

MovieDramaRomance

Mokichi Asai is a widowed father living in Nara with three daughters—Chizuru, Ayako, and Setsuko. The youngest, Setsuko, plays matchmaker for her older sisters, leading to humorous and awkward romantic entanglements.

Screenplay

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family · 1941

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family

After the death of her husband, an elderly woman and her youngest, unmarried daughter are forced to sell their house to cover his debts and decide to move in with one of the former's children, each of whom is scarcely happy to accommodate.

Director

Dragnet Girl

Dragnet Girl · 1933

MovieRomanceDrama

A gangster tries to find redemption with the inadvertent help of an innocent shop girl and his jealous girlfriend will do anything to keep him.

Director

A Mother Should Be Loved

A Mother Should Be Loved · 1934

A Mother Should Be Loved

A young man discovers that the woman who raised him is his stepmother. His stepbrother, who is unaware of the revelation, resents his mother for always punishing him more severely than his stepsibling.

Director

Woman of Tokyo

Woman of Tokyo · 1933

Ryoichi and Chikako, brother and sister, live together. Chikako toils during the day and, at night, prostitutes herself to fund his college tuition.

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