Sight & Sound Poll 2012: Tokyo Story
August 08, 2012
Film Info
- Japan
- 1953
- 136 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.33:1
- Japanese
- Spine #217
Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari) follows an aging couple, Tomi and Sukichi, on their journey from their rural village to visit their two married children in bustling, postwar Tokyo. Their reception is disappointing: too busy to entertain them, their children send them off to a health spa. After Tomi falls ill she and Sukichi return home, while the children, grief-stricken, hasten to be with her. From a simple tale unfolds one of the greatest of all Japanese films. Starring Ozu regulars Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara, the film reprises one of the director’s favorite themes—that of generational conflict—in a way that is quintessentially Japanese and yet so universal in its appeal that it continues to resonate as one of cinema’s greatest masterpieces.
Cast
| Shukichi | Chishu Ryu |
| Tomi | Chieko Higashiyama |
| Noriko | Setsuko Hara |
| Koichi | So Yamamura |
| Kyoko | Kyoko Kagawa |
| Shige | Haruko Sugimura |
| Kurazo | Nobuo Nakamura |
| Ayako | Kuniko Miyake |
Credits
| Director | Yasujiro Ozu |
| Screenplay | Kogo Noda and Yasujiro Ozu |
| Cinematography | Yuharu Atsuta |
| Producer | Takeshi Yamamoto |
| Art direction | Tatsuo Hamada |
| Lighting | Itsuo Takashita |
| Editing | Yoshiyasu Hamamura |
| Music | Kojun Saito |
Disc Features
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:
- Newly restored high-definition digital transfer
- Audio commentary by Ozu-film scholar David Desser, editor of Ozu’s Tokyo Story, a compilation of writings and reviews about the film
- I Lived, But . . . (1983) a two-hour documentary about the life and career of Ozu, featuring former assistant Shohei Imamura, critics Donald Richie and Tadao Sato, actors Chishu Ryu, Mariko Okada, Haruko Sugimura, and many more
- Talking with Ozu: a 40-minute tribute to Yasujiro Ozu featuring reflections from directors Stanley Kwan, Aki Kaurismaki, Claire Denis, Lindsay Anderson, Paul Schrader, Wim Wenders, and Hou Hsiao-hsien
- Original theatrical trailer
- New essay by David Bordwell, author of Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
New cover by Alexander Ku
Current Posts
Video
Film Essays
Tokyo Story
By October 27, 2003
When Tokyo Story was released in late 1953, Western audiences were just being exposed to . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Tokyo Story
By October 27, 2003
When Tokyo Story was released in late 1953, Western audiences were just being exposed to . . . Read more »
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December 18, 2008
Check out Chris Ware’s lovely tribute to Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story on the cover of the . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Tokyo Story
By October 27, 2003
When Tokyo Story was released in late 1953, Western audiences were just being exposed to . . . Read more »
