Sight & Sound Poll 2012: Late Spring
October 10, 2012
Film Info
- Japan
- 1949
- 108 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.33:1
- Japanese
- Spine #331
One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu’s family portraits, Late Spring (Banshun) tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter. Eminent Ozu players Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara command this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan, which remains as potent today as ever—and a strong justification for its maker’s inclusion in the pantheon of cinema’s greatest directors.
Cast
| Shukichi Somiya | Chishu Ryu |
| Noriko Somiya | Setsuko Hara |
| Aya Kitagawa | Yumeji Tsukioka |
| Masa Taguchi | Haruko Sugimura |
| Katsuyoshi Taguchi | Hohi Aoki |
| Shoichi Hattori | Jun Usami |
| Akiko Miwa | Kuniko Miyake |
| Jo Onodera | Masao Mishima |
| Kiku | Yoshiko Tsubouchi |
| Misako | Yoko Katsuragi |
| Shige | Toyoko Takahashi |
| Bar owner of Takigawa | Ichiro Shimizu |
| Seizo Hayashi | Jun Tanizaki |
| Teacher at tea ceremony | Yoko Benisawa |
Credits
| Director | Yasujiro Ozu |
| Script | Kogo Noda and Yasujiro Ozu |
| Based on the novel by | Kazuo Hirotsu |
| Cinematography | Yuharu Atsuta |
| Producer | Takeshi Yamamoto |
| Art director | Tatsuo Hamada |
| Lighting | Haruo Isono |
| Editing | Yoshiyasu Hamamura |
| Music | Senji Ito |
Disc Features
- High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Audio commentary by Richard Peña, program director of New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center
- Tokyo-ga (1985), filmmaker Wim Wenders’s ninety-two-minute documentary about director Yasujiro Ozu
- PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critic Michael Atkinson and Japanese-film historian Donald Richie, as well as Ozu’s thoughts on screenwriter Kogo Noda
Current Posts
Video
Film Essays
Late Spring: Home with Ozu
By April 17, 2012
Maybe it is something to do with the sensual seductiveness of cinema: as new-millennium . . . Read more »
Video
Video
Film Essays
Ozu and Setsuko Hara
By April 17, 2011
The actress Setsuko Hara is now so coupled with her roles in the films of Yasujiro Ozu that . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Late Spring: Home with Ozu
By April 17, 2012
Maybe it is something to do with the sensual seductiveness of cinema: as new-millennium . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Ozu and Setsuko Hara
By April 17, 2011
The actress Setsuko Hara is now so coupled with her roles in the films of Yasujiro Ozu that . . . Read more »
Video
Film Essays
Late Spring: Home with Ozu
By April 17, 2012
Maybe it is something to do with the sensual seductiveness of cinema: as new-millennium . . . Read more »
Video
Video
Film Essays
Ozu and Setsuko Hara
By April 17, 2011
The actress Setsuko Hara is now so coupled with her roles in the films of Yasujiro Ozu that . . . Read more »
