Synopsis
The Mamiya family is seeking a husband for their daughter, Noriko, but she has ideas of her own. Played by the extraordinary Setsuko Hara, Noriko impulsively chooses her childhood friend, at once fulfilling her family’s desires while tearing them apart. A seemingly simple story, Early Summer is one of Yasujiro Ozu’s most complex works—a nuanced examination of life’s changes across three generations. The Criterion Collection is proud to present one of the director’s most enduring classics.
Cast
| Noriko Mamiya | Setsuko Hara |
| Koichi Mamiya | Chishu Ryu |
| Aya Tamura | Chikage Awashima |
| Fumiko Mamiya | Kuniko Miyake |
| Shukichi Mamiya | Ichiro Sagai |
| Shige Mamiya | Chieko Higashiyama |
| Tami Yabe | Haruko Sugimura |
| Kenkichi Yabe | Hiroshi Nihonyanagi |
| Takako | Kuniko Igawa |
| Nishiwaki | Seiji Miyaguchi |
| Sotaro Satake | Shuji Sano |
| Minoru Mamiya | Zen Murase |
| Isamu Mamiya | Isao Shirosawa |
| Mitsuko Yabe | Kazuyo Ito |
| Tomiko Nishiwaki | Tami Yamamoto |
Credits
| Director | Yasujiro Ozu |
| Writers | Kogo Noda and Yasujiro Ozu |
| Producer | Takeshi Yamamoto |
| Cinematography | Yuharu Atsuta |
| Editing | Yoshiyasu Hamamura |
| Art director | Tatsuo Hamada |
| Lighting | Itsuo Takashita |
| Music | Senji Ito |
| Assistant director | Shohei Imamura |
| Recording | Yoshisaburo Seno |
Disc Features
- New high-definition digital transfer, with restored image and sound
- Audio commentary by Japanese-film expert Donald Richie, author of Ozu and A Hundred Years of Japanese Film
- Ozu’s Films from Behind-the-Scenes, a conversation about Ozu and his working methods between child-actor and sound technician Kojiro Suematsu, assistant cameraman Takashi Kawamata, and Ozu producer Shizuo Yamanouchi
- Original theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
- Plus: a new essay by film scholar David Bordwell, author of Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema, and an essay about Ozu by filmmaker Jim Jarmusch
From the Current
Early Summer
by Jul 19, 2004Today, ambitious directors experiment with the ensemble plot. More and more they shift away from a single protagonist and toward a group of characters connected by kinship, friendship, or some striking event. The structure isn’t unknown in studio-era Hollywood (Grand Hotel, 1932; . . .
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