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Yasujirō Ozu

Along with Kurosawa, the director Yasujirō Ozu is a true master of Japanese cinema whose work has its place among the all-time greats. 

Ozu was, he insisted, just a maker of tofu. This is not true. His films have fire and flavour, style and truth, as proven here…

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Early SpringEarly Spring

Drama1956145 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Shoji (Ryu Ikebe) and his wife Masako (Chikage Awashima), struggle with a family tragedy. When Shoji's interest turns to the office flirt, the couple's fragile peace is threatened.

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Good MorningGood Morning

Comedy195994 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu's cheerful comedy about the silliness of everyday chatter.

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Late SpringLate Spring

Drama1949108 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu's influential masterpiece is a tender meditation on family politics, sacrifice and the status quo.

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Tokyo StoryTokyo Story

Drama1953136 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

A constant fixture in critics' polls, Yasujirō Ozu's most enduring masterpiece is a beautifully nuanced exploration of filial duty, expectation and regret.

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Late AutumnLate Autumn

Drama1960128 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Comedy turns to pathos in Yasujiro Ozu's tale of a group of businessmen who conspire to match-make for a widow and her daughter.

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Equinox FlowerEquinox Flower

Comedy1958118 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Ozu's deft comedy takes an ironic look at the decline of paternal authority.

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An Autumn AfternoonAn Autumn Afternoon

Drama1962113 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu's elegiac final film charts the inevitable eclipse of older generations by irreverent youth.

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Early SummerEarly Summer

Drama1951125 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Ozu's wonderfully poised ensemble work presents the intricacies and contradictions of three generations who have lived through the end of an era and are looking towards the new.

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Dragnet GirlDragnet Girl

Crime1933100 minsSilentDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

A seemingly ordinary typist moonlights as a fun-loving gangster's moll in one of Ozu's most enduring silent films.

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Woman of TokyoWoman of Tokyo

Melodrama193345 minsSilentDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Chikako (Yoshiko Okada) works hard to pay her brothers Ryoichi’s (Ureo Egawa) college fees, but disaster looms when he learns the true nature of her work.

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Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth?Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth?

Comedy193286 minsSilentDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Ozu’s long-term collaborator Kogo Noda scripts a subtle shift from light to dark as Hirano’s carefree college life is marred by tragedy.

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I Was Born, But...I Was Born, But...

Comedy193287 minsSilentDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Ozu's silent masterpiece follows two brothers as they try to outwit the local bully.

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A Hen in the WindA Hen in the Wind

Drama194884 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

In a Japan recently devastated by World War II a devoted, near-destitute mother turns to prostitution to pay medical bills when her son falls dangerously ill.

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I Flunked, But…I Flunked, But…

Comedy193064 minsSilentDirector: Yasujirō Ozu

Takahashi finds a creative way to avoid doing his revision in Ozu's roguish comedy, reminiscent of Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman.

More Japanese films on our Japan 2020 landing page