Ozu's Tokyo Story

by Edited by David Desser

• ISBN13: 9780521484350
• ISBN10: 0521484359
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-04-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Ozu's Tokyo Story is generally regarded as one of the finest films ever made. Universal in its appeal, it is also considered to be 'particularly Japanese'. Exploring its universality and cultural specificity, this collection of specially commissioned essays demonstrates the multiple planes on which the film may be appreciated. The introduction outlines Ozu's career as both a contract director of a major studio and as a singular figure in Japanese film history, and also analyses the director's cinematic style, particularly his narrative strategies and spatial compositions. Other essays situate Ozu's cinema in its relationship to Hollywood film-making: his relationship to aspects of Japanese tradition, situating the film within artistic modes, religious systems and beliefs, and socio-cultural and familial formations. Also included is an analysis of how Ozu has been misunderstood in Western criticism.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	vii
Introduction: A Filmmaker for All Seasons	1	(24)
David Desser
Ozu's Tokyo Story and the ``Recasting'' of McCarey's Make Way for Tomorrow	25	(28)
Arthur Nolletti Jr.
Travel Toward and Away: Furusato and Journey in Tokyo Story	53	(23)
Linda C. Ehrlich
Ozu's Mother	76	(25)
Darrell William Davis
Buddhism in Tokyo Story	101	(17)
Kathe Geist
Sunny Skies	118	(13)
Hasumi Shigehiko
Filmography	131	(14)
Reviews of ``Tokyo Story''	145	(24)
Select Bibliography	169	(2)
Index	171