This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963), one of Japan's finest and most influential film directors. Shochiku Co. Ltd., the company with whom he was affiliated, is honoring the centenary by holding showings of all 38 of the extant films at 16 theaters throughout Japan, and an opening retrospective at the National Film Center from Nov. 18 through Jan. 25.
In addition Shochiku has created a traveling exhibition of these films, all with English subtitles, which opened at the Berlin Film Festival, went on to the Hongkong Film Festival, and has just completed its showing at the New York Film Festival. From now on these prints may be seen at major festivals, museums and cinematheques throughout the world.
And now, here in Japan, Shochiku has just released the first DVDs of a series which will include all 38 films. This initial collection contains "Tokyo Story" ("Tokyo Monogatari," 1953), "Equinox Flower" ("Higanbana," 1958), "Good Morning" ("Ohayo," 1959), "Late Autumn" ("Akibiyori," 1960), and Ozu's final film, "An Autumn Afternoon" ("Sama no Aji," 1962). Further collections will contain the remaining pictures.
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