Sooner or later, everyone who loves movies comes to ozu. A new doublefeature dvd set showcases one such instance, by pairing the 1934 silent a story of floating weeds with its 1959 remake, floating weeds. A story of floating weeds reveals ozu in the midst of developing his mode of expression. Floating weeds, ukikusa is a 1959 japanese drama film directed by yasujiro ozu. If the floating weeds you are trying to get rid of have roots attached to the bottom such as water lilies or watershield, then they are actually emergent weeds. A story of floating weeds ozu, 1934 a traveling kabuki troupe on the verge of packing it in passes through a town where the troupes leader had a love affair many years before.
Premiering in a glorious new 4k digital restoration, floating weeds is, in scholar donald richies estimation, the most pictorially beautiful of all of ozus pictures. A thirdrate kabuki acting troupe arrives via ferry at a seaside town in japan. Though troupe leader kihachi takeshi sakamoto has no home to speak of, it is nonetheless a homecoming of sorts. Le film floating weeds 1959 vostfr admin 20170626t18. Yasujiro ozus 1959 film floating weeds, which i discuss in this clip, is a drama about the romantic entanglements of members of an itinerant theatrical troupe with residents of a small. The head of a japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where.
Most notably, the 1934 film is silent, as ozu hadnt switched over to sound yet. For me, floating weeds 1959 is like a familiar piece of music that i can turn to for reassurance and consolation. Floating weeds 1959 watch on the criterion channel, kanopy. The film was a remake of his 1934 silent film the story of floating weeds. Both of these types of plants can be effectively controlled with the use of fluridone. A story of floating weeds 1934 the criterion collection. Rereleased to celebrate the centenary of yasujiro ozus birth, floating weeds ukigusa was one of the japanese directors final films.
From 1923 until his death, yasujiro ozu 19031963 made more than 50 movies. For me, floating weeds 1959 is like a familiar piece of music that i can. The reunion between the actor and his former lover and their illegitimate teenaged son who believes his father to be an uncle raises the ire of the. Floating weeds is a 1959 film directed by yasujiro ozu. Ozu occasionally repeated himself in the stricter sense, as well.
Setting his later version in a seaside location, ozu otherwise preserves the details of his elegantly simple plot wherein an aging actor returns to a small town with his troupe and reunites with his former lover and illegitimate son, a. Together, the films offer a unique glimpse into the evolution of one of cinemas greatest directors. The troupe is not doing very well, being reduced to playing dinky villages, and its future is in question. The two most common types of floating weeds are duckweed and watermeal. Guide, download movies, tv shows, free videos, watch. Equinox flower 1958 and good morning 1959, both photographed by his regular collaborator yuharu. The earlier film has the silent intertitles with subtitles, yet somehow, it is so well acted that one can almost hear the characters voices. Yasujiro ozu films on bluray, dvd, and streaming the criterion. A late work from japanese auteur yasujiro ozu, and a master class in his particular sense of composition. It is a remake of ozus own blackandwhite silent film a story of floating weeds 1934. Floating weeds reveals his distinct style at its pinnacle.
These and other comparisons abound in the study of original and remake. The film opens on a lazy, stagnant river as the troupe lays spread about on a boat deck drifting downstream. Discuss dvds and blurays released by criterion and the films on them. The film takes place during a hot summer in 1958 at a seaside town on the inland sea.
A story of floating weeds reveals ozu in the midst of. What do you think of when you think of cinematography. In each, the director captures the joy and sadness in everyday life. Stories of floating weeds a story of floating weeds 1934. Ozus career was so long that in one case, he made the same movie twice. If the camera barely moves in floating weeds, its for good reason all the beauty and drama you need is right there in the frame the movie is set in a small fishing village where an itinerant theater troupe has come to perform. An alternate audio track contains a commentary by japanese film historian donald richie. This remake of story of floating weeds, a movie ozu made in the 30s, is unusual for being one of the masters few films in colour, and in having a relatively. Stories of floating weeds a story of floating weeds floating. This 1959 ozu production centers on the likable but fallible leader of an itinerant acting troupe floating weeds being the japanese name for such groups, kimajuro, played brilliantly by ganjiro nakamura.
Winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Director yasujiro ozu script by based on the 1934 ikeda script yasujiro ozu and kogo noda cinematography kazuo miyagawa art direction by tomoo shimogawara lighting by sachio ito music by kojun. See more ideas about yasujiro ozu, japanese film and film stills. Komajuro arashi, the aging master of the troupe, goes to visit his old flame oyoshi and their son kiyoshi, even though kiyoshi believes komajuro is his uncle. A story of floating weeds white city cinema a film. Cinematographer kazuo miyagawas work includes akira kurosawas rashomon, yojimbo, and kenji mizoguchis ugetsu monogatari to name but a few of his best works. Like the majority of director yasujiro ozus work, floating weeds is concerned with family relationships and interactions between different generations. Please activate cookies in order to turn autoplay off.
Floating weeds 1959 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Theatrical performances and gestures were predominant during the. Quiet cinematography floating weeds 1959 from the royal ocean film society plus. Floating weeds featuring ganjiro nakamura and machiko kyo is streaming with. However, ozus most direct remake of his own work is 1959s floating weeds, based on 1934s a story of floating weeds. Japanese film scholar donald richies comments on a story of floating weeds is passable, but nothing spectacular. It also shares the directors amazingly serene yet appealing visual style, created through the use of the simplest means possible. Floating weeds ukigusa, 1959, a contemplative tale about a traveling kabuki troupe on its last legs, is arguably yasujiro ozus most beautiful color film thanks to the great japanese cinematographer kazuo miyagawa and ozus meticulous visual design. Film number two of the evening, truly a stroke of programming genius, was ozus virtually unknown 1959 masterpiece floating weeds ukigusa. A story of floating weeds floating weeds criterion. Also in color this is one of ozus most powerful films, yet, for some strange reason it has never been shown in this country outside of museums or obscure college series screenings.
Life, which seems complex, suddenly reveals itself as very simple and i. Floating weeds ukigusa directed by yasujiro ozu 1959 color 119 min one of the best parts of this film is the terrific cinematography, which should come as no surprise. There arent necessarily wrong answers, but when we talk about good cinematography, i dont think were always talking about good cinematography. Much had changed for ozu in the intervening 25 years. Not rated 1h 59min drama 24 november 1970 usa floating weeds poster.
Floating weeds is a 1959 japanese drama film directed by yasujiro ozu, starring ganjiro nakamura and machiko kyo. Although his 1953 film, tokyo story, is generally considered his greatest film and one of the great films of all time, floating weeds is another of ozus brilliant, rhapsodic, and emotionally powerful statements of fallible people trying to understand the choices they make in this world and how those choices ripple across the waters of family and. Its a drama and independent movie with a high imdb audience rating of 8. A troupe of travelling players arrive at a small seaport in the south of japan. It is so atmosphericso evocative of a quiet fishing village during a hot and muggy summerthat it envelops me. Rodney dangerfield at his best on the tonight show starring johnny carson 1983 duration. Floating weeds 1959 ukikusa original title not rated 1h 59min drama 24 november 1970 usa the head of a japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where he left a son who thinks he is his uncle, and tries to make up for the lost time, but his current mistress grows jealous. The japanese film, which some called complicit in the terrible pacific war with a cycle of national policy films, had in the postwar years become perhaps the greatest humanist cinema of the 20th century.
Telling the same story from opposite ends of ozus career, the two movies illustrate how he refined his style through the years. A story of floating weeds was released on region 1 dvd on the criterion collection on april 20, 2004 as a twodisc set with floating weeds. These both require one to synchronize oneself to a. Stories of floating weeds a story of floating weeds.
Ozus darkest film and like early spring perhaps his second darkest post40s film very much. In 1959, yasujiro ozu remade his 1934 silent classic a story of floating weeds in color with the celebrated cinematographer kazuo miyagawa rashomon, ugetsu. His movies were very personal intimate affairs, often dealing with the dynamics of the relationships between family members. Miyagawas stunning use of color and clever montage. A story of floating weeds 1934 one of yasujiro ozus final silent films, a story of floating weeds 1934 opens with the arrival of an itinerate theatrical troupe to a small mountain village. Floating weeds boasts the visual beauty and deep tenderness of director yasujiro ozus most memorable films and its one of the few the master shot. Criterion has released a twodisc set containing a pair of ozus movies.
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