What so you make of Yasujiro Ozu's films and what have you seen?
I just watched An Autumn Afternoon (1962) and found it to be a film that was mundane, although insightful and relevant in content - not something I would normally be drawn to, however in style it really stood out.
I believe, An Autumn Afternoon is the only film of his I've seen, but am interested in seeing more. The film had a very calming effect with characters speaking largely in proper and level tones and pitches without a lot of emotional exuberance or grandstanding or long winded speeches. It was a very pleasant and relaxing film experience.
Also much has been said about Ozu breaking the 180 degree rule and also keeping his camera at a knee or waist level, but a couple things I also picked up on that I didn't read about is how static his camera is. I don't think the camera itself moved once in the entire film, but rather people and objects moved within the frame. It also looked like he used a lot of deep focus shots so that everything in the background and most of the foreground was in focus. In addition to this point there was a lot of straight line back depth and layers. The image is flat, but within it you might have four of five layers of lateral depths going on at once. Also the frame for many of the indoor scenes seemed to be bordered by vertical objects such as a door frame or a cabinet or large object in the foreground. In this way the framing reminded me a lot of a Chinese director, Wong Kar Wai (In the Mood for Love) although his camera constantly moves and tracks.
While I've seen hundreds and hundreds of French films and nearly as many Italian films, Japanese films with the exception of Kurosawa, are a weak spot in viewership for me. One of my favorite non Kurosawa films is Ugetsu and I also liked Branded to Kill and a few other Suzuki films, but on the whole Japanese cinema is a weak spot.
What do you make of Ozu's films and what do you recommend? There's quite a few on Criterion Channel right now.
I just watched An Autumn Afternoon (1962) and found it to be a film that was mundane, although insightful and relevant in content - not something I would normally be drawn to, however in style it really stood out.
I believe, An Autumn Afternoon is the only film of his I've seen, but am interested in seeing more. The film had a very calming effect with characters speaking largely in proper and level tones and pitches without a lot of emotional exuberance or grandstanding or long winded speeches. It was a very pleasant and relaxing film experience.
Also much has been said about Ozu breaking the 180 degree rule and also keeping his camera at a knee or waist level, but a couple things I also picked up on that I didn't read about is how static his camera is. I don't think the camera itself moved once in the entire film, but rather people and objects moved within the frame. It also looked like he used a lot of deep focus shots so that everything in the background and most of the foreground was in focus. In addition to this point there was a lot of straight line back depth and layers. The image is flat, but within it you might have four of five layers of lateral depths going on at once. Also the frame for many of the indoor scenes seemed to be bordered by vertical objects such as a door frame or a cabinet or large object in the foreground. In this way the framing reminded me a lot of a Chinese director, Wong Kar Wai (In the Mood for Love) although his camera constantly moves and tracks.
While I've seen hundreds and hundreds of French films and nearly as many Italian films, Japanese films with the exception of Kurosawa, are a weak spot in viewership for me. One of my favorite non Kurosawa films is Ugetsu and I also liked Branded to Kill and a few other Suzuki films, but on the whole Japanese cinema is a weak spot.
What do you make of Ozu's films and what do you recommend? There's quite a few on Criterion Channel right now.
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"A candy colored clown!"
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Top 100 Films, clicky below
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"A candy colored clown!"
Member since Fall 2002
Top 100 Films, clicky below
http://www.movieforums.com/community...ad.php?t=26201