It is an interesting drama, one of whose themes is forgiveness. His movies were very personal intimate affairs, often dealing with the dynamics of the relationships between family members. Floating weeds boasts the visual beauty and deep tenderness of director yasujiro ozus most memorable films. 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. 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. 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. Dec 08, 2010 but 1932 and story of floating weeds 1934. This would become a trademark of yasujiro ozu films. 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 dramatic plot that even allows for. An alternate audio track contains a commentary by roger ebert. These both require one to synchronize oneself to a somewhat atypical ozu wavelength.
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. Directed by yasujiro ozu 1934 japan in 1959, yasujiro ozu remade his 1934 silent classic a story of floating weeds in color with the celebrated cinematographer kazuo miyagawa rashomon, ugetsu. A story of floating weeds 1934 yasujiro ozu synopsis. With takeshi sakamoto, choko iida, koji mitsui, emiko yagumo. I really recommend this film for those who enjoy a story about real human emotions. Nov, 2012 floating weeds 1959 is like a familiar piece of music that i can turn to for reassurance and consolation. It also shares the directors amazingly serene yet appealing visual style, created through the use of the simplest means possible.
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. Ozus career was so long that in one case, he made the same movie twice. I believe both were made in the wake of naruses floating clouds which apparently very much shook ozu up. Weeds tells a story as old as the movies the ragstoriches saga of a troupe of theatrical amateurs who bring their show to broadway but it tells it with such a distinctive style, such a curious mixture of pathos and offhand wit, that it works for one more time. Watch a story of floating weeds full movie in hd visit movie 44163 an aging actor returns to a small town with his troupe and re. An alternate audio track contains a commentary by japanese film historian donald richie. Both films bear the distinct stylistic signature and basic thematic concerns of ozu, who cultivated what is surely among the most immediately. Yasujiro ozu is known as one of the grandest masters of cinema. Floating weeds is at times a comparably light and funny ozu film, but like so many it is about change and a part of life coming to an end. The troupe is not doing very well, being reduced to playing dinky villages, and its future is in question. Though troupe leader kihachi takeshi sakamoto has no home to speak of, it is nonetheless a homecoming of sorts. 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. Weeds is a short animated film designed to create empathy for people in need.
A story of floating weeds floating weeds criterion. 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. Criterion has released a twodisc set containing a pair of ozus movies. While the ohayo felt more like an update of the earlier film with significant changes in plot and context, floating weeds remained more faithful to its earlier counterpart, though character were renamed. The audio for the silent a story of floating weeds consisted of an newly commissioned piano score by donald sosin. Together, the films offer a unique glimpse into the evolution of one of cinemas greatest directors.
Ozus remake of his own 1934 silent a story of floating weeds adds color, the eye of the brilliant rashomon and ugetsu cinematographer kazuo miyagawa, and of course kyo, playing the mistress of the head of a kabuki theatre troupe whos embittered to learn that her lover has begun to visit his former paramour, now running a small restaurant in the town on the edge of the. 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. Reading a japanese film, written by a pioneer of japanese film studies in the. Floating weeds is a 1959 japanese drama film directed by yasujiro ozu, starring ganjiro nakamura and machiko kyo. Full list episodes floating weeds english sub viewasian, a troupe of travelling players arrive at a small seaport in the south of japan. The film opens on a lazy, stagnant river as the troupe lays spread about on a boat deck drifting downstream. 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. It is so atmosphericso evocative of a quiet fishing village during a hot and muggy. Jan 10, 2017 quiet cinematography floating weeds 1959 duration.
Join kevin hudson and bradford simonsen at the gnomon school of visual effects for a behindthescenes look at how weeds, an independent short film created by a team of volunteer disney artists from over 40 countries of family origin. Floating weeds is a 1959 film directed by yasujiro ozu. A story of floating weeds was both a popular and critical success, winning the coveted kinema junpo award for best film ozus third in three years, and it confirmed him as one of the great talents in the japanese film industry. Stories of floating weeds a story of floating weeds. His mistress, sumiko, is loyal to him, as are the other veteran actors. A story of floating weeds is a silent film silent film hung on in asia for a few years after it had been abandoned in the united states and europe. Google has this listed as one of the ten greatest films, so i bought it. Floating weeds is about a nontraditional life, without security or stability, and people trying to forge a family after the right time has passed.
Japanese film scholar donald richies comments on a story of floating weeds is passable, but nothing spectacular. A story of floating weeds 1934 full movie download full hd. Like the majority of director yasujiro ozus work, floating weeds is concerned with family relationships and interactions between different generations. Less than a dozen of his films are available in the west on video and only floating weeds is also on laserdisc. The year before, his attempt to mount a remake at shochiku, the company for which he made virtually all of his films, had been thwarted by an unusually mild spell of winter weather. 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. The film starts with a travelling kabuki troupe arriving by train at a provincial seaside town. 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. In 1959, yasujiro ozu remade his 1934 silent classic a story of floating weeds in color with the celebrated cinematographer kazuo miyagawa rashomon, ugetsu. 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. In this film, based on a true story, convicted criminal lee umstetter nick nolte is sentenced to life in san quentin prison, with no possibility of parole.
After graduating from waseda university, he joined the shochiku studio and came to prominence writing screenplays for such directors as yasujiro ozu, mikio naruse, kozaburo yoshimura, and yasujiro shimazu. One feels empathy for all the characters because they share the problems. Floating weeds is widely acclaimed by film critics. But films such as tokyo story, late spring, early spring, early autumn and an autumn afternoon are available, and to look at any ozu film is to glimpse the whole. Roger ebert gave the film four stars out of four, and included it on his ten greatest. A troupe of travelling players arrive at a small seaport in the south of japan. A story of floating weeds may probably appeal more to art or film students. The script was a remake of one of his silent features, the story of floating weeds ukigusa monogatari, 1934. This is not to say that the later color film is more superficial, because it is a fine film that represents ozu at the pinnacle of his craft. Floating weeds 1959 is like a familiar piece of music that i can turn to for reassurance and consolation. 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. The film takes place during a hot summer in 1958 at a seaside town on the inland sea. Ozu occasionally repeated himself in the stricter sense, as well.
Drawing inspiration from the nowobscure 1928 american carnivaltroupe drama the barker, ozu first made a story of floating weeds as a silent film despite the. Floating weeds masters of cinema original theatrical. Cinematographer kazuo miyagawas work includes akira kurosawas rashomon, yojimbo, and kenji mizoguchis ugetsu monogatari to name but a few of his best works. The other dvd is floating weeds color, sound, a literal remake of the movie, which i watched second. Enjoy subscriptiononly classic and cult films from across the decades. The leading actress sumiko is jealous and so, in order to humiliate the. In each, the director captures the joy and sadness in everyday life. Full episodes of floating weeds english sub viewasian. With ganjiro nakamura, machiko kyo, haruko sugimura, ayako wakao. Ozu remade this film a quartercentury later in color and with sound as floating weeds, to international acclaim. Weeds is the story of a dandelion struggling to journey from dry, barren ground to greener. A thirdrate kabuki acting troupe arrives via ferry at a seaside town in japan. Its a drama and independent movie with a high imdb audience rating of 8. Masaichi nagata, the president of daiei, had invited ozu earlier to direct a film there.
Directed by yasujiro ozu 1959 japan in 1959, yasujiro ozu remade his 1934 silent classic a story of floating weeds in color with the celebrated cinematographer kazuo miyagawa rashomon, ugetsu. The new criterion collection 2disc set of yasujiro ozus a story of floating weeds 1934 and floating weeds 1959 provides a fascinating opportunity to observe how a director treats the same story at opposite ends of his career. Floating weeds reveals his distinct style at its pinnacle. Brunold, michaels cinema paradiso, and kosta jovanovic. A story of floating weeds reveals ozu in the midst of. Floating weeds is available to stream on the criterion channel and kanopy. Ozus late film floating weeds, a remake of his silent movie the story of floating weeds, is released here as part of a centenary tribute and features the directors unmistakable hallmarks of.
It is a remake of ozus own blackandwhite silent film a story of floating weeds 1934. Setting this later version in a seaside location, ozu otherwise. 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. A story of floating weeds reveals ozu in the midst of developing his mode of expression. Floating weeds 1959 watch on the criterion channel, kanopy. Yasujiro ozu a story of floating weeds khachaturian. Stories of floating weeds a story of floating weeds 1934. Hes a director that is considered to be dense for many myself included. Floating weeds was released on region 1 dvd by the criterion collection on april 20, 2004, as a twodisc set with a story of floating weeds.
A kabuki actors mistress hatches a jealous plot to bring down her lovers son. 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. 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. Komajuro ganjiro nakamura leads a traveling acting troupe that performs cutrate kabuki in the provinces. The earlier film has the silent intertitles with subtitles, yet somehow, it is so well acted that one can almost hear the characters voices. A story of floating weeds 1934 the criterion collection. 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. Telling the same story from opposite ends of ozus career, the two movies illustrate how he refined his style through the years. I love tokyo twilight ozus darkest film and like early spring perhaps his second darkest post40s film very much. Much had changed for ozu in the intervening 25 years. The film was a remake of his 1934 silent film the story of floating weeds.
A quartercentury later, he remade the film as floating weeds, retaining the same story and characters, switching the setting to a seaside town, and demonstrating a more casual acceptance of human foibles that makes the 1959 version ozus first film in color relatively calm and compassionate when contrasted with the more turbulent tone of the. Floating weeds ukigusa in 1959, near the end of his career, japanese director yasujiro ozu returned to a story he had directed twentyfive years earlier, remaking his silent film classic a story of floating weeds as floating weeds. 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. But the simplicity of a story of floating weeds showcases why his style works. Yasujiro ozus 1959 film floating weeds, which i discuss in this clip, is a drama.
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