Ozu : A Closer Look / Kathe Geist.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Geist, Kathe, Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (300 p.) : 29 b&w and 7 color illus.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Hong Kong : Hong Kong University Press, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Based on a close reading of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu’s extant films, this book provides insights into the ways the director created narrative structures and used symbolism to construct meaning in his films. Against critics’ insistence that Ozu was indifferent to plot and unlikely to use symbols, Geist demonstrates otherwise, revealing the director’s subtle iconographic paradigms. Her incisive understanding of the historical and cultural context in which the films were conceived amplifies her analysis of the films’ structure and meaning. Ozu: A Closer Look guides the reader through Ozu’s early, silent films and his sound films made during Japan’s wars in Asia and the subsequent American Occupation, then takes up specific themes relevant to his later, better-known films. These themes include religion, gender, and the influence of traditional Japanese painting. Geist also examines the impact that Ozu’s films had on specific directors in Europe, America, and Japan. Intended for film scholars, students, and fans of the director, this book provides fresh insights into the director’s films and new challenges for those who study him.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Introduction

Part I. The Silent Films

Chapter 1: The Gangster Films

Chapter 2: Signs, Symbols, and Motifs

Chapter 3: The Sound of Silence

Chapter 4: Narrative Strategies, Texts, and Subtexts

Afterword Part I: “. . . when the studio was in Kamata”

Part II. War and Peace: The Sound Films, 1936–1952

Chapter 5: The Calm

Chapter 6: The Storm

Chapter 7: The Reckoning

Afterword Part II: “Then it’s good we lost.”

Part III. Religion, Sex, and Other Matters

Chapter 8: Narratives Strategies in the Late Films

Chapter 9: Religion

Chapter 10: Gender Issues

Chapter 11: A Two-Dimensional Art Form

Chapter 12: The Ozu Touch: Influencing Others

Afterword Part III: But is it modern?

Plot Synopses

Selected Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 19. Oct 2024)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9789888876075

9888876074

OCLC:

1586552397