Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Cosmoeticadotcom When an artist has reached a level of such high art that he and his work can be spoken of as being in the top tier of his art form something terrible happens: often brilliant but not quite ineffably so, work, in its own right, is looked upon with a lesser eye by critics and audiences alike. Not that this is not a natural development, for once treated to fancy cuisine, even a good steak can seem a comedown to most palates, but it is a frustrating development, for sometimes quality is overlooked, or dismissed because it is merely an 8 of 10, rather than a perfect 10. Such is the case concerning the critical reception of Yasujiro Ozu's 1961 film The End Of Summer (Kohayagawa-ke No Aki, or, literally, The Fall Of The Kohayagawa Family).In fairness, and to be up front, it simply is not an unassailably great film, like his great Noriko Trilogy films (Late Spring, Early Summer, Tokyo Story) are, but it is an excellent film, in its own right, which knows when to not let a scene play out, and which, at 103 minutes, never goes on too long itself. And sometimes there is a small thing in a film that serves as a fractal for the larger film. In the case of The End Of Summer it is the appearance of a character named Noriko, but one not played by the great actress Setsuko Hara- who played the Noriko characters in the earlier trilogy. perhaps it was some god of cinema's karmic hand, but the fact that Hara is called Akiko shows how just slightly off from greatness this whole film is. Another thing that augurs the slight fall from grace of this film is its musical score by Toshiro Mayuzumi. Whereas all aspects of the earlier film were in perfect harmony, Mayuzumi's score is often light and comic in inappropriate moments. When it is needed to be comic it serves well, but a listener almost feels like the scorer fell asleep during editing, and let the same whimsical tunes play on too long her, or too much in places it should not be at all.The acting is stellar. Ganjiro Nakamura, who was so great in Ozu's Floating Weeds (1959), is a delight to watch. Hara, as the widowed daughter, brings an ineffable grace to her role, even if it is a familiar one. The rest of the family's portrayers also have their moments to shine, including some terrific cameos from one of Ozu's great regulars, Chishu Ryu, as one of the peasants commenting on the old man's death, Haruko Sugimura, another regular, as Manbei's sister Katou- although this time in a cheerier role, and even Manbei's grandson, Fumiko's son, Masao (Masahiko Shimazu, who played the devilish little Isamu in Good Morning), has a memorable sequence where he plays games with the old man.The DVD is part of The Criterion Collection's third affordable Eclipse Series called Late Ozu, and also includes Early Spring, Equinox Flower, Late Autumn, and Tokyo Twilight, but has no extra features, save a small essay on the inside of the DVD case. The film is shown in the original 1.33:1 aspect ration and is stunningly transferred. The subtitles are in black and white, which works better against color films, but Criterion really needs to get their act together on subtitles and English dubbed soundtracks. And while I understand the desire to get affordable versions of films out there, are a few extras really going to break the bank? I mean, even a trailer and five or ten minute Making Of featurette is de rigueur in even B film DVD releases these days.Nonetheless, this is a film that gets a hardy recommendation. Is it the best that the Master ever offered? No. Has it familiar elements? Yes. Does it have a few moments that clunk, which would not have made the cut in his masterpieces? Yes. But it is still a fabulous film, leagues above 99.9% or more of films ever made, and one that shows that even the simplest and seemingly most banal material, in the hands of a great artist, can make one laugh and cry, and sometimes do both at once. The End Of Summer may have come at the end of its main character's and creator's lives, but it shows that Yasujiro Ozu was still fertile creatively, and his untimely and early death impoverished the world, art in general, and cinema of a voice and eye that centuries hence will still have relevance. Not bad for a second tier work of art, eh?

Disfear Of the Ozu films I've seen this one seems to stand out the most; there isn't a single shot of a train, only the sound of distant ones passing. There are attempts at arranging marriages, for a young woman and for a widow, but neither come to fruition. He almost throws a curve ball so to speak, since at the beginning of the film you're given the impression that it's going to be about two widows getting' the hook up, but then it turns out to be more of a study on the widowed father of the Kohayagawa family. There's also one more thing I've yet to have seen in an Ozu film, as far as I can remember: a dead person on screen, usually we're entering the stories of these people's lives after someone has croaked. Definitely the most bittersweet of the Ozu films I've seen thus far, there are moments of genuinely touching comedy and also a few moments of blatant commentary on the modernization of the Japanese woman at the time, with the one daughter whose only regret after her "father" dies is that she doesn't get the mink stole she wanted, not to mention she's going out with a new American guy every other day.

crossbow0106 The End Of Summer is another Ozu film about making a love connection, but this time there are multiple characters involved. One of the Ozu twists is the great Ganjiro Nakamura, who plays the father. He is trying to marry off his three daughters while he is visiting an old flame. One of the daughters is played by Yoko Tsukasa, who movingly played Setsuko Hara's daughter in the equally absorbing Late Autumn. Here, Mr. Nakamura provides the film's comedy, an old man looking for some action from a former mistress. However, this film is not really a comedy. Its a story about life events, the changes in ones personal destiny. Its hot in the movie, since a few characters fan themselves, hence the title. Not quite as good as Tokyo Story, Late Spring or Late Autumn, but that is such a tall order, I don't feel anything but admiration for this film. One great thing about this film is that many actors in prior Ozu films are here, making it almost an ensemble piece. I would have liked more of Setsuko Hara's character, but just seeing her in a film is worth anything. This film also works almost like a play, little stories molded together into one film. Worth your time and, as it was Ozu's penultimate film, its practically required viewing.

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain Yasujiro Ozu is, without a single doubt in my mind, in the top five directors of all time. Possibly the second best after my personal favourite Akira Kurosawa. Many may credit my preference due to the fact that Kurosawa was considered as the most Western of all Japanese directors. However Ozu came from the same time and his films are very different but just as good. Ozu's films have the most simple of plots, in that they do not have a strict or interesting storyline. This can sometimes lead to extremely complex situations as Ozu focuses on the trials of Japanese family life. If you are looking for films about real life, and real people, then look no further than Ozu. Like other Ozu films there are arranged marriages, and relationships that cross through all generations. A father is distracted from troubling finance issues by a recently rekindled affair from nineteen years previously. The film is very subtle in its extraction of emotions, Ozu's trademark of not moving the camera once, with completely still shots. Ozu also doesn't use flashbacks, resulting in people simply talking and describing the past. The editing is restrained to simple straight cuts, and no fancy transitions are used. It is this simplicity that some may find boring, or a lack of pacing. For me however it is great to see a master of the craft not give in to unnecessary techniques when the acting and slightly faded picturesque cinematography does all the talking. Dialogue between characters is both intriguing and thought provoking. The final funeral scenes really do demonstrate the beauty of Ozu's films, when we see a couple of complete strangers talk about the recent passing, as we are then treated to a magnificent shot of the funeral procession walking down a bridge. Like 'Tokyo Story' and 'Early Summer', 'The End of Summer' is a thoughtful and delicate piece of work, and also a fine example of Ozu's rare use of colour.