An Autumn Afternoon (1962) Sanma no aji (original title)

Director:

Yasujirô Ozu

Writers:

Kôgo Noda (screenplay) &
Yasujirô Ozu (screenplay)

Release Date:

1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Widower | Father Daughter Relationship | Japanese | Tokyo Japan | 1960s

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Chishû Ryû	...	Shuhei Hirayama
Shima Iwashita	...	Michiko Hirayama
Keiji Sada	...	Koichi
Mariko Okada	...	Akiko
Teruo Yoshida	...	Yutaka Miura
Noriko Maki	...	Fusako Taguchi
Shin'ichirô Mikami	...	Kazuo
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Shuzo Kawai
Eijirô Tôno	...	Sakuma, The 'Gourd'
Kuniko Miyake	...	Nobuko
Kyôko Kishida	...	'Kaoru' no Madame
Michiyo Tamaki	...	Tamako, gosai
Ryûji Kita	...	Shin Horie
Toyo Takahashi	...	'Wakamatsu' no Okami
Shinobu Asaji	...	Youko Sasaki, hisho
Masao Oda	...	Dousousei Watanabe
Fujio Suga	...	Suikyaku A
Yoshikazu Inagawa
Matsuko Shiga
Hisayo Komachi
Tami Yamamoto
Kentaro Imai
Daisuke Katô	...	Yoshitaro Sakamoto
Haruko Sugimura	...	Tomoko
Tsûsai Sugawara	...	Dousousei Sugai (special appearance)
Yasuo Ogata	...	Dousousei Ogata (special appearance)

Directed by
Yasujirô Ozu

Writing credits
Kôgo Noda		(screenplay) &
Yasujirô Ozu		(screenplay)

Produced by
Shizuo Yamanouchi	....	producer

Original Music by
Kojun Saitô

Cinematography by
Yûharu Atsuta

Film Editing by
Yoshiyasu Hamamura

Production Design by
Tatsuo Hamada

Art Direction by
Tatsuo Hamada
Shigeo Ogiwara

Costume Design by
Yuuji Nagashima

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kouzou Tashiro	....	assistant director

Art Department
Osamu Ishii	....	set dresser
Shigeo Ogiwara	....	assistant art director
Toshio Takahashi	....	set designer

Sound Department
Yoshiomi Hori	....	assistant sound
Ichiro Ishii	....	supervising sound editor
Yoshisaburo Seno	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Kenzô Ishiwata	....	lighting technician
Shouichi Motohashi	....	lighting assistant
Motoshige Oikawa	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Minoru Konze	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Shochiku Company (as Shochiku Eiga)

Distributors

• Shochiku Company (1962) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Shochiku Home Video (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Shochiku Films of America (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (New Zealand) (all media)
• New Yorker Films (1973) (USA) (subtitled)
• Palisades-Tartan Acquisitions (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Raro Video (2007) (Italy) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Sanma no aji" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG (2007) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Finland:S | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Shochiku-Ofuna, Ofuna, Kanagawa, Japan

Company:

Shochiku Company

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Yasujirô Ozu] [Static Camera]There is not a single camera movement in the entire film, as in many Ozu's last films.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Life and Works of Yasujiro Ozu (1983)

A true work of art.

When I first saw this film it struck me as being a very unusual and odd little movie. The camera work was direct and straightforward, as if the director were composing a still life painting. With the passage of time I remembered this film not as a whole but as a series of vignettes, the sailor marching in the bar, the unrequited lovers waiting for a train on the platform, the father staring into his daughter's empty room. I have recently seen An Autumn Afternoon again, and was not disappointed. Each scene has an almost indescribable longing, an ephemeral quality that speaks to the beauty and sadness of everyday life. I love this film, it is a true work of art.