The Ozu Diaries

Sep 2, 2025

2h 20m

★ 0.0

Overview

Unveiling Yasujiro Ozu’s legacy through his personal diaries, letters, and interviews, the documentary delves into his life, creative process, and lasting impact on filmmaking.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Adama Films

The Ozu Diaries Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self (archive footage)

Yasujirō Ozu

Self

Wim Wenders

Self

Kyōko Kagawa

Self

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Self

Luc Dardenne

Self

Tsai Ming-liang

Self

Akiko Ozu

Self

Isao Shirosawa

Self

Shizuo Yamanouchi

Self

Michiko Yamanouchi

Self

Mitsuyoshi Fujimori

Self (archive footage)

Kōgo Noda

The history of the Yakuza Eiga at the TOEI studio is roughly outlined. Real Yakuza and also their connections to the movie business are discussed, and many important actors and directors of the genres are interviewed. Former real yakuza boss turned actor Noboru Ando, Takashi Miike, Sonny Chiba and many more get a chance to speak.

8.5

Shohei Imamura: The Free Thinker

Apr 12, 1995

Documentary about Japanese film director Shohei Imamura.

7.2

Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director

May 24, 1975

In 39 interviews with actors and actresses, writers, producers and staff members, interspersed with film excerpts and stills, Shindō recounts the life and career of his friend and mentor Mizoguchi.

0.0

Teruo Ishii Fan Club

Aug 12, 2006

A documentary on Teruo Ishii, the Japanese "King of Cult".

No Image

0.0

The Erotic Empire

Jan 1, 2002

A short documentary primarily focused on Nikkatsu's Roman Porno series.

0.0

Sat-chan Tadashi-chan: Sengo minshu-teki dokuritsu pro funtō-ki

Aug 29, 2015

After the war, many filmmakers were expelled from the Japanese film industry due to the Toho Dispute and the Red Purge. Amid such circumstances, there were people who set up their own independent production companies and embarked on film production without relying on corporations. This documentary film focuses on the passionate "spirit of film" of directors such as Satsuo Yamamoto and Tadashi Imai, who, despite many hardships, produced a succession of masterpieces overflowing with humanism and rebellious spirit.

0.0

North Bergen, North Bergen

Dec 26, 2022

Footage shot in and around North Bergen, New Jersey presented in a minimalist series of fixed camera angles and long-takes accompanied by the ambient noise of city streets.

0.0

Japanese Cinema: New Territories

Mar 25, 2011

This documentary by Hubert Niogret looks at the revival of Japanese cinema during the 1990s.

6.8

I Lived, But...

Oct 29, 1983

An extremely lovely tribute to Ozu, on the 20th anniversary of his death. It uses a combination of footage from vintage films and new material (both interviews and Ozu-related locations) shot by Ozu's long-time camera-man (who came out of retirement to work on this). Surprisingly (or perhaps not), it focuses less on Ozu's accomplishments as a film-maker than on his impact on the lives of the people he worked with..

0.0

Film Director Satsuo Yamamoto

Sep 21, 1993

A documentary made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Satsuo Yamamoto's death.

6.3

A. K.

May 20, 1985

An intimate chronicle of the shooting of Ran (1985), a film directed by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

No Image

9.0

Bâtons d'encens pour Mizoguchi

Sep 7, 2004

No overview available.

6.7

Ken San

Aug 20, 2016

KEN SAN pieces together the puzzle of the life and legacy of Japan's mythical acting icon, Ken Takakura. Collaborators, friends and family tell intimate stories of Ken's journey: how one man of quiet dignity became a cultural barrier-breaking film star.

0.0

Kiki Kirin's Life

Oct 4, 2019

This documentary follows the last days of actress KIKI Kirin, who passed away on September 15, 2018. The documentary is the first long-term, in-depth coverage of Ki-kin, and is a re-edited version of the NHK documentary of the same title that was broadcast on September 26, 2006, adding previously unseen footage. She was loved all over Japan for her blunt remarks, her attentive concern for those around her, and her overflowing sense of humor. Despite her busy schedule, she valued her daily life and had her own unique style, even though she talked about life as it came. This film captures the last days of her life and gives us hints for living from her "life as it comes" and her many inspiring words.

5.0

A Train Arrives at the Station

Jan 7, 2016

Created from material developed during "The Thoughts That Once We Had," this short film presents an anthology of 26 scenes from films made between 1904 and 2015, each depicting trains arriving at stations. The sequences are arranged in a serial structure, with black-and-white scenes in the first half paired with corresponding color sequences in the second half, forming a symmetrical visual progression.

6.0

Seijun Suzuki: kabuki & yakuzas

Jan 10, 2002

Film director and screenwriter Seijun Suzuki (1923-2017), who in the sixties was the great innovator of Japanese cinema; and his collaborator, art director and screenwriter Takeo Kimura (1918-2010), recall how they made their great masterpieces about the Yakuza underworld for the Nikkatsu film company.

0.0

Mikio Naruse 100th Birth Anniversary

Jan 1, 2005

Because his style was similar to that of Yasujiro Ozu, who was already active at Shochiku, he moved to PCL (currently Toho) in 1933, where he appeared in the talkie works "My Wife, Like a Rose" and "Tsuruhachi Tsurujiro." It got attention. There were times when he was unable to make as many films as he wanted due to wartime film regulations and post-war Toho disputes, but in 1951 he revived his career with Meshi. Since then, he has released masterpieces one after another, including "Okaasan," "Lightning," "The Couple," "Wife," "Anii Mouto," "Sounds of the Mountain," and "Bangiku." The pinnacle of his work, "Floating Clouds," is Kenji Mizoguchi's "Wife." Even director Ozu was impressed, calling it a masterpiece of Japanese cinema, on par with "The Sisters of Gion." He depicted ordinary people in everyday life with an everyday realism that was not influenced by lyricism, and he consistently sought out women as his subjects.

8.5

By Player

Dec 2, 2000

The film is a series of vignettes from Taiji Tonoyama's life and film clips, interspersed with a dialogue to camera by Nobuko Otowa, addressing the camera as if she is addressing Tonoyama himself, recollecting events in his life. The film focuses on Tonoyama's alcohol dependence and his various sexual relationships, as well as his film work with Shindo.

6.8

Labyrinth of Cinema

Jul 31, 2020

When lightning strikes a theater about to close its doors, three moviegoers are thrust back in time to the world inside the screen.