Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story) is revered for his unique, poetic style. This 2-disc set brings together all of his surviving early student-genre silent comedies for the first time as part of the BFI's Ozu Collection.
Days of Youth (Wakaki Hi) is Ozu’s earliest surviving film. It follows students Watanabe and Yamamoto as they unknowingly compete for the same girl.
I Flunked, But...(Rakudai Wa Shita Keredo) follows Takahashi, who finds a creative way to avoid doing his revision in this roguish comedy reminiscent of Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman.
In The Lady and the Beard (Shukujo To Hige), graduate Okajima finds his old-fashioned beard makes life difficult in a comedy exploring the tension between tradition and modernity.
Where Now are the Dreams of Youth? (Seishun No Yume Ima Izuko), scripted by Ozu’s long-term collaborator Kogo Noda, is a subtle shift from light to dark as Hirano’s carefree college life is marred by tragedy.
Also included is the rare surviving fragment of the 1929 film I Graduated, But...
Extras
I Graduated, But... (Yasujiro Ozu, 1929, 11 minutes): surviving fragment of Ozu's early student comedy about a recent graduate struggling to find a job
Newly-commissioned scores for all films by Ed Hughes featuring The Camilleri Trio and Richard Casey (Dolby Digital stereo 320kbps)
Ozu: Emotion and Poetry (2011, 20 minutes): Tony Rayns discusses Ozu s early work and influences
Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned essays from Asian cinema experts Tony Rayns and Alexander Jacoby
