Rating: 
Summary: Its also great to see Japan in the 50's
Review: Ozu is one of my favorite directors. He quietly stirs your heart like a meditational tea ceremony.
I especially enjoy scenes of Japan in the 50's because that is the Japan I left behind as a child. The old father in the movie represents to me a Japan I will probably never see again. He is so gentle and loving.
Rating:
Summary: Never before have I been so moved by a film
Review: Ozu's "Tokyo Story" is simply the most emotionally profound film I have ever seen. It is the sort of film that, after seeing it, may easily change you. I originally purchased the film because I was incredibly interested in the "Ozu style". There are many aspects of this little Japanese man's style, including shots of nature to break up the story, the tatami mat camera angle, the unmoving camera, and the shooting of characters speaking directly into the camera (which makes it all the more profound, it puts the viewer into the story). Ozu scarcely EVER drifted from this style, therefore it MUST have been quite incredible, for he never had the desire to change it. However, although I was compelled by the extremely elegant filmmaking style, it was the emotional impact that sticks with me the most. The story felt very slow as it unwound, with much of the dialogue feeling very small talk-ish. However, despite the fact I was initially disappointed by this small talk-like dialogue, by the end, I realized this slowness of developement made the end all the more powerful. This ending was so powerful that I was completely in tears for the final half hour or so of the film. This film was SO profound that I felt moved upon viewing it. Near the end of the picture, when one of the daughters stated "Life is too short." I was moved. I felt compelled to go out and live it up, for life IS too short. I also realized that I need to be much kinder to my parents, for they give me so much, and they will not be around forever. As is said in one of the more famous and compelling lines from the film, "One cannot serve his parents from beyond the grave".You will be moved beyond words by one of the greatest films of all time, Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story"
Rating:
Summary: Never before have I been so moved by a film
Review: Ozu's "Tokyo Story" is simply the most emotionally profound film I have ever seen. It is the sort of film that, after seeing it, may easily change you. I originally purchased the film because I was incredibly interested in the "Ozu style". There are many aspects of this little Japanese man's style, including shots of nature to break up the story, the tatami mat camera angle, the unmoving camera, and the shooting of characters speaking directly into the camera (which makes it all the more profound, it puts the viewer into the story). Ozu scarcely EVER drifted from this style, therefore it MUST have been quite incredible, for he never had the desire to change it. However, although I was compelled by the extremely elegant filmmaking style, it was the emotional impact that sticks with me the most. The story felt very slow as it unwound, with much of the dialogue feeling very small talk-ish. However, despite the fact I was initially disappointed by this small talk-like dialogue, by the end, I realized this slowness of developement made the end all the more powerful. This ending was so powerful that I was completely in tears for the final half hour or so of the film. This film was SO profound that I felt moved upon viewing it. Near the end of the picture, when one of the daughters stated "Life is too short." I was moved. I felt compelled to go out and live it up, for life IS too short. I also realized that I need to be much kinder to my parents, for they give me so much, and they will not be around forever. As is said in one of the more famous and compelling lines from the film, "One cannot serve his parents from beyond the grave". You will be moved beyond words by one of the greatest films of all time, Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story"
Rating:
Summary: All-Time Classic
Review: Ozu's 1953 "Tokyo Story" is about as perfect as any film ever made. It's a veritable masterpiece of cinema. If only twenty films of the past 100 years could be saved for the future, then Tokyo Story must be one of them. There's too many reasons why this film is so wonderful for me to go into here. Others are more up to the task of explaining its many little touches and charms. I will only say that this is a wonderfully warm, human, touching story filmed as good as any movie ever made. This one is definately "up there"! The DVD isn't as clean a transfer as with others of the Criterion Collection, and I assume it's because the original negative is unusable or lost? Perhaps this is the best print to have survived? It's hard to say. The soundtrack is in mono and the film is presented in a fullscreen 1.33:1 aspect-ratio in true black & white. There's a great commentary track to listen to as well, and with all of Ozu's films I would strongly suggest listening to the commentaries to fully understand and appreciate the brilliant film methods of Ozu the master. What's not to love about "Tokyo Story"? The characters are so real and so complex, just like we are. The story is always believable and never over-melodramatic like a bad Disney film. The emotions we feel are sincere ones and Tokyo Story doesn't make demands on our emotional reaction to the film, but rather we slowly find ourselves volunteering our emotional reactions freely. That is the mark of a brilliant film.
Rating:
Summary: All-Time Classic
Review: Ozu's 1953 "Tokyo Story" is about as perfect as any film ever made. It's a veritable masterpiece of cinema. If only twenty films of the past 100 years could be saved for the future, then Tokyo Story must be one of them. There's too many reasons why this film is so wonderful for me to go into here. Others are more up to the task of explaining its many little touches and charms. I will only say that this is a wonderfully warm, human, touching story filmed as good as any movie ever made. This one is definately "up there"! The DVD isn't as clean a transfer as with others of the Criterion Collection, and I assume it's because the original negative is unusable or lost? Perhaps this is the best print to have survived? It's hard to say. The soundtrack is in mono and the film is presented in a fullscreen 1.33:1 aspect-ratio in true black & white. There's a great commentary track to listen to as well, and with all of Ozu's films I would strongly suggest listening to the commentaries to fully understand and appreciate the brilliant film methods of Ozu the master. What's not to love about "Tokyo Story"? The characters are so real and so complex, just like we are. The story is always believable and never over-melodramatic like a bad Disney film. The emotions we feel are sincere ones and Tokyo Story doesn't make demands on our emotional reaction to the film, but rather we slowly find ourselves volunteering our emotional reactions freely. That is the mark of a brilliant film.
Rating:
Summary: A Profound Statement About Life
Review: Pity that more people won't ever see this movie. Ozu, one of the great but underappreciated film directors, uses the plight of neglected parents to tell a tale of neglect, loss, and, most importantly, the need to move on. A great accomplishment.
Rating: 
Summary: A slow but beautiful film
Review: The name Yasujiro Ozu is known by mostly (and only) extreme filmbuffs. Most of the general public has no clue who he is. This is very unfortunate. His films are not as widely accepted as another great Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa as many know was not see to be a great filmmaker in his homeland. He was considered too "western". Which is exactly why the American public has embraced his films. Ozu on the other hand, was seen more as a Japanese filmmaker. Sticking more to that tradition. All I want to say is "Tokyo Story" is a beautiful ( and I never use that word to describe a film!) warm, and highly emotional film. Anyone with a heart should be able to feel for the characters in this film. I've seen several tear-jerkers in my time lol. Mostly the over done Hollywood films. While, yes some of those films are good, none of them really seem as sincere as this movie. It really hits you at a gut level. The story is about two ederly people; Shukishi (Chishu Ryu) and Tomi (Chieko Higashiyama) Hirayama going to Tokyo to visit their childern, whom they never really get the chance to see since they live so far away. Once they arrive there, they are greeted somewhat coldly. Their own childern don't seem very please to see them! They feel they're such a burden to them, that instead of having them stay with them, they suggest they get a room in a spa. All of their childern and in-laws (Zen Murase, and Kyoko Kagawa) say they are too busy to do things with them. But, the funny thing is, all we see them do is sit down and fan themselves lol. I guess this was the point Ozu was trying to make. That after a while, once childern grow up, they in a way feel as if they have "no use" for their parents. They come up with excuses for not spending time with them. The ONLY person who remains nice to them is their dead son's wife Noriko. It takes a stranger to show them a good time. The screenplay here written by Ozu himself and Kogo Noda is a movie everyone can relate to, because we all have parents! Maybe, sometimes you have found yourself acting with your parents in the same selfish way these characters did. It takes a sad event to make everyone come together for a brief momemt. Ozu loved making films about topics we all can relate to. The relationships parents have with their childern (this film and "Floating Weeds"), about parents watching their childern growing up and must realize their childern will move out and get married (His final film "An Autumn Afternoon"). He dealt with things everyone can relate too. It is for this reason this movie will please not only fans of Ozu, who've come to know what to expect from him, but non fans will find something enjoyable about this movie. This is a slow, tender, warm, and touching movie. Everyone has to try and make an effort to see this film! You'll thank me in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely boring
Review: This 1953 film is absolutely one of the most boring movies of all time. Admittedly I'm not a real film critic, and I often look for entertainment in a film, but I do like independent and foreign films a lot because they often provide a more humanistic perspective than the junk out of Hollywood where producers care nothing for you and me but only big bucks. But to call "Tokyo Story" one of the best films of all time is a total insult to the many, many much, much better movies and filmmakers out there. The story can touch the human heart, but the presentation is excruciatingly slow and boring and you'll feel like pulling your hair out after the first 20 minutes. In the end it just feels pretentious. A much better Japanese movie from that era was this one about the Hiroshima atomic bomb. This, on the other hand, is a torture to watch and only appeals to a limited audience.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best of the Best
Review: This 1953 Japanese film, a gaping hole in the knowledge of most film fans, is finally available with subtitles on DVD. It consistently appears on lists of the top 10 movies of all time, in the company of Citizen Kane, The Godfather, 2001 A Space Odyssey and Seven Samurai. It is about the inevitable transitory nature of family, portrayed with the sensitivity that is found only in works such as King Lear. It is a difficult film to start into, flagrantly delaying information needed to sort out the characters and their motivations, insisting that the viewer unwilling to invest undivided attention is unworthy of a thoroughly crafted and intelligent entertainment. It relies on subtle behavior nuances rather than dramatic action sequences. It refuses to manipulate, draw quick conclusions, succumb to sentimentality or imply polarizing judgments. However, after half the story has elapsed, an underlying omniscience begins to emerge, and a sense that a masterwork is in progress becomes pervasive. The cinematography, at first baffling for the artistically uninitiated, justifies itself as totally appropriate, reprising earlier shots to complete mood loops accessible to even the most desensitized viewer. The concluding dialogues precisely tie up the many loose ends and leaves one awestruck in a blinding flash of the obvious. This movie is rightly regarded as one of the best of the best of the best of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Gorgeous
Review: This film is simply gorgeous. No words can describe its artistic value, its importance and impact that it can have on a human being, and its ability to transcend not only film genres, but also race, culture, and ethnicity. The film is mandatory viewing for any human being. It may not only be the greatest film ever made; even better than epics and masterpieces by Kurosawa, Mizoguchi and Bergman, but also the highest form of art known to man. This is not hype, this film is awe-inspiring!
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