Silent Ozu: Three Crime Dramas (Criterion Collection - Eclipse Series 42) (DVD)

The great Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu (Late Spring) is best known for the stately, meditative domestic dramas he made after World War II. But during his first decade at Shochiku studios, where he dabbled in many genres, he put out a trio of precisely rendered, magnificently shot and edited silent crime films about the hopes, dreams, and loves of small-time crooks. Heavily influenced in narrative and visual style by the American films that Ozu adored, these movies are revelatory early examples of his cinematic genius, accompanied here by new piano scores by Neil Brand. Includes Walk Cheerfully, That Night's Wife and Dragnet Girl.

Starring: Yasujiro Ozu, Kinuyo Tanaka, Minoru Takada, Hiroko Kawasaki, Tokihiko Akada, Emiko Yagumo, Joji Oka, Sumiko Mizukubo, Chishu Ryu