AwardsWatch - Director Watch Podcast Ep. 116 – ‘Tokyo Story’ (Yasujirō Ozu, 1953)

Director Watch Podcast Ep. 116 – ‘Tokyo Story’ (Yasujirō Ozu, 1953)

Ryan McQuade September 13, 2025

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 116 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch contributor Kevin L. Lee discuss the next film in their Yasujirō Ozu series, Tokyo Story (1953).

Sometimes you see a film and it’s so incredible, you wonder why you never saw it before you first screen. Such is the case with the transcendent film Tokyo Story, one of the greatest films of all time about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their family and see how they all turned out after moving away from home and growing up. Tender, reflective, and personal, Ryan, Jay and Kevin breakdown the dozens of layers found in this masterpiece, telling reflective, emotional stories of their past as they dive deep into explore the human themes found in this masterpiece from Ozu.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h33m. The guys will be back next week to continue their new series on the films of Yasujirō Ozu with a review of his next film, Tokyo Twilight. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

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Ryan McQuade

Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.