You Pick BestYouPickBest

The 14 Greatest Setsuko Hara Performances

By YPB Team

Serene Ozu daughters, restless Naruse wives and one fierce postwar firebrand add up to a career of quiet devastation. Cast your vote!

  1. Late Spring (1949) — ranked #11
    Late Spring (1949)
    The first Noriko, a daughter reluctant to marry and leave her widowed father.
    1000pts
  2. Tokyo Story (1953) — ranked #22
    Tokyo Story (1953)
    Her luminous turn as the widowed daughter-in-law Noriko in Ozu's most revered film.
    1000pts
  3. Chushingura (1962) — ranked #33
    Chushingura (1962)
    Her final screen appearance, in Inagaki's epic retelling of the 47 ronin.
    771pts
  4. The New Earth (1937) — ranked #44
    The New Earth (1937)
    Her breakout role as a teenager in the Japanese-German co-production that made her a star.
    771pts
  5. Daughters, Wives and a Mother (1960) — ranked #55
    Daughters, Wives and a Mother (1960)
    An ensemble Naruse drama in which she plays a widow squeezed by family obligation.
    709pts
  6. Early Summer (1951) — ranked #66
    Early Summer (1951)
    A quietly rebellious Noriko who chooses her own husband against her family's plans.
    692pts
  7. The End of Summer (1961) — ranked #77
    The End of Summer (1961)
    Her penultimate Ozu collaboration, as a widow in a fading sake-brewing family.
    600pts
  8. Sudden Rain (1956) — ranked #88
    Sudden Rain (1956)
    Naruse's wry study of a strained marriage, carried by Hara's understated comedy.
    491pts
  9. No Regrets for Our Youth (1946) — ranked #99
    No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
    Her fierce, transformative role as Yukie in Kurosawa's postwar political drama.
    360pts
  10. Sound of the Mountain (1954) — ranked #1010
    Sound of the Mountain (1954)
    A restrained, aching performance as a young wife in Naruse's Kawabata adaptation.
    360pts
  11. The Idiot (1951) — ranked #1111
    The Idiot (1951)
    A striking turn as the tormented Taeko Nasu in Kurosawa's Dostoevsky adaptation.
    360pts
  12. The Blue Mountains (1949) — ranked #1212
    The Blue Mountains (1949)
    The hugely popular postwar hit that made her a symbol of a new, liberated Japan.
    200pts
  13. Late Autumn (1960) — ranked #1313
    Late Autumn (1960)
    Ozu's reversal of Late Spring, with Hara now playing the mother marrying off a daughter.
    200pts
  14. Tokyo Twilight (1957) — ranked #1414
    Tokyo Twilight (1957)
    A darker Ozu role as an unhappily married daughter returning to her father's home.
    200pts

#movies639#japan99#performances150#setsuko hara1

Nobody has rated this ranking yet. Vote first, then say whether the ranking was worth it.

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first!

0/1000
Make your own rankingAny question with 2–50 answers. AI fills in options and pictures in a minute.Create →Add rankings to your siteEmbed any ranking. Your readers vote right on your page.How it works →