Architecture and film: working class homes in post-WWII cinema

What can architects learn from the portrayal of working class homes in post-WWII cinema: specifically in the work of Karel Resiz and Yasujiro Ozu?

This dissertation is a study of the films Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Dir: Karel Reisz, 1960) and Record of a Tenement Gentleman (Dir: Ozu Yasujiro, 1947) in an attempt to examine the potential lessons they hold for architecture, the design of mass housing and surrounding spaces. These films have been chosen because of their realist treatment which is deeply rooted in a unique sense of place, people and the everyday. With their focus on natural performance, dialogue and location filming they allow for their discussion as a means to investigate the relationship between architecture, film and social issues.

Through study of these films and the support of contemporary design research it will be shown that despite a fluid surrounding context the relationship with the home and urban space remains fundamentally unchanged in its’ basic form and desires. I present these films as a combination of documentary and poetry, where the everyday is treated as a subject rich in interest, consequence and responsibility.



Keywords: Architecture, Film, Housing, Occupant, Realism, Society, Space, User, Karel Reisz, Yasujiro Ozu