"late spring" was released in september 1949 to critical acclaim in the japanese press. in the following year, it was awarded the prestigious kinema junpo critics' award as the best japanese production released in 1949. in 1972, the film was commercially released in the united states, again to very positive reviews. "late spring" has been referred to as the director's "most perfect" work, as "the definitive film of ozu's master filmmaking approach and language" and has been called "one of the most perfect, most complete, and most successful studies of character ever achieved in japanese cinema." in the 2012 version of "sight & sound" decennial poll of "the greatest films of all time", published by the british film institute (bfi), "late spring" appears as number 15, behind ozu's own "tokyo story" at number 3.