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Ugetsu Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi's poetic film is set in feudal, war-ravaged, 16th-century Japan and focuses on the opposite fortunes of two peasants who abandon their families to accumulate wealth and prestige and find emptiness and despair. The film is remarkable for its expressive photography, diagonal compositions and uninterrupted takes. With Machiko Kyo and Masayuki Mori. "Scenes of everyday life alternate with those of a dreamlike, erotic intensity. At the end it is difficult to remember where reality stops and hallucination begins" (Newsweek). Japanese with English subtitles. Newly remastered, translated and subtitled print. Presented in original aspect ratio. 2-DVD Criterion Collection Edition. Includes audio commentary by critic Tony Rayns, Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director feature-length documentary (Kaneto Shindo, 1975, 150 mins.), Two Worlds Intertwined featurette with director Masahiro Shinoda, interview with assistant director Tokuzo Tanaka, interview with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa, trailers, booklet featuring original short stories on which the film is based and an essay by critic Phillip Lopate, and more. Japan, 1953, 96 mins. DVD $59
A Geisha Kenji Mizoguchi A Geisha is a portrait of geisha life, a document about the rise of feminism in post-war Japan and an examination of the evolving relationship of two women. One is a distinguished geisha (Michiyo Kogure), the other, a 16-year-old novice (Ayako Wakao) whom she is training. Kogure is alarmed by the young woman's romantic delusions. "The film's charm is the compassionate but completely unsentimental way it regards the two women's friendship" (Vincent Canby). Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1953, 87 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Princess Yang Kwei Fei Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi's film about a young servant girl who is transformed into a princess and then destroyed by the shifting loyalties, betrayal and revenge around her. Mizoguchi's use of color, decor and diagonal compositions is fluid and baroque and perfectly reflects the characters' emotional conditions. "One of the most beautiful films ever to treat beauty as a subject" (Andrew Sarris). With Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyo and So Yamamura. Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1955, 125 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Sansho the Bailiff Kenji Mizoguchi Set in 11th century Japan, the film focuses on a mother who sets off with her two children to find her husband, a former deputy governor, who has been in exile. The family is broken up by a priestess who sells all three to kidnappers, and after many hardships, one of the sons becomes the governor once under Sansho's brutal rule. "Mizoguchi has created a powerful work with strong humanistic overtones. Focusing on the influence the two women in the story have on the hero, the film alternates the idyllic atmosphere of some scenes with the violent cruelty of others" (Georges Sadoul). Criterion Collection edition. New, restored high-definition digital transfer. Includes video interviews with critic Tadao Sato, assistant director Tokuzo Tanaka, and legendary actress Kyoko Kagawa, audio commentary by Japanese-literature professor Jeffrey Angles, improved English subtitle translation, and a book with an essay by scholar Mark Le Fanu and two versions of the story upon which the films was based. Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1954, 120 mins. DVD $59
Taira Clan Saga Kenji Mizoguchi The last great color film by Mizoguchi. Set in the 12th century as the center of power in Japan shifted from feudal nobility to the Buddhist clergy, the story centers on Kiyomori, scion of the Taira clan of swordsmen. At the beginning of the film he quietly acquiesces to his father's authority; at the end he is in open revolt against it. Mizoguchi describes and analyzes this change in what amounts to the work of a major artist in full authority. "A film which I must call sublime even at the risk of sounding ridiculous," said Andrew Sarris of the epic scope of Shin Heike Monogatari, which is also known as The Sacrilegious Hero. In Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1955, 110 mins. DVD $44.95
Utamaro and His Five Women Kenji Mizoguchi Mizoguchi's exquisite portrait of the artistic life of Tokyo of the 18th century is a portrait of Edo artist Utamaro (Minnosuke Bando) and his relationship to women. Utamaro stands at the center of the lives of five women who compete for his attention in a film which is remarkably modern for its attitude toward the rights of women. The scenarist, Yoshikata Yoda, stated that the film was an unconscious portrait of Mizoguchi himself. With Kinuyo Tanaka, Kotaro Bando and Hiroko Kawasaki. Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1946, 89 mins. Videocassette $44.95