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Kenji Mizoguchi looms over the history not only of Japanese cinema -- but of world cinema altogether. These eight films from the last decade of Mizoguchi's career represent a collection of eight of his greatest works, which is to say, eight of the greatest films ever made. Oyû-sama (1951) is an adaptation of Tanizaki Jun'ichirô: a poignant tale of two sisters and their ill-fated relationship with the same man: a tale of the social mores and affairs of the heart that might destroy siblings. Ugetsu monogatari (1953), a ghost-tale par excellence and one of the most highly acclaimed works of the cinema, is an intensely poetic, sublimely lyrical tragedy of men lured away from their wives which consistently features on polls of the best films ever made. Gion-bayashi (1953) is a drama set in the world of the geisha, a subtle masterwork that yields myriad insights into the lives of Japan's "service-class" in the early '50s. Sanshô-dayû (1954) recounts an unforgettably sad story of the 11th century involving kidnapping and indentured servitude and figures, again, with its exquisite tone and purity of emotion as one of the most critically revered films of any era. Uwasa no onna (1954), another Mizoguchi picture set in a modern geisha house, pits mother against daughter, with the ensuing drama forcing both to confront their attitudes toward family and business in what is one of the filmmaker's most astute filmic examinations of oppressed femininity. Chikamatsu monogatari (1954), the tragic story of a forbidden love affair between a merchant's wife and her husband's employee, was hailed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa as "a great masterpiece that could only have been made by Mizoguchi." Yôkihi (1955) recounts an 8th-century Chinese story of a widowed emperor and his imperial concubine, filmed in sumptuous, hallucinatory Agfa-stock colour. Akasen-chitai (1956), aka Street of Shame, is Mizoguchi's final masterpiece and one of the greatest last films ever made, depicting the goings-on in a Tokyo brothel carrying the name "Dreamland," where dreams are nevertheless shattered beneath the weight of financial necessity and all questions of conscience a last testament which inspired the great French critic Jean Douchet to proclaim: "For me, along with Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux and Renoir's La Règle du jeu, the greatest film in the history of the cinema. SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDING: - 4 Lavish booklets featuring writing by Keiko I. McDonald (author of Mizoguchi) and much more - Video discussions by acclaimed Japanese film expert/critic, festival programmer, and filmmaker Tony Rayns - Original theatrical trailers - New and improved English subtitles.
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United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: Japanese ( Mono ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Booklet, Box Set, Commentary, Interactive Menu, Multi-DVD Set, Remastered, Scene Access, Teaser(s), Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Street of Shame (1956) Five prostitutes work at Dreamland, in Tokyo's Yoshiwara district. As the Diet considers a ban on prostitution, the women's daily dramas play out. Each has dreams and motivations. Princess Yang Kwei-fei (1955) Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi directed Princess Yang Kwei Fei. When first we see her, the "princess" (Machiko Kyo) is a mere servant girl. The reigning princess dies, and the emperor chooses the servant as his wife. Jealousy and back-stabbing doom this union from the start. The Crucified Lovers (1954) In 17th century Kyoto, Osan is married to Ishun, a wealthy miserly scroll-maker. When Osan is falsely accused of having an affair with the best worker, Mohei, the pair flee the city and declare their love for each other. Ishun orders his men to find them, and separate them to avoid public humiliation. The Woman in the Rumor (1954) Hatsuko Umabuchi is a widow who runs a prosperous geisha house in present day Kyoto. Her daughter Yukiko returns from Tokyo following a failed suicide attempt, after her lover found out about her mother's profession. Sansho the Bailiff (1954) In mediaeval Japan a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression. A Geisha (1953) In the post-war Gion district of Kyoto, the geisha Miyoharu agrees to apprentice the 16 year-old Eiko, whose mother was a former geisha who ha...Kenji Mizoguchi Collection - 8-DVD Box Set ( Akasen chitai / Yôkihi / Chikamatsu monogatari / Uwasa no onna / Sanshô dayû / Gion bayashi / Ugetsu monogatari / Oyû-sama ) ( Street of Shame / Princess Yang Kwei-fei (Empress Yank Kwei Fei) / T
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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
If you have any interest at all in genuine high-quality film-making or golden-age Japanese cinema this box set is the bargain of the century.
Mizoguchi is one of the gods of Japanese cinema; Akira Kurosawa created the definitive samurai movie; Yasujiro Ozu poignantly depicted the distances between generations and the changing face of the family; but the principle concern of Kenji Mizoguchi was how women suffered in a male-dominated society. This heartfelt theme was almost certainly instigated by his father's brutal treatment of Mizoguchi's mother and sisters and the eventual selling of his older sister into the life of a geisha. In almost all of these films women suffer terribly as a result of inflexible social rules and hierarchies. (Watching them, however, is continuously rewarding.)
Part of what makes these movies so outstanding is Mizoguchi's artistic use of the camera with meticulously executed long takes. Although only one of the movies is shot in colour, his use of lighting and composition shares all the luminous formal beauty of Japanese art.
Sansho Dayu and Ugetsu Monogatari are frequently top (or near the top) of critics' lists of best movies of all time and this collection represents Mizoguchi's finest work. At this price this collection of masterpieces is absolutely essential.
Mizoguchi is one of the gods of Japanese cinema; Akira Kurosawa created the definitive samurai movie; Yasujiro Ozu poignantly depicted the distances between generations and the changing face of the family; but the principle concern of Kenji Mizoguchi was how women suffered in a male-dominated society. This heartfelt theme was almost certainly instigated by his father's brutal treatment of Mizoguchi's mother and sisters and the eventual selling of his older sister into the life of a geisha. In almost all of these films women suffer terribly as a result of inflexible social rules and hierarchies. (Watching them, however, is continuously rewarding.)
Part of what makes these movies so outstanding is Mizoguchi's artistic use of the camera with meticulously executed long takes. Although only one of the movies is shot in colour, his use of lighting and composition shares all the luminous formal beauty of Japanese art.
Sansho Dayu and Ugetsu Monogatari are frequently top (or near the top) of critics' lists of best movies of all time and this collection represents Mizoguchi's finest work. At this price this collection of masterpieces is absolutely essential.
2 of 63 people found the following review helpful
Mixed bag:some excellent and some not so good.
Still BFI are too be praised for making these available to a wider audience in one go and worth the money.
Still BFI are too be praised for making these available to a wider audience in one go and worth the money.
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