|
|
|
Ugetsu - 2 Disc Set
" Two brothers [Genjuro (Masayuki Mori), a potter, and his brother
Tobei (Eitaro Ozawa), a farmer], one consumed by greed, the other
by envy. In a time when the land is savaged by marauding armies, they
risk their families
and their lives to pursue their obsessions. Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu (1953)
tells their stories in one of the greatest of all films -- one which,
along with Kurosawa's 'Rashomon,' helped introduce Japanese
cinema to Western audiences. The heroes are rough-hewn and consumed
by ambition, but the film style is elegant and mysterious, and somehow
we know before we are told that this is a ghost story."
"The characters in 'Ugetsu' are down to earth, and
in the case of Tobei, even comic, but the story feels ancient, and
indeed
draws on the ghost legends of Japanese theater. Unlike ghost stories
in the West, Mizoguchi's film does not try to startle or shock; the
discovery of the second ghost comes for us as a moment of quiet revelation,
and we understand the gentle, forgiving spirit that inspired it."
"The period detail is accurate and rich. The city marketplace, the
headquarters of the samurai, Tobei's visit to a shop to buy armor and
a spear, Genjuro's
haste when he asks another merchant to watch his prized pots (for he
must hurry after Lady Wakasa) -- all of these create a feudal world
in which life is hard and escape comes through the silly dreams of
men. Women are more cautious, and there is a blunt realism in the sequence
where Miyagi, left behind, tries to protect and feed their son as armies
loot and rape the countryside. At the end of 'Ugetsu,' aware
we have seen a fable, we also feel curiously as if we have witnessed
true lives and fates." ---- Roger Ebert
DVD - The Criterion Collection - 2 Disc Set
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Audio commentary by filmmaker, critic, and festival programmer
Tony Rayns
- "Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director" 2
1/2 hour documentary
- "Two Worlds Intertwined" appreciation of Ugetsu by director
Masahiro Shinoda
- "Process and Production" video interview with
Tokuzo Tanaka
- Video interview with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- New essay by critic Phillip Lopate
- Two short stories on which the film is based
Curator's Comments:
Read
Roger Ebert's essay on this DVD Classic.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Black & White
97 minutes
Released: 1953
Rated: NR
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
Genre: Drama, Thriller
|
