Ugetsu monogatari (1953)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Matsutarô Kawaguchi (adaptation)
Kyûchi Tsuji (idea)

Release Date:

7 September 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

In the civil wars of 16th century Japan, two ambitious peasants want to make their fortunes. The potter...

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Civil War | 16th Century | Potter | Japan

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Masayuki Mori	...	Genjurô
Machiko Kyô	...	Lady Wakasa
Kinuyo Tanaka	...	Miyagi
Eitarô Ozawa	...	To^bei (as Sakae Ozawa)
Ikio Sawamura	...	Genichi
Mitsuko Mito	...	Ohama
Kikue Môri	...	Ukon
Ryosuke Kagawa	...	Village Master
Eigoro Onoe	...	Knight
Saburo Date	...	Vassal
Sugisaku Aoyama	...	Old Priest
Reiko Kongo	...	Old Woman in Brothel
Shozo Nanbu	...	Shinto Priest
Ichirô Amano	...	Boatsman
Kichijiro Ueda	...	Shop Owner

Also Known As:

Tales of Ugetsu (USA) (literal English title)
Tales of a Pale and Mysterious Moon After the Rain (informal literal English title)
Ugetsu (USA) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG (2008) | UK:X (1962) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | Hong Kong:I

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Daiei Studios

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Aru eiga-kantoku no shogai (1975)

Timeless

I first saw this masterpiece in 1973 during a special retrospective of Japanese films on PBS hosted by the former US Ambassador to Japan, Edwin O. Reischauer. I was 18 at the time. Twenty-six years later this film still holds a special place in my heart (did you not fall in love with Machiko Kyo?). It also reminds me that Kurosawa's shadow has unfortunately obscured the works of Mizoguchi and Konichika (my apologies if I've misspelt the latter).

Before writing this comment I reviewed the voter history and was dismayed to discover that three people ranked this film 3 or less on a scale of 10. Did I miss some flaw in this film? I hope this isn't too opinionated, but if you don't love "Ugetsu" then perhaps you should avoid foreign films altogether.