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Ugetsu
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKenji Mizoguchi
Screenplay by
Based onUgetsu Monogatari
by Ueda Akinari
Produced byMasaichi Nagata
Starring
CinematographyKazuo Miyagawa
Edited byMitsuzō Miyata
Music byFumio Hayasaka
Production
company
Distributed byDaiei Film
Release date
  • 26 March 1953 (1953-03-26) (Japan)
Running time
96 minutes[2]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Ugetsu (雨月物語, Ugetsu Monogatari, lit. "Rain-moon tales")[3] is a 1953 Japanese period fantasy film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi starring Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō. It is based on the stories "The House in the Thicket" and "The Lust of the White Serpent" from Ueda Akinari's 1776 book Ugetsu Monogatari, combining elements of the jidaigeki (period drama) genre with a ghost story.

Drawing from Ueda's tales, the film is set in Japan's civil war–torn Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600). In a small rural community, a potter leaves his wife and young son behind to make money selling pottery and ends up being seduced by a spirit that makes him forget all about his family. A subplot, inspired by Guy de Maupassant's 1883 short story "How He Got the Legion of Honor" ("Décoré !"),[4][5] involves his brother-in-law, who dreams of becoming a samurai and chases this goal at the unintended expense of his wife.

The film won the Silver Lion Award at the 1953 Venice Film Festival and other honours. Ugetsu is one of Mizoguchi's most celebrated films, regarded by critics as a masterpiece of Japanese cinema, credited with simultaneously helping to popularize Japanese cinema in the West and influencing later Japanese film.[citation needed]

Plot

[edit]

In the farming village Nakanogō, on the shore of Lake Biwa in Ōmi Province in the Sengoku period, Genjūrō, a potter, takes his wares to nearby Ōmizo. He is accompanied by his brother-in-law Tōbei, who dreams of becoming a samurai. A respected sage tells Genjūrō's wife Miyagi to warn him about seeking profit in times of upheaval, and to prepare for an attack on the village. Returning with profits, Miyagi asks him to stop but Genjūrō nevertheless works to finish his pottery. That night, lord Shibata Katsuie's army sweeps through Nakanogō, uprooting Genjūrō, Tōbei and their wives; Genjūrō decides to take his pots to a different marketplace. As the couples travel across Lake Biwa, a boat appears out of the thick fog. The sole passenger tells them he was attacked by pirates, warns them, and dies. The men decide to return their wives to the shore but Tōbei's wife Ohama refuses to go. Miyagi begs Genjūrō not to leave her, but is left on the shore with their young son Genichi clasped to her back. At market, Genjūrō's pottery sells well. After taking his share of the profits, Tōbei buys samurai armor and sneaks into a samurai clan. Lost from her companions, Ohama wanders beyond Nagahama searching for Tōbei and gets raped by soldiers. Noblewoman Lady Wakasa and her female servant visit Genjurō, ordering several pieces of pottery and telling him to take them to the Kutsuki mansion. There, Genjūrō learns that Nobunaga's soldiers attacked the manor and killed all who lived there, except Wakasa and her servant. He also learns that Wakasa's father haunts the manor. Genjūrō is seduced by Lady Wakasa and she convinces him to marry her. Meanwhile, Nakanogō is under attack. In the woods, several soldiers desperately search Miyagi for food. She fights them and is stabbed, collapsing with her son clutching her back.

Location of Ōmi Province, the setting of Ugetsu

Tōbei presents the severed head of a general that he stole to the commander of the victor, receiving armor, a mount, and a retinue. Tōbei later rides into the marketplace on his new horse, eager to return home to show his wife. However, he visits a brothel and finds her working there as a prostitute. Tōbei promises to buy back her honor.

Genjūrō meets a priest and soothsayer who tells him to return to his loved ones or accept death. When Genjūrō mentions Wakasa, the priest reveals that she is dead and must be exorcised and invites Genjūrō to his home, painting Buddhist symbols on his body. Genjūrō returns to the Kutsuki mansion. He admits that he is married, has a child, and wishes to return home. Wakasa refuses to let him go. She and her servant admit they are spirits, returned to this world so that Wakasa, slain before she knew love, could experience it. They tell him to wash away the symbols. Genjūrō reaches for a sword, throws himself out of the manor, and passes out. The next day, he is awakened by soldiers accusing him of stealing the sword, but he denies it, saying it is from the Kutsuki mansion. The soldiers laugh at him, saying the Kutsuki mansion was burned down over a month ago. Genjūrō arises and finds the mansion nothing more than a pile of burnt wood. The soldiers confiscate his money, but because Shibata's army burned down the prison, they leave him in the rubble. He returns home by foot, searching for his wife.

Miyagi, delighted to see him, will not let him tell of his terrible mistake. Genjūrō holds his sleeping son in his arms, and eventually falls asleep. The next morning, Genjūrō wakes to the village chief knocking on his door. He is surprised to see Genjūrō home and says that he has been caring for Genjūrō's son. Genjūrō calls for Miyagi; the neighbor asks if Genjūrō is dreaming as Miyagi was killed after she was stabbed. The next morning, as Tōbei bought back Ohama's honor, they return to Nakanogō. Tōbei reflects on his mistakes, both resolving to work hard from now on. Genjūrō continues looking after Genichi and working on his pottery. Ohama gives Genichi a plate of food, which he takes and puts on his mother's grave.

Cast

[edit]
  • Machiko Kyō as Lady Wakasa
  • Mitsuko Mito as Ohama
  • Kinuyo Tanaka as Miyagi
  • Masayuki Mori as Genjūrō
  • Eitaro Ozawa as Tōbei (as Sakae Ozawa)
  • Ichisaburo Sawamura as Genichi
  • Kikue Mōri as Ukon, Lady Wakasa's Nurse
  • Ryōsuke Kagawa as Village Master
  • Eigoro Onoe as Knight
  • Saburo Date as Vassal
  • Sugisaku Aoyama as Old Priest
  • Reiko Kongo as an Old Woman in Brothel
  • Shozo Nanbu as Shinto Priest
  • Ichirō Amano as Boatsman
  • Kichijirō Ueda as Shop Owner
  • Teruko Omi as Prostitute
  • Keiko Koyanagi as Prostitute
  • Mitsusaburō Ramon as Captain of Tamba Soldiers
  • Jun Fujikawa as Lost Soldier
  • Ryuuji Fukui as Lost Soldier
  • Masayoshi Kikuno as Soldier
  • Hajime Koshikawa
  • Sugisaka Koyama as High Priest
  • Ryuzaburo Mitsuoka as Soldier
  • Koji Murata
  • Fumihiko Yokoyama

Production

[edit]

Development

[edit]
Director Kenji Mizoguchi made the effects of war a major theme of his film.

After the success of his previous film The Life of Oharu (1952), Mizoguchi was offered to make a film by his old friend Masaichi Nagata at Daiei Film studios. The deal promised Mizoguchi complete artistic control and a large budget. Despite this, Mizoguchi was eventually pressured to make a less pessimistic ending for the film.[6] Mizoguchi's screenwriter and long-time collaborator Yoshikata Yoda said that originally, Mizoguchi did not envision making an anti-war film, instead wishing to capture the sensations and lucidity of Ueda's book Ugetsu Monogatari.[7]

Mizoguchi based his film on two stories from Ueda's book, "The House in the Thicket" (Asaji ga Yado) and "The Lust of the White Serpent" (Jasei no In).[8][9] "The Lust of the White Serpent" is about a demon who appears as a princess and attempts to seduce a man. It was the basis of the plot in which Lady Wakasa seduces Genjūrō. "The House in the Thicket" gave the film its ending, in which the protagonist returns home after a long absence, only to meet the spirit of his lost wife.[10] The film is set in the 16th century, though "The House in the Thicket" is set in the 15th century and "The Lust of the White Serpent" is set in an earlier time frame.[11][12] Other inspirations for the film's script include Guy de Maupassant's Décoré! (How He Got the Legion of Honour).[6][8] This story provided a basis for Tōbei's subplot. In the short story, the protagonist receives the French Legion of Honour by ignoring his wife's adultery with a member of the Legion. Similarly, Tōbei becomes a samurai while his wife becomes a prostitute.[13]

Despite initial intentions, as the film developed, Yoda said anti-war messages, particularly about how war makes women suffer, kept surfacing and soon became the most prominent theme.[7] While writing the script, Mizoguchi told Yoda "Whether war originates in the ruler's personal motives, or in some public concern, how violence, disguised as war, oppresses and torments the populace both physically and spiritually ... I want to emphasise this as the main theme of the film".[9] During the shooting Yoda was constantly rewriting and revising scenes due to Mizoguchi's perfectionism.[14]

Casting

[edit]

The film was Machiko Kyō's second collaboration with Mizoguchi, as she had a small role in The Three Danjuros (1944). She had collaborated much more frequently with Masayuki Mori.[15] As Lady Wakasa, Kyō's costume was modeled after fashion before the Edo period and her face was designed to appear similar to a mask common in Noh theatre.[16] As such, her eyebrows were styled using a practice known as hikimayu.

Kinuyo Tanaka, who played Miyagi, found the scene where she is a ghost to be the most stressful, as she had to play a ghost and appear to be an actual wife at the same time. After rehearsals and the shooting, Mizoguchi lit a cigarette for Mori, indicating his rare degree of satisfaction with the scene.[17] Eitaro Ozawa, who played Tōbei, said the actors frequently rehearsed alone, or with the cinematographer, while Mizoguchi was willingly absent during these preparations.[18]

Filming

[edit]
Katsura Imperial Villa was the basis for Katsuki Manor.

Mizoguchi told his cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa that he wanted the film "to unroll seamlessly like a scroll-painting".[6] The Southern School of Chinese painting was particularly an inspiration the filmmakers aspired to.[19] The film has been praised for its cinematography, such as the opening shot and the scene where Genjūrō and Lady Wakasa have sex by a stream and the camera follows the flow of the water instead of lingering on the two lovers.[20] Mizoguchi never personally handled the camera and did not participate in planning the lighting of his film.[21] To achieve the appearance the filmmakers wanted, Miyagawa kept lighting low and filmed as near to sunset as circumstances would allow.[19] Many of the shots were taken from cranes, with Miyagawa claiming in 1992 that these shots made up 70% of the film.[22]

Shooting of Ugetsu

Miyagawa also stated that this film was the only occasion in which Mizoguchi complimented him for his camera work.[20]

The set depicting Kutsuki Manor was based on the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. These sets are decorated with props evocative of feudal-era aristocrats, such as kimono and armor, personally chosen by Mizoguchi.[10] The scene where the protagonists travel through Lake Biwa on a boat was in fact shot on a pool in the studio, with added smoke. The assistant directors had to push the boat through the cold waters.[23] Miyagawa identified this as one of the scenes shot from a crane.[19]

Music

[edit]
Fumio Hayasaka composed the score.

For the film score, Mizoguchi relied on composer Fumio Hayasaka and the assistant directors, and was not involved in their creative process.[21] Fumio Hayasaka was a strong proponent of using Japanese music in Japanese films, though he incorporated several elements of Western music as well.[24] For Ugetsu, he employed geza music, common in Kabuki theatre.[25] Additional, uncredited composers were Ichirō Saitō and Tamekichi Mochizuki, whose music was blended with Hayasaka's, and could provide accurate music reflective of the period.[26]

The score employs drums, flutes and chanting.[22] The film's sounds also include bells heard in improbable places.[25] There is significant use of the harp, restricted to the presence of the supernatural.[27]

Themes

[edit]

According to Professor Martha P. Nochimson, a common interpretation of the film is that Mizoguchi refashioned the stories of Ugetsu Monogatari to express regret about the pro-war extremism leading to World War II, with Mizoguchi personally having made the pro-war propaganda film The 47 Ronin in 1941.[28] These reflections on militarism, greed and arrogance connected with audiences not only in Japan but around the world in the wake of the war.[29] The subplot of Tōbei and Ohama particularly reflects the comfort women, who were made into prostitutes by the Imperial Japanese Army. Mizoguchi struggled with Daiei to give the subplot an unhappier ending than what appears in the film, in line with real comfort women's experiences after the war.[30] Tōbei's subplot reveals the mistake of war can also be a "tragicomedy".[31]

According to British critic Tony Rayns the film's presentation of the vanity of a man, neglecting his family, is a critique of historic men in feudal Japanese culture.[32] In his relationship with Wakasa, Genjūrō is insignificant and is seduced by something greater, that he can never comprehend.[31] However, by neglecting his family, Genjūrō failed to appreciate he has already been blessed with a good life, and in the process, loses it.[33]

As a ghost story, the film delves into a relationship between a spirit and a living person, which runs contrary to nature and will lead to the death of the person.[34] Although ghosts are not mentioned in the initial parts of the film, Japanese writer Kazushi Hosaka stated Mizoguchi foreshadowed it using the scenery, which suggests a detachment from real life. The scene where the protagonists cross Lake Biwa is an example, given the fogs that turn the film away from the jidaigeki genre.[35] Professor Robin Wood argues that the film's depiction of the main ghost character evolves from the mere demon of "The Lust of the White Serpent" into the more humane and tragic Lady Wakasa, and this makes the story more complex. Wood further opines the combination of the story with "The House in the Thicket," combining the male protagonist of each tale into one character, Genjūrō, also connects the demon character and the ghost wife. Both Lady Wakasa and Miyagi are killed by a male-dominated society, and both are wronged by Genjūrō.[36] Wood believes Ugetsu can be considered a feminist film for its exploration of the negative impact of a patriarchy.[37]

Genjūrō's pottery is also a major theme in the film. Professor Wood argues his pottery evolves in three phases, reflecting Mizoguchi's changing approach to filmmaking. Genjūrō begins making the pottery for commercial reasons, shifts to pure aesthetics while isolated with Lady Wakasa, and finally moves on to a style that reflects life and strives to understand it.[38]

Release

[edit]

Ugetsu was released in Japan on 26 March 1953.[39] It was shown at the 1953 Venice Film Festival. Accompanied by Yoda and Kinuyo Tanaka,[20] Mizoguchi made his first trip outside Japan to attend the festival. He spent much of his time in Italy in his hotel room praying to a scroll with a portrait of Kannon for victory.[40] While in Venice he met director William Wyler, whose film Roman Holiday was also screening in competition at the festival and was rumoured to be the winner of the Silver Lion for best director.[14] The film opened in New York City on 7 September 1954,[41] with the English title Ugetsu being a truncation of Ugetsu Monogatari, the Japanese title, from Ueda's book.[42] It was distributed elsewhere in the United States by Harrison Pictures under the title Tales of Ugetsu on 20 September 1954.[1]

In September 2006, Film Forum screened the film in New York City over six days, opening a Mizoguchi tribute.[43] A 4K digital restoration also screened as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival,[44] Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna,[45][46] and the 2016 New York Film Festival.[47] The restoration "was undertaken by The Film Foundation and Kadokawa Corporation at Cineric Laboratories in New York".[48]

Home media

[edit]

Ugetsu was released on VHS by Home Vision Entertainment, with English subtitles.[49] The film was released on LaserDisc in the United States by Voyager Company on November 24, 1993.[50] On 8 November 2005, the film became available for the first time on Region 1 DVD when the Criterion Collection released a two-disc edition of the film,[51] which includes numerous special features such as a 150-minute documentary on Mizoguchi, Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director, directed by Kaneto Shindo. The box-set also includes a booklet with an essay by Keiko I. McDonald, the author of Mizoguchi and editor of Ugetsu, and the three short stories from which the film draws inspiration.[52] The film was released on Blu-Ray through the Criterion Collection years later, with all the features included.

In April 2008, Ugetsu Monogatari was released in the U.K. on Region 2 DVD by Eureka Entertainment as part of their Masters of Cinema series. The two-disc special edition containing new transfers is released in a double pack which twins it with Mizoguchi's film Miss Oyu (1951).[53] This U.K. set was released on Blu-ray on 23 April 2012.[54]

Reception

[edit]

Critical reception

[edit]

Ugetsu is often regarded as a masterwork of Japanese cinema[55] and a definitive piece during Japan's Golden Age of Film.[8] It is one of a number of films arguably more popular in western countries than in Japan. Japanese film historian Tadao Satō remarked that while this film, along with Mizoguchi's other works of the period The Crucified Lovers and Sansho the Bailiff, was probably not meant specifically to be sold to westerners as an "exotic" piece, it was perceived by studio executives as the kind of film that would not necessarily make a profit in Japanese theaters but would win awards at international film festivals.[56]

The film was immediately popular in western countries and praised by such film critics as Lindsay Anderson and Donald Richie. Richie called it "one of the most perfect movies in the history of Japanese cinema" and especially praised the beauty and morality of the film's opening and closing shots. Richie analyzed how the film starts with "a long panorama" and shots spanning from a lake to the shore and the village. He judged the ending's "upward tilting panorama" from the grave to above to reflect the beginning.[20] Bosley Crowther, in The New York Times, wrote that the film had "a strangely obscure, inferential, almost studiedly perplexing quality".[41] Variety staff praised the film's visuals for reminiscence to Japanese prints, costumes and set design, and the performances of Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō.[57]

The film appeared in Sight & Sound magazine's top 10 critics poll of the greatest films ever made, which is held once every decade, in 1962 and 1972.[58][59] In the 2012 Sight & Sound poll, it was voted the 50th greatest film of all time.[60] Ugetsu currently holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 30 reviews, with a weighted average of 9.40/10. The site's critical consensus states, "With its thought-provoking themes, rich atmosphere, and brilliant direction, Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu monogatari [sic] is a towering classic of world cinema".[61] Roger Ebert added Ugetsu to his Great Movies list in 2004, calling it "one of the greatest of all films", and said that "At the end of Ugetsu, aware we have seen a fable, we also feel curiously as if we have witnessed true lives and fates".[62] Director Martin Scorsese has also listed it as one of his favourite films of all time[63] and included it on a list of "39 Essential Foreign Films for a Young Filmmaker."[64] It was also listed by Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky as one of his top ten favorite films.[65]

In 5001 Nights at the Movies, film critic Pauline Kael found it to be "subtle, violent yet magical", and termed Ugetsu as "one of the most amazing of the Japanese movies that played American art houses".[66] In 2000, The Village Voice newspaper ranked Ugetsu 29th on their list of the 100 best films of the 20th century.[67]

Accolades

[edit]

Ugetsu won the Silver Lion Award for Best Direction at the Venice Film Festival in 1953.[14] The night before, Mizoguchi, believing that if the film did not win an award the shame would prevent him from returning to Japan, stayed in his hotel room and prayed.[56] In Japan it was named third in Kinema Junpo's Best Ten for Japanese films of 1953.[68] and won two awards at the 8th Mainichi Film Awards.[69]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Academy Awards 21 March 1956 Best Costume Design, Black and White Tadaoto Kainosho Nominated [70]
Kinema Junpo Awards 1953 Best Ten Ugetsu Monogatari Won [68]
Mainichi Film Awards 1953 Best Sound Recording Iwao Ōtani Won [71]
Best Art Direction Kisaku Itō Won
Ministry of Education 1953 Cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa Won [20]
Venice Film Festival 20 August – 4 September 1953 Silver Lion Kenji Mizoguchi Won [14][72]
Pasinetti Award Kenji Mizoguchi Won

Legacy

[edit]

Along with Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon (1950), Ugetsu is credited with having popularised Japanese cinema in the West.[8][62] The film, and Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Story, released the same year, particularly created awareness of other Japanese filmmakers.[73] Mizoguchi cemented his reputation among film aficionados in Europe with his film Sansho the Bailiff (1954).[74] Ugetsu and Sansho the Bailiff made an impact on French New Wave directors Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut, and U.S. director Paul Schrader, who sought Kazuo Miyagawa for advice on the film Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985).[75]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Galbraith IV 1996, p. 382.
  2. ^ "雨月物語". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  3. ^ Ueda, Akinari (2007). "About Tales of Moonlight and Rain". Tales of Moonlight and Rain. Translated by Chambers, Anthony H. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 13.
  4. ^ Bock, Audie (1985). Japanese Film Directors. Tokyo: Kodansha International. p. 47. ISBN 9784770012142.
  5. ^ Andrew, Dudley; Andrew, Paul (1981). Kenji Mizoguchi: a Guide to References and Resources. Boston: G. K. Hall. p. 184. ISBN 9780816184699.
  6. ^ a b c Wakeman 1987, p. 798
  7. ^ a b Kaneto Shindo (Director); Yoshikata Yoda (1975). Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (Motion picture). The Criterion Collection.
  8. ^ a b c d McDonald, Keiko. "Ugetsu". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  9. ^ a b McDonald 1984, p. 116
  10. ^ a b Russell 2011, p. 55
  11. ^ Haydock 2008, p. 53.
  12. ^ Balio 2010, p. 121.
  13. ^ Russell 2011, p. 56
  14. ^ a b c d McDonald 1984, p. 104
  15. ^ Kaneto Shindo (Director); Machiko Kyō (1975). Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (Motion picture). The Criterion Collection.
  16. ^ Nochimson 2011, p. 211
  17. ^ Kaneto Shindo (Director); Kinuyo Tanaka (1975). Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (Motion picture). The Criterion Collection.
  18. ^ Kaneto Shindo (Director); Eitaro Ozawa (1975). Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (Motion picture). The Criterion Collection.
  19. ^ a b c Kaneto Shindo (Director); Kazuo Miyagawa (1975). Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (Motion picture). The Criterion Collection.
  20. ^ a b c d e Wakeman 1987, p. 799
  21. ^ a b Russell 2011, p. 54
  22. ^ a b Russell 2011, p. 57
  23. ^ Russell 2011, p. 60
  24. ^ Kalinak 2012, p. 167
  25. ^ a b Clarke, Donald (13 September 2014). "50 years, 50 films Vol II: Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  26. ^ Chang, Chris (March–April 2006). "Ghost Tones". Film Comment. p. 16.
  27. ^ Tony Rayns audio commentary, Criterion Collection, 2005
  28. ^ Nochimson 2011, p. 213
  29. ^ McRoy 2015, pp. 202–203
  30. ^ Nochimson 2011, pp. 213–214
  31. ^ a b Sultanik 1986, p. 136
  32. ^ Nochimson 2011, p. 214
  33. ^ Stone 2009, p. 173
  34. ^ Lee 2015, p. 780
  35. ^ Spicer 2010, p. 236
  36. ^ Wood 1998, p. 243
  37. ^ Wood 1998, p. 245
  38. ^ Wood 2006, p. 288
  39. ^ McDonald 1984, p. 181
  40. ^ "BFI | Sight & Sound | Mizoguchi Kenji: Artist Of The Floating World". old.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
  41. ^ a b Crowther, Bosley (8 September 1954). "The Screen in Review; Ugetsu, From Japan, Offered at Plaza". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  42. ^ McDonald 1984, pp. 103–104
  43. ^ Rafferty, Terrence (3 September 2006). "Kenji Mizoguchi's Movies Seek Beauty". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  44. ^ "Cannes Classics 2016". Cannes Film Festival. 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  45. ^ "Ugetsu Monogatari". Il Cinema Ritrovato. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  46. ^ Armando Gallo (5 July 2016). "The HFPA Honors Another Classic: Japan's "Ugetsu Monogatari" at Bologna's Cinema Ritrovato 2016" (Press release). Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
  47. ^ "Revivals :: Ugetsu Monogatari". New York Film Festival. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  48. ^ "Ugetsu press notes" (PDF) (Press release). Janus Films. 2016.
  49. ^ Richie, Donald (1 August 2005). A Hundred Years of Japanese Film: A Concise History, with a Selective Guide to DVDs and Videos. Google Books: Kodansha USA. p. 289. ISBN 978-4770029959.
  50. ^ McGowan, Chris (6 November 1993). "Letterbox Format's Popularity Widens" (PDF). Billboard. p. 73. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  51. ^ Germain, David (2 November 2005). "'Chocolate Factory' a sweet treat on DVD". The Associated Press. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  52. ^ "The Criterion Collection: Ugetsu by Kenji Mizoguchi". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  53. ^ Horne, Philip (19 April 2008). "DVD reviews: Ugetsu Monogatari, Oyu-Sama and more". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  54. ^ "Ugetsu monogatari". DVD Beaver. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  55. ^ Lopate, Phillip. "Ugetsu: From the Other Shore". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  56. ^ a b Satō 2006, p. 236
  57. ^ Staff (31 December 1952). "Review: 'Ugetsu Monogatari'". Variety. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  58. ^ "Sight and Sound Poll 1962: Critics". California Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  59. ^ "Sight and Sound Poll 1972: Critics". California Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 5 July 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  60. ^ "Votes for Ugetsu Monogatari (1953) | BFI". www2.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  61. ^ "Ugetsu monogatari (1953)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  62. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (9 May 2004). "Ugetsu (1953)". rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  63. ^ "Scorsese's 12 favorite films". Miramax. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  64. ^ "Martin Scorsese Creates a List of 39 Essential Foreign Films for a Young Filmmaker". Open Culture. 15 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  65. ^ Lasica, Tom. "Tarkovsky's Choice". Nostalghia.com. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  66. ^ Kael 1991, p. 802
  67. ^ "100 Best Films of the 20th Century Village Voice Critics' Poll". filmsite.org. Archived from the original on 13 June 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  68. ^ a b "Watanabe Shihai-jin no oshaberi shinema: "Mizoguchi Kenji: Ugetsu Monogatari"". NHK. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  69. ^ "Ugetsu Monogatari". Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan website. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  70. ^ "THE 28TH ACADEMY AWARDS 1956". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  71. ^ "8th (1953)". Mainichi Film Awards. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  72. ^ Cahiers du cinéma, Issues 25–30, Editions de l'Etoile, 1971, p. 21.
  73. ^ Burr, Ty (1 November 1997). "TALES FROM THE UNDERGROUND AN EARLY INDIE TIME LINE". Entertainment Weekly. p. 82.
  74. ^ Russell 2011, p. 61
  75. ^ Miyao 2013, p. 255

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Balio, Tino (2010). The Foreign Film Renaissance on American Screens, 1946–1973. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0299247935.
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