Largely taken from traditional japanese and chinese ghost stories, the collection is among most important works of japanese fiction of the 18th century, the middle of the edo. Yes, the pursuit of status and wealth is shown to be disastrous, but didnt we know already. Swiftly establishing itself especially in france on many critics ten best lists, the film opened the way for the acclamation of the work of mizoguchi s final period. Ugetsu monogatari has been widely acclaimed as a masterpiece of the japanese cinema since the moment in 1952 when its director.
Uprooted by civil war, two peasant couples are split apart when the men against the counsel of their wives leave their families in. Of the three directors, mizoguchi was the oldest and had already. Ugetsu monogatari 1953, considered one of the finest of all japanese films, is an outstanding example of mizoguchis period drama. Kenji mizoguchi, director rutgers films in print keiko mcdonald on. The title of the work is by no means unknown to those europeans who take an interest in japanese matters, for it is mentioned or alluded to in almost every. Tonight, well be diving into kenji mizoguchi s 1953 film ugetsu. Ugetsu monogatari by kenji mizoguchi kenji mizoguchi. An exquisitely made period fantasy from director kenji mizoguchi, ugetsu ugetsu monogatari, or the story of ugetsu, 1953 was an artistically and commercially successful attempt on the part of daiei studios to repeat the international acclaim they had enjoyed. Sep 07, 2012 ugetsu monogatari a tribute to kenji mizoguchi. Ugetsu monogatari masters of cinema dual format edition blu. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Director kenji mizoguchi ia a master of cinematic imagery. Mizoguchi s ugetsu monogatari tales of the moon obscured by rainclouds left me with a peculiar aftertaste.
Jun 19, 2012 moma kenji mizoguchis ugetsu these notes accompany the screenings of kenji mizoguchis ugetsuon june 20, 21, and 22 my uncle, albert green, was an internationally acclaimed ceramicist whose work is primarily in the collection of the morris museum in new jersey. Mizoguchi s fluid camerawork expands this otherworldly tragedy into a profound meditation on the. He died in 1809, in kyoto at that time the capital of the nation. Ugetsu 1953 the early 1950s was the golden era of japanese cinema. It is a ghost story and an example of the jidaigeki period drama genre, starring masayuki mori and machiko kyo. Kenji mizoguchi s seamless fusion of poetic realism and surreal mysticism creates a rarefied atmosphere that is paradoxically beautiful and austere, redemptive and tragic, symbolizing genjuros coexistence between the physical and. The title ugetsu monogatari literally rain moon tales alludes to the belief that mysterious beings appear on cloudy, rainy nights and in mornings with a lingering moon. Specijalnost su mu bile socijalne drame, kao i vjesto koristenje dugih kadrova, koje mu je donijelo priznanje ne samo u domovini, nego u svijetu. Ugetsu monogatari is an exquisitely realized, serenely composed allegorical film on love, greed, and betrayal. Ugetsu monogatari 1953, considered one of the finest of all japanese films, is an outstanding example of mizoguchi s period drama. No quotes approved yet for ugetsu ugetsu monogatari. It solidified mizoguchi s reputation within the international film circuit, following the life of oharu 1952, a silver lion winner of the previous year. Roger ebert calls the film one of the greatest movies ever made.
Well, i saw my first mizoguchi film today story of the late chrysanthemums and im mightily impressed. He is, according to the yomiuri shimbun regarded as the dean of japanese filmmaking. Mizoguchi s bestknown work, based on two stories by the 18th century writer akinari ueda often described as the japanese maupassant, was one of a handful of japanese films to sweep up numerous. Western audiences immediately recognized the pictorial beauty of ugetsu and the lyrical power of mizoguchi s camera movements, but most viewers have found the films narrative elements. The life of a film director, a 1975 documentary by kaneto shindo two worlds intertwined, a 2005 appreciation of ugetsu by masahiro shinoda process and production, a 2005 interview with tokuzo tanaka, first assistant director on ugetsu interview from 1992. He had previously written two ukiyo zoshi in 17667 and a second collection harusame monogatari was not printed until 1907 quelle wikipedia sprache. In ueda akinari he produced ugetsu monogatari tales of moonlight and rain. Ugetsu monogatari has been widely acclaimed as a masterpiece of the japanese cinema since the moment in 1952 when its director, kenji mizoguchi, won a silver lion award for the film at the venice festival. Tales of moonlight and rain by ueda akinari and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Ugetsu monogatari was not the first kenji mizoguchi film to be shown in the west, but it was the first to reveal him to the west as a major artist. Among the masterpieces he created during this period, one of the most famous is ugetsu aka ugetsu monogatari tales of moonlight and rain, 1953. Ugetsu dvd the seattle public library bibliocommons. Displaying all of the hallmarks of kenji mizoguchi s quietly affecting style, this landmark film has been one of the most highly praised japanese movies, garnering the admiration of such directors as jeanluc godard and jacques rivette, as well as a silver lion from the venice film festival. The collection is wellknown for its supernatural elements, and it has been translated into english multiple times as tales of moonlight and rain and as tales of a raind moon.
The film follows two married couples namely genjuro and miyagi, tobei and ohama of the omi province. Genji monogatari,1 the original of this translation, is one of the standard works of japanese literature. Humble potter genjuro masayuki mori is received in the home of the diabolical lady wakasa machiko kyo in a famous scene from kenji mizoguchi s ugetsu monogatari, 1953 view the tcmdb entry for ugetsu 1953. Ugetsu monogatari is one of cinemas greatest ghost stories, in fact a blending of two ghost stories. With a title sometimes flowerily translated as tales of the pale and silvery moon after the rain, kenji mizoguchi s 1953 film ugetsu monogatari is a lyrical blend of period drama and ghostly fable. Now i have to get some things out of the way since most people think this is one of two mizoguchi s best film and i dont. Kenji mizoguchi s ugetsu 1953 tells their stories in one of the greatest of all films one which, along with kurosawas rashomon, helped introduce japanese cinema to western audiences. A film version of ugetsu monogatari, directed by mizoguchi kenji, came out in 1953. This month well see the 1953 kenji mizoguchi classic ugetsu ugetsu monogatari. The 1953 film ugetsu monogatari, or tales of moonlight and rain in english,directed by mizoguchi kenji, is a rerepresentation of many of the themes presented in akinari uedas 1776 collection of short stories of the same name.
Ugetsu monogatari tale of two men in seething 16thcentury japan has a color and panorama which makes this absorbing film fare. Born in the merchant city of osaka in 1734,ueda akinari, the author of ugetsu monogatari, was a creative figure of unique talent in eighteenthcentury japan. The heroes are roughhewn and consumed by ambition, but the film style is elegant and mysterious, and somehow we know before we are told that this is a. Set in 16th century japan, a period of bloody civil war, the film is rooted in the postwar psyche of 1950s japan. This thesis explores the work of japanese filmmaker mizoguchi kenji 18981956. Mizoguchi is cinemas shakespeare, its bach or beethoven, its rembrant, titian or picasso. Kenji mizoguchi 18981956 was a japanese film director most noted for exploring both personal and broad societal issues such as the status of women. Ugetsu by kenji mizoguchi and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Tales of moonlight and rain is a collection of ghostly folktales from edo japan. Subsequent english translations have been published by dale saunders 1966, kenji hamada 1972, leon zolbrod 1974 and anthony h. Tales of moonlight and rain is a collection of classical japanese horrorsuspense stories. Tales of moonlight and rain work by ueda akinari britannica.
Audio commentary by critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer tony rayns kenji mizoguchi. Buy ugetsu monogatari directed by kenji mizoguchi online at alibris. Like bach, titian, and shakespeare, he is the greatest in his art, enthused the french critic jean douchet. Japanese filmmaker kenji mizoguchis career reached its peak in the early 1950s just before his untimely death.
Ugetsu kenji mizoguchi 1953 japanese filmmaker kenji mizoguchi s career reached its peak in the early 1950s just before his untimely death. Kenji mizoguchi was a japanese film director and screenwriter. The first english translation was published by wilfrid whitehouse in monumenta nipponica in 1938 and 1941, under the title ugetsu monogatari. Ugetsu, also known as tales of ugetsu or ugetsu monogatari.
Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Ugetsu ugetsu monogatari movie quotes rotten tomatoes. It focuses on an ambitious potter haunted by a beautiful ghost and a farmer who dreams of becoming a samurai. Ugetsu monogatari masters of cinema dual format edition. Direction of kenji mizoguchi keeps the complicated proceedings.
A tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of. Looking for information on the manga ugetsu monogatari. Dassaishooku the first extensive new york retrospective of mizoguchi in nearly 20 years starts today at the museum of the moving. O ften appearing on lists of the ten greatest films of all time, called one of the most beautiful films ever made, or the most masterful work of japanese cinema, ugetsu comes to us awash in superlatives. In japan alone two of its greatest film artists created masterpieces. Director kenji mizoguchi s film is based on the 18th century supernatural stories in the ugetsu monogatari tales of moonlight and rain, and takes place during civil warfare in 16th century japan. Directors such as akira kurosawa, yasujiro ozu, and kenji mizoguchi, now freed from the constraints of making wartime propaganda films, produced masterpieces such as rashomon 1950, tokyo story 1953, and ugetsu monogatari 1953 respectively. In 16th century japan, peasants genjuro masayuki mori and tobei sakae ozawa sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sages warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Set in 16th century japan, it tells of genjuro, a farmer and potter, who in the civil war gets separated from his wife and child and meets a strange woman at a market where he is selling his wares. Ugetsu is a japanese film directed by kenji mizoguchi based on stories in ueda akinaris book titled ugetsu monogatari. Its story is about two brothers, one greedy, the other envious, both pursuing their natures at a time of widespread war. Japanese poster for ugetsu monogatari kenji mizoguchi, japan, artist. Ugetsu monogatari is the mizoguchi film in many critics 10best lists, while the life of oharu is the epic thought to express best his. Japanese movie poster image for ugetsu monogatari the image measures 500 711 pixels and is 122 kilobytes large.
Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. No less acclaimed has been its maker, kenji mizoguchi. The japanese name of a 1953 movie by kenji mizoguchi, called in english ugetsu. Yes, eventually the soul is left with a lesson in humility, the acceptance of suffering and hard work a work that unconditionally gives back, one of extraordinary humanity now. A complete english version of the eighteenthcentury japanese collection of tales of the supernatural by ueda akinari 17341809 based on the first woodblock edition of 1776 with illustrations and an introduction for western readers a collection of nine beautifully wrought tales of the supernatural, ugetsu monogatari tales of moonlight and rain is one of the greatest masterpieces of edo. August 24, 1956, kyoto, japan filmography bibliography articles in senses web resources the comparisons are as inevitable as they are unfashionable, wrote james quandt, introducing the centenary retrospective of the films of kenji mizoguchi. So if we put ugetsu to words it may seem pedantic, laborious. Based on a pair of 18th century ghost stories by ueda akinari, the films release continued mizoguchi s introduction to the west, where it was nominated for an oscar and won the the venice film festivals silver lion award for best direction. Ok, i just saw ugetsu monogatari again also known only as ugetsu. It was first published in 1776, and was adapted from chinese ghost stories. Ugetsu monogatari motion picture publisher new brunswick, n.
Notable as a study of the nature of reality and for its sense of place created by carefully controlled camera movement, ugetsu is an allegorical read more. At the basic level, this is a story about survival during the japanese civil wars in the late 16th century. By the late 1970s, i was convinced that mizoguchi was one of the masters of world cinema. My own view is that for mizoguchi the world we live in, unhappily for us, belongs to its bailiffs. Ugetsu monogatari a tribute to kenji mizoguchi on vimeo. Ugetsu monogatari movie summary, analysis jotted lines. Genjuros story in the film is inspired by two of the nine short stories in akinari uedas 1776 book ugetsu monogatari, translated as tales of moonlight and rain. Its initial straightforwardness, as a parable against the pitfalls of human greed, is a misdirection that leads the audience into a void in which objectivity and subjectivity intermingle, hopelessly and.
Ugetsu monogatari, then, occupies an important yet often overlooked position between these two moments in edo literary history. These ghost tales showed a concern for literary style not present in most popular fiction of the time, in which the text was usually simply an accompaniment for the illustrations that formed the main part of the books. While on a first viewing i dont think it is a masterpiece, there was alot to like about this film, especially the cinematography and miseenscene each shot was so well staged and the sets so sumptiously full of detail it was like watching a play. It has been regarded for centuries as a national treasure. Ugetsu monogatari was the basis for the film ugetsu 1953, directed by mizoguchi kenji read more. Mizoguchi s ugetsu monogatari tales of the rain and moon, aka ugetsu is a highly acclaimed masterwork of japanese cinema. Yasujiro ozus tokyo story was released, a film that has turned up on ten best lists ever since at least since foreign distributors finally decided that it be shown in the west. A couple of years later i would see chikamatsu monogatari, ugetsu, life of oharu, and street of shame. Ugetsu monogatari directed by kenji mizoguchi available. Kenji mizoguchis staggering ugetsu is a film of many riddles and paradoxes that unfolds with the illusory simplicity of a fable.
What remained with me strongly though is the atmospherics for the lack of a better expression of the cinematic effort. Ugetsu received thunderous applause at the screening and eventually a silver lion at the closing ceremony on the 4th of september. Ugetsu monogatari is a collection of nine supernatural tales by the japanese author ueda akinari, first published in 1776. By the time he made ugetsu, kenji mizoguchi was already an elder statesman of japanese cinema, fiercely revered by akira kurosawa and other directors of a younger generation. Often appearing on lists of the ten greatest films of all time, called one of the most beautiful films ever made, or the most masterful work of japanese cinema, ugetsu comes to us awash in superlatives. Tattered cover film series ugetsu ugetsu monogatari. Find out more with myanimelist, the worlds most active online anime and manga community and database.
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