The two films that followed were ugetsu monogatari 1953 and sansho the bailiff 1954. Kenji mizoguchi entered the film world as a promoter of western novelty in japanese cinema and exited it as an acclaimed international director who exemplified japan at its most traditional. There are some who swear by the glorious sansho dayu 1954, some who celebrate the beguiling ugetsu monogatari 1953, and there are others who eulogize the story of the last chrysanthemums 1939 and the even earlier sisters of the gion 1936. 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. Based on ihara saikakus 1686 ukiyo novel the life of an amorous woman, mizoguchi arranges the material to endure as a powerfully mesmerising entry to his filmography by cause of spectacles of tremendous unpretentiousness and sorrow. Directed by kenji mizoguchi, a lifelong advocate of equitable treatment for japanese women, life of oharu was adapted from a novel by saikaku ibara. Mizoguchi kenji, born may 16, 1898, tokyo, japandied aug.
Although mizoguchi faithfully set the film during that same period as the original novel, one still gets the. When it won the 1952 golden lion at the venice film festival one year after akira kurosawas rashomon did the same, oharu not only solidified the reputation of japanese cinema but also ended mizoguchis. Structured episodically, kenji mizoguchis masterful 1952 downer follows a samurais daughterplayed by the great kinuyo tanakathrough a lifetime of humiliation. Kenji mizoguchi was a japanese film director and screenwriter. Geraldine chaplin, monica randall, florinda chico, ana torrent, and hector. The life of oharu 1952 the life of oharu 1952, which depicts the misadventures of a courtesan in edoperiod japan, was the first of three masterpieces starring kinuyo tanaka that kenji mizoguchi directed in the early 1950s. The life of oharu is a 1952 historical fiction blackandwhite film directed by kenji mizoguchi starring kinuyo tanaka as oharu, a onetime concubine of a.
It starred his muse kinuyo tanaka as a woman whose life is an endless series of degradations she falls in love with a nobelman toshuro mifune who is executed for their illicit romance. The life of oharu saikaku ichidai onna kenji mizoguchi, 1952 chuck norris. The life of oharu, starring the directors muse kinuyo tanaka and, in his only mizoguchi appearance, toshiro mifune. He describes mizoguchi as a perpetually aggravating individual in a society of consensus and oharu as stressing buddhist moralism over the novels notorious lewdness. Life of oharu is probably the most famous of kenzi mizoguchis series of what i call women suffer films. Princess yang kweifei 1955 and taira clan saga 1955. The life of oharu 1952 naniwa onna 1940 the straits of love and hate 1937.
Other articles where the life of oharu is discussed. Kinuyo tanaka in life of oharu, 1952, directed by kenji mizoguchi. Take a basic narrative formulaan opportunity for escape is snatched away at the last minuteand repeat for 6 minutes, and youll have something close to a plot synopsis for the life of oharu. Upgrade to a letterboxd pro account to add your favorite services to this listincluding any service and country pair listed on justwatchand to enable oneclick filtering by all your favorites powered by justwatch. A tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the japanese civil wars of the sixteenth century. Documentary shot over two years recounts the masters life and career across some 36 interviews with actors, producers and crew members from his films.
Directed by kenji mizoguchi these notes accompany the screenings of kenji mizoguchis the life of oharu on may 9, 10, and 11 in theater 3. The life of oharu 1952 directed by kenji mizoguchi. The life of oharu saikaku ichidai onna, 1952 is mizoguchi kenjis masterpiece. The life of oharu by kenji mizoguchi kenji mizoguchi. Among the most sublimely devastating of master director kenji mizoguchis celebrated portraits of fallen women, the life of oharu stars the infinitely touching kinuyo tanaka as a onceproud concubine whose tragic fate is governed by the callous whims of men and the cruel jealousies of women as she slides into a life of prostitution in edoera japan. Kenji mizoguchi one of japans most important filmmakers, kenji mizoguchi created a cinema rich in technical mastery and social commentary, specifically regarding the place of women in japanese society. The life of oharu, the biography of a 17thcentury courtesan, and ugetsu 1953, the story of two men who abandon their wives for fame and glory during the 16thcentury civil wars. Throughout a career lasting just over three decades, mizoguchi. A soulcrushing tragedy brought to life by kenji mizoguchi, the legendary japanese director who is known, and therefore loved and admired for infusing beauty into the tragedy. With his critical and boxoffice reputation on the decline, mizoguchi decided to invest everything in the life of oharu, a classic seventeenthcentury japanese picaresque story, and in 1951 he finally secured sufficient financing to produce it himself. He is, according to the yomiuri shimbun regarded as the dean of japanese filmmaking.
Together, they represented the peak of mizoguchi and tanakas collaboration. A potential happy ending, reuniting her with her royal son, is dashed by the muchmaligned oharu herself, who opts for the life of a beggar. But this epic portrait of an inexorable fall from grace, starring the astounding kinuyo tanaka as an imperial ladyinwaiting who gradually. The life of oharu was also a success in japan, reviving not only mizoguchis career but that of its lead actress, kinuyo tanaka, who would go on to become japans first female director one year later. Mizoguchi began winning top venice prizes with life of oharu 1952, ugetsu. Thus the film becomes a searing exploration of one of the directors common themes, the suffering of women.
Together, they represented the peak of mizoguchi and tanakas collaboration, which spanned fifteen films. Oharu kinuyo tanaka tomo, oharus mother tsukie matsuura shinzaemon, oharus father. Though maybe not director kenji mizoguchis most perfect film ugetsu and sansho the bailiff usually garner this title, life of oharu is arguably his most important work. Kenji mizoguchi is a filmmaker of astonishing contrastsone of the most furious and fiercely critical political filmmakers of all time. According to aleichem, life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor. Director kenji mizoguchis the life of oharu 1952, newly available in a highdef digital restoration from the criterion collection, teems with contradictions. Kenji mizoguchi celebrity profile check out the latest kenji mizoguchi photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes.
They shake and move the viewer by the power, refinement and compassion with which they confront human suffering. In the last five years of his life, kenji mizoguchi 18981956. Mizoguchi is cinemas shakespeare, its bach or beethoven, its rembrant, titian or picasso. The life of oharu, saikaku ichidai onna is a 1952 historical fiction blackandwhite film directed by kenji mizoguchi starring kinuyo tanaka as oharu, a onetime concubine of a daimyo and mother of a later daimyo who struggles to escape the stigma of. The life of oharu 1952, which depicts the misadventures of a courtesan in edoperiod japan, was the first of three masterpieces starring kinuyo tanaka that kenji mizoguchi directed in the early 1950s. Opens with a sixday run of the hauntingly beautiful ghost story ugetsu, and continues with his best. Ugetsu monogatari is the mizoguchi film in many critics 10best lists, while the life of oharu is the epic. The life of oharu was an devastating life for a woman who was loved by a lowly ranking samurai that was forbidding in 1686 japan, she was dragged away from her love an then her lover was beheaded, trying to fight for the right to love who you want in a feudal society of. Publication date 19520417 usage public domain mark 1. A peerless chronicler of the soul who specialized in supremely emotional, visually exquisite films about the circumstances of women in japanese society, kenji mizoguchi had already been directing movies for decades when he made the life of oharu in 1952. The life of oharu saikaku ichidai onna 1952 rotten. The story of the last chrysanthemums, perhaps the directors masterpiece and one of the greatest films of the 30s. With kinuyo tanaka, tsukie matsuura, ichiro sugai, toshiro mifune.
Kenji mizoguchis the life of oharu an enduring tale of struggle. The press attacked this new tanaka with a torrent of harsh criticism. Kenji mizoguchi 18981956 was a japanese film director most noted for exploring both personal and broad societal issues such as the status of women. The life of oharu 1952, directed by kenji mizoguchi film. It describes the trajectory of mizoguchis long career clearly and accurately, providing a lot of. Writing credits kenji mizoguchi, saikaku ihara, yoshikata yoda produced by hideo koi, kenji mizoguchi, isamu yoshiji music by ichiro saito cinematography by yoshimi hirano, yoshimi kono film editing by toshio goto production design by hiroshi mizutani. Follows a womans fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of. Mizoguchi himself said he made only about 75 films or so, not really very many. According to writer mark le fanu, his films have an extraordinary force and purity. Opening up with a beautifully quiet sequence introducing us to our lead character, an elderly woman named oharu, director kenji mizoguchi not only brings to light a character whose life we will be ostensibly following from a teenage love affair all the way to her current state nearing the end of her life, but proclaims to the viewer that this is a film that itself may weigh heavy on their. Specijalnost su mu bile socijalne drame, kao i vjesto koristenje dugih kadrova, koje mu je donijelo priznanje ne samo u domovini, nego u svijetu. After the life of oharu and ugetsu won prizes in successive venice film festivals in the early 50s, mizoguchi became an icon for the nascent french new wave. Both were masterworks that clearly demonstrated mizoguchis expressive use of.