Ugetsu (1953) Ugetsu monogatari (original title)

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Yoshikata Yoda (screenplay)
Matsutarô Kawaguchi (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

7 September 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

In the beginning of the springtime in the period of the Japanese Civil Wars of the Sixteenth Century in Lake Biwa in the Province of Omi...

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Civil War | Potter | Japan | Pottery

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)
Ichisaburo Sawamura	...	Genichi
Mitsuko Mito	...	Ohama
Kikue Môri	...	Ukon
Ryôsuke Kagawa	...	Village Master
Eigoro Onoe	...	Knight
Saburô Date	...	Vassal
Sugisaku Aoyama	...	Old Priest
Reiko Kongo	...	Old Woman in Brothel
Shozo Nanbu	...	Shinto Priest
Ichirô Amano	...	Boatsman
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Shop Owner
Teruko Omi	...	Prostitute
Keiko Koyanagi	...	Prostitute
Mitsusaburô Ramon	...	Captain of Tamba Soldiers
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jun Fujikawa	...	Lost Soldier
Ryuuji Fukui	...	Lost Soldier
Masayoshi Kikuno	...	Soldier
Hajime Koshikawa
Sugisaka Koyama	...	High Priest
Ryuzaburo Mitsuoka	...	Soldier
Koji Murata
Fumihiko Yokoyama

Directed by
Kenji Mizoguchi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Matsutarô Kawaguchi		adaptation
Kyûchi Tsuji		idea
Akinari Ueda		stories Asaji Ga Yado and Jasei No In
Yoshikata Yoda		screenplay

Produced by
Masaichi Nagata	....	producer

Original Music by
Fumio Hayasaka
Tamekichi Mochizuki
Ichirô Saitô

Cinematography by
Kazuo Miyagawa

Film Editing by
Mitsuzô Miyata

Production Design by
Kisaku Ito

Costume Design by
Tadaoto Kainosho
Shima Yoshizane		(as Shima Yoshimi)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tokuzô Tanaka	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Iwao Otani	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Kenichi Okamoto	....	gaffer

Other crew
Kinshichi Kodera	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Daiei Studios

Distributors

• Edward Harrison (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• trigon-film (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (laserdisc)
• Eureka Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Kadokawa Entertainment (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Lume Filmes (2008) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2009) (Japan) (TV)
• Video Yesteryear
• trigon-film (2008) (Austria) (all media)
• trigon-film (2008) (Germany) (DVD) (special edition)
• trigon-film (2008) (Switzerland) (DVD) (special edition)

Also Known As:

"Ugetsu monogatari" - Japan (original title)
"Tales of Ugetsu" - USA (literal English title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

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

Trivia:

The films original title, Ugetsu Monogatari, roughly translates to "Tales of the Moon and Rain."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975)

the traditional Japanese ghost film~~~

In Japan, due to its Buddhism and Shinto culture, the term Ghost is an description for evil of the spirits world. and the idea of spirits which dispatch from its physical body are describe as phamton. from the difference associate with these 2 terms we can understand that even in spirits there is description for the good and bad spirits. this is similar to the Chinese mythology for ghost. even if the spirits was wrongly accused, and coming back to human world for its revenge, this is still consider as an spirits rather than ghost, as it has its positive of motive and would not harm people who is not associate with his death. since spirits normally does not appear in the human world, and its appearance often associate with unfinished matter or grudge. which is the main characteristic for most of the Japanese film.

the most impressive Japanese ghost story is Ugetsu monogatari(1953), it was base on the novel with the same title. we can analysis the idea of Japanese ghost film via 2 aspect of the film.

Firstly, while Genjuro was selling pottery in the market, he was been order by Lady Wakasa and its nurse maid to send the good to their mansion personally, which was the starting point of ghostly love relationship.

By the hand of prestige cinema photographer, Kuzo Miyagawa, the mystic atmosphere, the trembling music of sanmise, the ghostly voice of men grudging, gives the mansion an appeal of a haunted mansion. The use of top view camera technique with the character Noh play like appeal,gives the scene much more mysterious, secluded, ghostly, euphoria aspect of the fantasy world. which above all explores the art of Japanese traditional beauty.although it is an black and white film, but Kuzo Miyagawa create an color of bewitch ghostly character on Lady Wakasa.

The very motive for the existence of Lady wakasa was to have a taste of love, as she was kill before she can understand what love is, after resurrect by the nursemaid, she have become and spirits that looking for the ideal man to love. that is why she put a spell on Genjuro. to love not to hurt.

The second aspect for Genjuro associate with spirits was at the end part of the movie, while He push open the cripple door of his home, he saw an empty house, yet after the camera return an image of the room, Miyagi, Genjuro's wife appear, who was setting beside the stove alone tailoring clothes, and waiting for his husband to eat and change into comfy kimono, Genjuro feel extremely tire after all the events therefore he quickly falls asleep, next morning, when the villager master realize he is return went into his home and explain the tragic of her wife. and the disappearance of his son, coincidentally, his son returns in the very moment.

The movie finish with a long shot as the kid playing beside his mothers grave while Genjuro praying, which symbolize Miyagi has finally saw the father and son reunited and now he is able to rest in peace, and fly to heaven.

The movie demonstrate the childish, stubbornness and foolishness of male. yet it purify the females character as loving and sincere, which demonstrate no scary or horrifying intention to the viewer when associate with ghost. infect we associate with the idea of gentleness, shyness of its character. the eternal serenity towards the love one can only be associate with ghostly figure in a time transcend world.