Ugetsu (1953)

A tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Matsutarô Kawaguchi (adaptation), Hisakazu Tsuji (idea) (as Kyûchi Tsuji)

Stars:

Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyô, Kinuyo Tanaka

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Machiko Kyô	...	Lady Wakasa
Mitsuko Mito	...	Ohama
Kinuyo Tanaka	...	Miyagi
Masayuki Mori	...	Genjurô
Eitarô Ozawa	...	Tôbei (as Sakae Ozawa)
Sugisaku Aoyama	...	Old Priest
Mitsusaburô Ramon	...	Captain of Tamba Soldiers
Ryôsuke Kagawa	...	Village Master
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Shop Owner
Shôzô Nanbu	...	Shintô Priest
Kikue Môri	...	Ukon
Ryûzaburô Mitsuoka	...	Soldier
Ichirô Amano	...	Boatsman
Eigorô Onoe	...	Knight
Saburô Date	...	Vassal

Storyline

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, the family man farmer and craftsman Genjurô travels to Nagahama to sell his wares and makes a small fortune. His neighbor Tobei that is a fool man dreams on becoming a samurai, but he can not afford to buy the necessary outfit. The greedy Genjurô and Tobei work together manufacturing clay potteries, expecting to sell the pieces and enrich; however, their wives Miyage and Ohama are worried about the army of the cruel Shibata that is coming to their village and they warn their ambitious husbands. Their village is looted but the families flee and survive; Genjurô and Tobei decide to travel by boat with their wives and baby to sell the wares in a bigger town. When they meet another boat that was attacked by pirates, Genjurô decides to leave his wife and son on the bank of the river, promising to return in ten days. Genjurô, Tobei and Ohama raise a large...

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | civil war | ambition | japan | 16th century | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

7 September 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ugetsu

Filming Locations:

Daiei Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,154, 5 March 2017

Gross USA:

$11,197

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,959

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the 10 favorite films of Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky.

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Goofs

After the soldier cuts off the general's head there's no blood on his sword.

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Connections

Featured in Pop Culture Beast's Halloween Horror Picks: The Body Snatcher (2015)

User Reviews

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.