Recently Criterion has released a new version of Kenji Mizoguchi's 1952 masterpiece, The Life Of Oharu. It is the first in a series of three to win the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Ugetsu and Sansho The Baliff would follow Oharu in 1953 and 1954. Like those films this a film based on a literary adaptation of Saikaku's The Life of an Amorous Woman from the 17th century. Mizoguchi's version is more melodramatic and does not have the incisive humor of the original. The films is another masterly example of mis en scene with several beautifully framed shots shot from a crane in longs takes as Mizoguchi had come to do and it would reflect his individual film making style. Everything comes together in what might be his finest film: acting (especially that of Kinuyo Tanaka), costumes, sets, cinematography, music, etc. The DVD special edition features are: audio commentary for the opening of the movie by scholar Dudley Andrew, Mizoguchi's Art and the Demimonde an illustrated audio essay featuring Andrew, The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka, a 2009 film by Koko Kajiyama documenting the actor's 1949 goodwill tour of the United States, and a booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Gilberto Perez.
Post a comment
Your Information
(Name and email address are required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)
Comments