The Lessons of Sansho
By May 21, 2007
If you took a quick poll of the general population of film lovers as to who the most famous classic Japanese directors are, the list would probably be headed by Akira Kurosawa. He is certainly the Read more »
- Japan
- 1954
- 124 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.33:1
- Japanese
- Spine #386
SYNOPSIS: When an idealistic governor disobeys the reigning feudal lord, he is cast into exile, his wife and children left to fend for themselves and eventually wrenched apart by vicious slave traders. Under Kenji Mizoguchi’s dazzling direction, this classic Japanese story became one of cinema’s greatest masterpieces, a monumental, empathetic expression of human resilience in the face of evil.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Tamaki/Nakagimi | Kinuyo Tanaka |
| Zushiô/Mutsu-Waka | Yoshiaki Hanayaki |
| Anju/Shinobu | Kyoko Kagawa |
| Taira Masauji | Masao Shimizu |
| Sanshô Dayû | Eitarô Shindô |
Credits
| Director | Kenji Mizoguchi |
| Producer | Masaichi Nagata |
| Planning | Hisaichi Tsuji |
| Screenplay | Yahiro Fuji and Yoshikata Yoda |
| From the story by | Mori Ôgai |
| Cinematography | Kazuo Miyagawa |
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Audio commentary by Japanese-literature professor Jeffrey Angles
- New video interviews with critic Tadao Sato, assistant director Tokuzo Tanaka, and legendary actress Kyoko Kagawa on the making of the film and its lasting importance
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A book featuring an essay by scholar Mark Le Fanu and two versions of the story on which the film was based—Ogai Mori’s 1915 “Sansho Dayu,” in an acclaimed translation by J. Thomas Rimer, and a written form of an earlier oral variation, in a new English translation
From the CurrentView the Current »
Film Essays
Sansho the Bailiff
By October 25, 1994
Kenji Mizoguchi’s Sansho the Bailiff brings to mind the first line of Ford Madox Ford’s The Good Soldier: “This is the saddest story I have ever heard.” The film has a penetrating mournfulness. Mizoguchi Read more »
News
Robin Wood Series at TIFF Cinematheque
June 18, 2010
Toronto’s TIFF Cinematheque is honoring the irreplaceable film critic and scholar Robin Wood, who died last December, by running some of the films that were important to him. The Read more »
Kinuyo Tanaka: 100 Years, 100-Plus Movies
October 27, 2009
This month marks the centenary of Kinuyo Tanaka, one of Japan’s most prolific actors as well as a director in her own right. In honor of the occasion, Tokyo’s National Museum of Read more »
