Based on an ancient legend, as recounted by celebrated author Mori Ogai (in his short story of the same name, written in 1915), and adapted by Japanese director Mizoguchi Kenji, Sansho Dayu is both distinctively Japanese and as deeply affecting as a Greek tragedy. Described in its opening title as "one of the oldest and most tragic in Japan's history", Mizoguchi depicts an unforgettably sad story of social injustice, family love, personal sacrifice, and fateful tragedy.Set in Heian era (11th century) Japan, it follows an aristocratic woman, Tamaki (played by Tanaka Kinuyo, who also stars in Mizoguchi's Ugetsu Monogatari), and her two children, Zushio (Hanayagi Yoshiaki) and Anju (Kagawa Kyoko), who are separated by feudal tyranny from Tamaki's husband. When the children are kidnapped and sold into slavery to the eponymous "Sansho" (Shindo Eitaro), the lives of each of the family members follow very different paths – each course uniquely, and insufferably, tragic.
Famed for its period reconstructions and powerful imagery, often through the director's trademark long takes, Sansho Dayu is one of the most critically revered of all of Mizoguchi's films, and a classic of world cinema, often cropping up in lists of the greatest films ever made. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present – together with the lesser known Mizoguchi feature film Gion Bayashi, produced the year before Sansho Dayu, and presented here on DVD in the UK for the very first time – this landmark film of exquisite tone and purity of emotion.
Gion Bayashi is a drama set in the world of the courtesan, contrasting two different types of geisha – on one hand, Eiko (Wakao Ayako), a sixteen-year old orphan who wishes to be taken in and trained; on the other, Miyoharu (Kogure Michiyo), an older, more experienced geisha, who agrees to mentor the younger woman – living under the same roof in difficult personal circumstances. A fascinating, subtle insight into the lives of these women in 1950s Japan.
Special Features:
• Lavish 96-page book featuring archival imagery; articles by Robin Wood (film critic and author) and Mark Le Fanu (author of Mizoguchi and Japan); and a full reprint of an acclaimed translation of Mori Ogai's original 1915 story on which Sansho Dayu is based.
• Video discussions about both Sansho Dayu and Gion Bayashi by acclaimed Japanese film expert/critic, festival programmer, and filmmaker Tony Rayns.
• Original theatrical trailers.
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