Princess Yang Kwei-fei

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william d Overly melodramatic with a story that feels generic and derivative. What action there is takes place off screen. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Mizoguchi always had a special interest in the plight of women, recognizing that societies have often given them a raw deal. Set in China in the 8th century, the story of Yang Kwei Fei is another tragedy, detailing how one servant girl had no control over her own life and fate. The Emperor, though sympathetically portrayed in the script and by Masayuki Mori, benefits from having Kwei Fei attend to his whims (even as he claims to be shackled himself by bureaucracy, a possible sardonic counterpoint to Kwei Fei's own social shackles). Yang Kwei Fei, acted by Machiko Kyo, is seen as a means of securing political power, subsequently misused, by her clan who eventually incite an uprising against the Emperor. Coming in at a compact 90 minutes this color feature (in well chosen hues) fits in well to Mizoguchi's oeuvre but lacks the weightiness of his masterworks. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Mizoguchi in color is a strange, strange thing. But this is one of his best films and not to be missed! Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member It's not the greatest Mizoguchi film. It struck me as less careful visually than his best work and it crams too much story into 90mins but it is still very powerful at times. The ending is marvelous. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Mizoguchi hasn't failed me yet. I am still compelled even by this minor masterpiece. I am not sure though if he is as good a colorist as his other colleagues. Not that it's not good but it doesn't seem to strike me as much as Kurosawa's or Ozu's color films. The balance of color is really impressive although it's not emphasized as much. It looks too theatrical as opposed a film. However, I am not complaining. Mizoguchi's sense of placement and lightning has always been one of his greatest strengths and it's equally impressive. Princess Yang Kwei Fei is another story concerned about women. Nothing surprising here. The woman ends being the only character with any sense of reasoning, logic, honor amidst the chaos of men. She acknowledges her place in the world Mizoguchi has created and acts like it with pride and altruism. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member When looking for a filmmaker to be compared to John Ford is often used to Hawks and Walsh, I think mostly because the three were American, of the same generation, and the three filmed westerns. For me the closest Ford has always been Mizoguchi, if not in the way of filming, planning, yes at the bottom of their stories. The highlight of this film (and one of the most serene and beautiful Japanese film), where we see the beloved of the emperor addressed to the implementation, is proof of that. Mizoguchi closes the plane without showing his death, just as Ford does not show that of Dr. Cartwright at the end of seven women (Seven Women, 1965), the film that put an end to his filmography. The same love, the same respect for his characters, manages to unite the eyes of two of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Princess Yang Kwei-fei

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