Ugetsu

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Virgo V Ugetsu (Ugetsu Monogatari, literally Rain-moon tales) is a 1953 Japanese period fantasy film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It is based on the stories "The House in the Thicket" and "The Lust of the White Serpent" from Ueda Akinari's 1776 book Ugetsu Monogatari. It stars Machiko Kyō, Mitsuko Mito, Kinuyo Tanaka, Masayuki Mori and Sakae Ozawa. It was distributed and produced by Daiei Film Company Limited. The film won the Silver Lion Award at the 1953 Venice Film Festival. The film won the Best Sound Recording award at the Mainchi Film Awards, along with Best Art Direction. Ugetsu is one of Mizoguchi's most celebrated films, regarded by critics as a masterpiece of Japanese cinema, credited with simultaneously helping to popularize Japanese cinema in the West and influencing later Japanese film. Vision wrote: “a potter leaves his wife and young son behind to make money selling pottery and ends up being seduced by a spirit that makes him forget all about his family. The war drove him mad with ambition. The escapades of a wannabe samurai. When all is lost, one must be found. His delusion comes to an end. From pottery maker to samurai and back to pottery maker. A Japanese civil war-torn film. A subplot inspired by Guy de Maupassant's 1883 short story "How He Got the Legion of Honor" involves him dreaming of becoming a samurai and chases this goal at the expense of his wife. I admired the background music and sound. Two and a half fries for direction and production.” Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/03/25 Full Review Lau S Great Japanese movie! I little bit outdated, but I liked it! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/29/25 Full Review Madoka A Fantastic. Spooky. Funny. Great product! Really good! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/23/25 Full Review All L Weird but amazing Japanese movie! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/24/25 Full Review Lily R Great Japanese movie! When of the all time bests! Alot of atmosphere and suspense! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/19/25 Full Review Sarfaraz A Kenji Mizoguchi directed this Japanese fantasy movie. The story is based on Ueda Akinari's novel Ugetsu Monogatari from 1776. The film stars Masayuki Mori as Genjuro, Kinuyo Tanaka as Miyagi, Mitsuko Mito as Ohama, Eitaro Ozawa as Tobei, and Machiko Kyo as Lady Wakasa. The movie begins with a reference of a civil war in the early spring of the 16th century in the village near the Lake Biwa. Genjuro is a clay potter who lives with his devout and caring wife Miyagi and their little son, who is trying to sell his production during the raging civil war. He departs with his related neighbor, Tobei, who aspires to be a samurai against his wife's wishes. When Genjuro returns with a good amount of silver coins, he gets more eager to sell more. Despite the fact that the soldiers have wreaked havoc on the village by abducting men for forced labor, Genjuro and Tobei manage to take a chance and board a boat to go to the village with their wives. However, a boatman who has been fatally injured warns them to protect themselves and their wives from pirates. Ohama, Genjuro, and Tobei set out on their quest, leaving just Miyagi and her son on shore. Genjuro falls in love with Lady Wakasa, who coerces him into marrying her. With a remnant of troops, Tobei becomes a samurai after abandoning his wife and buying a samurai costume and weapons. Ohama, meanwhile, was raped and had to work at a brothel to make ends meet. However, Genjuro is informed that his new companion is actually a spirit. The introductory plot and narrative style of the Japanese classic have the ability to keep you watching. Every Japanese movie from the classic era that you watch and then hear about is hailed and said to have established the bar for the others to meet. Kurosawa was so impressed by Kenji's filmmaking that he was embraced by other Japanese filmmakers. An engaging masterpiece was created with only basic set design and clever fantasy story dramatization. The subject matter of the movie emphasizes material greed, selfish ambitions, betrayal, and negligence. The film depicts how these terrible aspirations ruin two harmonious families that might have prospered from the love of their wives, who only wanted care, attention, and time spent with their husbands. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/29/25 Full Review Read all reviews

Ugetsu

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