
Sansho the Bailiff1954
Both on Ari Aster’s Top 10, both directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, and both starring Kinuyo Tanaka


By the time he made UGETSU, Kenji Mizoguchi was already an elder statesman of Japanese cinema, fiercely revered by Akira Kurosawa and other directors of a younger generation. And with this exquisite ghost story, a fatalistic wartime tragedy derived from stories by Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, he created a touchstone of his art, his long takes and sweeping camera guiding the viewer through a delirious narrative about two villagers whose pursuit of fame and fortune leads them far astray from their loyal wives. Moving between the terrestrial and the otherworldly, UGETSU reveals essential truths about the ravages of war, the plight of women, and the pride of men. Restored by The Film Foundation and Kadokawa Corporation at Cineric Laboratories in New York. Special thanks to Masahiro Miyajima and Martin Scorsese for their consultation on this restoration. Restoration funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in association with The Film Foundation and Kadokawa Corporation.

Lav Diaz
Oct 2025
1 streaming audio track
Commentary: Tony Rayns
Streaming now, and why it pairs with this film

Both on Ari Aster’s Top 10, both directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, and both starring Kinuyo Tanaka
Or
via Criterion Collection