Sansho the Bailiff

DVD - APPROX. 124 MINS. - 1954 - US Rating: NR

Main feature:

Release May 22, 2007
Video Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio Japanese: Dolby Digital 1.0
Subtitles English
Studio Criterion/Voyager
Year 1954
Genre Drama

Special features:

  • 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

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 drivers. 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 and Crew:

Criterion/Voyager presents
Kinuyo TanakaYoshiaki Hanayagi"Sansho the Bailiff"
Written byYoshikata Yodadirected byKenji Mizoguchi
Production Year: 1954

Please note:

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