Ugetsu monogatari (1953)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Pierluigi P

  
  Beautiful morality tale. When dreaming with a better life becomes greater, blinding us, foreshadowing everything we have, and this seemingly improved life gained reveals itself as a mirage, a pile of nothingness, that's the only time people feel the urge to get back home. There… More
  Beautiful morality tale. When dreaming with a better life becomes greater, blinding us, foreshadowing everything we have, and this seemingly improved life gained reveals itself as a mirage, a pile of nothingness, that's the only time people feel the urge to get back home. There are men so poor that the only thing they have is money.

• Bruce B

  
  From the Criterion Collection, Spine No. 309. Hailed by critics as one of the greatest films ever made, Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu is an undisputed masterpiece of Japanese cinema. Set in the 16th Century, A family man farmer and craftsman Genjurô travels to Nagahama to sell his… More
  From the Criterion Collection, Spine No. 309. Hailed by critics as one of the greatest films ever made, Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu is an undisputed masterpiece of Japanese cinema. Set in the 16th Century, A family man farmer and craftsman Genjurô travels to Nagahama to sell his wares and makes a small fortune. His neighbor Tobei that is a fool man dreams on becoming a samurai, but he can not afford to buy the necessary outfit. So starts the story of 2 different men and the rise and fall. It takes a different person to watch and enjoy not only films from the Criterion Collection, but also it takes a little bit to watch and understand a fifties movie from Japan. But once you get into these movies your hooked. Please try one and enjoy. 4 1/2 stars.

• danny d

  
  i hadnt seen this film in a few years, and it was even better the second time. one of the best film presentations of what happens when a man puts ambition over the love and needs of his own family. mizoguchi is a master with the camera and the musical score heightened the ghost… More
  i hadnt seen this film in a few years, and it was even better the second time. one of the best film presentations of what happens when a man puts ambition over the love and needs of his own family. mizoguchi is a master with the camera and the musical score heightened the ghost elements of the story perfectly. a phenomenal film.

• Randy T

  
  Mizoguchi's masterful rendering of ambition and greed. I loved the supernatural elements of the story. Every bit as good as (if not better than) <i>Sansho the Bailiff</i>.

• Cindy I

  
  This beautifully done film is a sobering tale about the consequences of chasing selfish desires, in the guise of a ghost story. Two men are at the centerpiece -- one who follows a mysterious woman back to her palace and forgets his family in the joy he has found with her, the other so… More
  This beautifully done film is a sobering tale about the consequences of chasing selfish desires, in the guise of a ghost story. Two men are at the centerpiece -- one who follows a mysterious woman back to her palace and forgets his family in the joy he has found with her, the other so desires to be a samurai that he too forsakes his wife and home. Both adventures come to sad ends, but with each man learning a valuable lesson. Gorgeous black and white photography makes this a feast for the eyes as well as the mind.

• Saskia D

  
  What can I possibly say that will give this movie the credit it deserves? Wealth and happiness mean nothing if it can't be shared with the ones you love. And in the end you might end up sacrificing more than you wish to. It's one of the oldest lessons in the world I… More
  What can I possibly say that will give this movie the credit it deserves? Wealth and happiness mean nothing if it can't be shared with the ones you love. And in the end you might end up sacrificing more than you wish to. It's one of the oldest lessons in the world I guess, and Ugetsu Monogatari tells it in a tragic and enchanting way. The soundtrack gives the movie an intensity that sucks you in. If you liked Kobayashi's Kwaidan, you're gonna love this one as well. <div style="width:480px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/servlet/embed/photo/link/11296005"><img src="http://www.flixster.com/servlet/embed/photo/11296005.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com">

• Stella D

  
  a gorgeous film about hope and regret and the danger of dreams. i loved the supernatural elements and the final scene is extraordinarily touching.

• Drew S

  
  A deep, haunting folktale movie. Crisply filmed and beautifully arranged, Ugetsu is an awesome looking movie despite its 55-year age. Some of the panoramas, filled with tall swaying grass and empty blue expanses, are astonishing. Ugetsu's acting is pretty typical of the origin… More
  A deep, haunting folktale movie. Crisply filmed and beautifully arranged, Ugetsu is an awesome looking movie despite its 55-year age. Some of the panoramas, filled with tall swaying grass and empty blue expanses, are astonishing. Ugetsu's acting is pretty typical of the origin and period - that is, over-the-top. Sometimes it behooves the movie, but the majority of the performances stick out like a sore thumb. It's not particularly bad except for the tale of the man who wants to become a samurai, which is aggravating and distracting from the much better main plot. The central ghost story of Ugetsu offers better performances, richer characterizations and an overall stronger experience. Ugetsu's a very Japanese movie. The movie revolves around various aspects of the culture, such as the wartime economy, superstition, and family honor. And that's to say nothing of the soundtrack, which is absolutely awesome. I love Japanese instruments, and they work perfectly with the artistry and mood of the film here. Certainly a strong point of the movie. Arguably, this is slow, but it's a pretty short movie and well worth the time you spend on it.

• Eric B

  
  Spellbinding film...the best I've seen in months. Exquisite cinematography, lighting and locations, plus an eerie story with universal themes that Westerners easily can understand. Resisting the wicked allure of money and glory? Learning to appreciate one's spouse? Equally… More
  Spellbinding film...the best I've seen in months. Exquisite cinematography, lighting and locations, plus an eerie story with universal themes that Westerners easily can understand. Resisting the wicked allure of money and glory? Learning to appreciate one's spouse? Equally valid in 21st-century America and 16th-century Japan. And the Japanese do ghost stories so well, besides. "Ugetsu" deserves its "masterpiece" reputation.

• Patrick D

  
  This film is so strange and engrossing. It sort of works like a live action fairy. The film seems to not do too much but with great sets, and a hell of a way to shoot them, and just an eerie mood throughout, it really grabs you.

• Krystle C

  
  At first glance, a simple ghost love story, with shades of something deeper glimmering on the surface. At its heart, however, <i>Ugetsu</i> is stunning and multi-faceted in its explorations of life after death, criticisms of the military, capitalism and the aristocracy,… More
  At first glance, a simple ghost love story, with shades of something deeper glimmering on the surface. At its heart, however, <i>Ugetsu</i> is stunning and multi-faceted in its explorations of life after death, criticisms of the military, capitalism and the aristocracy, and a beautiful-looking film to boot. Mizoguchi's camera moves fluidly through the rural life lovingly defended in the film, but even his scenes at Lady Wakasa's manor are hauntingly gorgeous, most notably a brief but spookily beautiful scene where servants appear out of nowhere in a carefully choreographed candlelighting scene. Sent chills down my spine, it did. Also gorgeous: the scene where the two couples are rowing in a misty lake, and the idyllic love scene between Genjuro and Lady Wakasa, which pans expansively across the landscape in a dizzying exploration of the heights of new love. It's a surprisingly daring movie for its time, and I was especially struck by its willingness to portray sex as something more than just rainbows and butterflies, unlike its contemporaries. Yet, the movie is unafraid also to portray love of a more traditional kind, and the love between the two main couples, Tobei-Ohama and Genjuro-Miyagi is beautifully fleshed out, surviving criticism, war, brokenness, poverty, and even death. I may be reading too much into it, but its release after the calamity of WWII also serves of a reminder of the brutality of war and the rise of capitalism in its wake, ruining the simple pleasures of family life in the pursuit of wealth and glory. I mean, I'm no anti-capitalist, but the movie certainly put across its ideas in a very convincing manner, with the result being multidimensional characters and a deep story. I suppose my only criticisms are somewhat circumstantial; I was watching it on a plane and the subtitles on the airplane copy were dreadful and almost unreadable, and the acting is not terrific although I love the way the character of the somewhat shrewish Ohama (the wannabe samurai's wife) was portrayed, and Genjuro the potter is also pretty well-acted despite his forays into scenery-chomping. A beautiful film and worth watching again; there are so many things to explore here.

Read all 11 featured audience ratings