Das australische Label Madman hat für die Monate April, Mai und Juni 2010 insgesamt sechs DVDs mit Filmen des japanischen Regisseurs Kenji Mizoguchi angekündigt. Vier der Discs bieten jeweils einen exklusiven Audiokommentar. Ob die Reihe nach Juni 2010 weiter ausgebaut wird, ist bisher nicht bekannt.

21. April 2010
“Die 47 Samurai / Genroku Chûshingura / The Loyal 47 Ronin [aka: The 47 Ronin]” [J 1941, Kenji Mizoguchi]

Japanese master Kenji Mizoguchi revisits an oft-told historical event in his visually glorious The Loyal 47 Ronin. Released just prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, Mizoguchi was strong-armed into directing the film by a government wishing to inspire loyalty among its people as Japan sank deeper into World War II.

In the Japanese feudal society of 1701, the honour code of the samurai is slowly becoming irrelevant as provincial laws, nepotism and bureaucracy replace tradition and ritual. After a dispute at court ends with the Samurai master Lord Asano sentenced to perform hara-kiri (or, ritual suicide), his samurai protegés are reduced to the state of ronin (masterless samurai). But the ronin have devised a plot to avenge their master’s honour: a final, noble act of revenge.

• Japanisch
• Englische Untertitel
• 2-Discs
• Regionalcode 4
• Audio commentary by Dr Adrian Martin, Senior Research Fellow, Film and Television Studies, Monash University and co-editor of ROUGE magazine www.rouge.com.au

 
21. April 2010
“Sansho Dayu – Ein Leben ohne Freiheit / Sanshô dayû / Sansho the Bailiff” [J 1954, Kenji Mizoguchi]

Set in medieval Japan, Mizoguchi’s widely-lauded masterpiece is one of his finest and most heartfelt meditations on the inhumane nature of the caste system, and its effects on the individual.

When a compassionate governor is sent into exile, his wife and two young children try to join him. Armed only with the father’s mantra to be kind to others if not to yourself, the family are soon forced into serfdom, with mother sent to a distant island far from her son and daughter. Many years later, Zushio has grown into a bully, terrorising the other serfs for personal betterment. His sister Anju, however, has never forgotten her father’s words, and endeavours to remain true to his benevolent ethos.

Unarguably one of Mizoguchi’s crowning achievements, Sansho the Bailiff is a film of startling beauty and incomparable genius.

• Japanisch
• Englische Untertitel
• Regionalcode 4
• An audio commentary by Ross Gibson, Professor of Contemporary Arts, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney

 
19. Mai 2010
“Eine Frau, von der man spricht / Uwasa no onna / Her Mother’s Profession [aka: The Woman in the Rumor] [aka: The Crucified Woman]” [J 1954, Kenji Mizoguchi]

Master filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi continues his scathing indictment of the sex industry with Her Mother’s Profession, which stars Mizoguchi’s muse Kinuyo Tanaka and one of Japan’s finest acting talents Yoshiko Kuga (Ohayo, Equinox Flower, The Idiot).

Hatsuko is a widow who runs a properous geisha house in post-war Kyoto. A firm but fair madam, Hatsuko enjoys a good professional relationship with her “girls” and a healthy flirtation with the brothel’s much younger doctor, Kenji. But Hatsuko’s world starts to crumble when her daughter, Yukiko, returns home after living in Tokyo. Deeply ashamed of her mother’s undignified occupation and wracked with depression, Yukiko slowly begins to regain her spirit after meeting the handsome Kenji. But when Hatsuko finds out about the love affair, the shocking consequences will shape the rest of their lives.

• Japanisch
• Englische Untertitel
• Regionalcode 4
• Original theatrical trailer
• Audio commentary by Dr Barbara Hartley, Head of School, Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies, University of Tasmania

 
19. Mai 2010
“Die Straße der Schande / Akasen chitai / Street of Shame” [J 1956, Kenji Mizoguchi]

Kenji Mizoguchi is often referred to as a director of “women’s pictures”, thanks to his sympathetic female characters and the passionate way in which he told women’s stories. Never has this been more clear than in Street of Shame, his hymn to the economic uncertainty of post-war Japan and the silent victims of the war’s barbarism: the women who have been left behind.

In post-war Japan, the government has waged an annual campaign to ban prostitution, but due to the uncertainty and devastation of the new economic climate, it is a tragic and ignoble reality that women have turned to the streets for financial survival. At an establishment called Dreamland the joyless lives and faded dreams of five women intersect. But as the momentum of the anti-prostitution bill starts to build up speed, the women find their allegiances tested by economic necessity and personal conscience.

• Japanisch
• Englische Untertitel
• Regionalcode 4
• Audio commentary by Ross Gibson, Professor of Contemporary Arts, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney
• Insert article by Dr Barbara Hartley, Head of School, Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies, University of Tasmania

 
16. Juni 2010
“Die Prinzessin Yang / Yôkihi / The Empress Yang Kwei-Fei” [J 1955, Kenji Mizoguchi]

Based on an ancient story from Chinese history, The Empress Yang Kwei Fei is a romantic and tragic tale which remains as accessible and beautiful as ever. Although this was Mizoguchi’s first film to use colour, his artistic flair perfectly adapts to the changing format, creating a aesthetic feast for the eyes to complement the intricacy of the plot.

During the dying days of the T’ang dynasty—which ruled China until the 8th century—the Emperor Hsuan-tsung is tormented with grief after the death of his beloved wife, choosing to devote his life to the composition of music. When he meets and falls in love with a beautiful peasant girl, the purity of their love is defiled by the greed, corruption and opportunism of the the imperial court, which ultimately lead to tragic consequences.

• Japanisch
• Englische Untertitel
• Regionalcode 4
• Original theatrical teaser

 
16. Juni 2010
“Die Legende vom Meister der Rollbilder / Chikamatsu monogatari / The Crucified Lovers” [J 1954, Kenji Mizoguchi]

Master filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi adapts this story of forbidden love from the 17th century story by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, considered the ‘Japanese Shakespeare’. Originally penned for Bunraku, the traditional Japanese puppet theatre, Mizoguchi has created a touching and gripping tale which is, undoubtedly, essential viewing for any film lover.

Based on a centuries-old tale with roots in real events, The Crucified Lovers tells the hauntingly tragic story of a forbidden love affair between a merchant’s wife, Osan, and her husband’s employee, Mohei, in an era when the punishment for adultery was crucifixion. When a series of innocent events lead to the false accusation of an affair between Osan and Mohei, the accused pair are forced to flee an almost certain death sentence. On the run, the outlaw couple grow closer together, drawn inexorably towards the romantic crime of which they are accused.

• Japanisch
• Englische Untertitel
• Regionalcode 4
• An insert article by Dr. Mats Karlsson, Lecturer in Japanese Studies, University of Sydney
• Original theatrical teaser and trailer