386 Sansho the Bailiff

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knives
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#151 Post by knives » Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:54 pm

Something tells me that Mizoguchi just isn't for me. While this was a greatly improved experience over Ugetsu, which left me dead on the floor, the film just didn't work for me. The acting by all of the male actors, except the one playing Sansho, is what killed it the most for me. In general I can put up with bad acting, but this was just some of the worst I've seen. I will have to compliment it though on sidelining my expectations. About an hour in I thought it was going to go Hunchback of Notre Dame by having the son meet up with all of the success because of his nobility without any genuine care for the slaves. I guess I should be happy with the sledgehammer he used than. Nevertheless scratching at the back of my head the things politically I should have liked rang false for some odd reason; as if I were watching someone give an impassioned lecture on something they completely disagree with. There was another thing missing that I can't put my finger on yet. A similar problem to what I have with most Kurosawa. Stylistically there's something missing for me, the fact that I can't help but compare him to Ozu and Naruse probably doesn't help. I'll give him one more shot, and really despite what I've said I actually enjoyed most of this movie, but I better be careful with my selection.

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Peacock
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#152 Post by Peacock » Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:02 am

Please try Street of Shame before you give up on Mizoguchi, I think it might have that thing your looking for.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#153 Post by Michael Kerpan » Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:43 am

I prefer Ozu and Naruse to Mizoguchi (on average), but still woud caution you not to give up on him after only Ugetsu and Sansho. If you can rent or borrow the Eclipse box set, these would give you a glimpse at another side of his work. And I always sing the praises of my personal favorite (also Kurosawa's supposedly) Crucified Lovers (A Stroy from Chikamatsu). I judge Mizoguchi's films on a case by case basis (because I find his work -- or at least my response to his work -- highly variable).

I mostly love Street of Shame (I find one sub-plot ineffective -- but love the rest enough to help up make up for this).

Mizoguchi's dramatic (as opposed to visual) esthetics are _very_ old-fashioned -- being based on a Meiji era dramatic style (shimpa) that was already becoming outdated when Mizoguchi _started_ his career. One needs to learn to adjust to (allow for) this basic fact. I think it is well worth the effort.

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knives
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#154 Post by knives » Wed Apr 14, 2010 11:18 am

Give up was a bit of an exaggeration on my part. Not actively looking for would probably be more accurate. As the library has a VHS of Sisters of Gion I'll rent that in a month or so to see if I just don't like this late end aesthetics. Oddly enough I've been having a harder time finding Mizoguchi's work rather than Naruse's

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#155 Post by Michael Kerpan » Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:58 am

In the VHS era, only Kurosawa was better represented on video than Mizoguchi (of Japan's directors).

Even the late Mizoguchi films are not all of one sort -- one can easily not be overwhelmed by Ugetsu and Sansho and yet love other late works.

Sisters of Gion (and its companion film Osaka (or Naniwa) Elegy) are good picks for getting a look at a different facet of Mizoguchi's work.

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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#156 Post by saji1986 » Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:17 am

I just recently watched Sansho for the first time (along with Ugetsu) - I loved the films so much it prompted me to finally go region free so I could see some more of his films.

I love the way Mizoguchi put an interesting twist on the Sansho story, and also how he composes shots against large bodies of water - very effective even in black and white. I have always loved the films of Kurosawa and Ozu, but Mizoguchi has jumped right up there as one of my favorites.

On deck are AE's The Life of Oharu, and The Lady of Musashino, and once my wallet recovers I probably will spring for the Eclipse Fallen Women box set.

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Matt
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#157 Post by Matt » Thu Nov 15, 2012 6:03 pm


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Mr Sausage
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#158 Post by Mr Sausage » Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:33 am

david hare wrote:Matt, by way of this topic, where the hell is Michael K?

I'm frankly getting worried.....
Assuming you mean Kerpan, he visited the forum yesterday at 11:23 PM.

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Norbie
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#159 Post by Norbie » Fri Nov 16, 2012 10:12 am

This BD features list a "book" instead of "booklet" like usual, does this mean something special?

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Gregor Samsa
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#160 Post by Gregor Samsa » Fri Nov 16, 2012 10:43 am

Norbie wrote:This BD features list a "book" instead of "booklet" like usual, does this mean something special?
The original DVDs booklet was 82 pages, so presumably its keeping that as is.

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manicsounds
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#161 Post by manicsounds » Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:44 am


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triodelover
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#162 Post by triodelover » Thu Jan 31, 2013 11:07 am

So it's a minimally processed MoC versus another contrast boosted CC. What Svet sees as "truer blacks" seem to approach crushed in some grabs (screen capture #4 at Blu-ray.com, for example). There also seems to be a related loss of detail in some shots, e.g. the close-up of Tanaka Kinuyo at Beaver. Add the presence of the Blu-ray of Gion bayashi and the MoC is a no-brainer unless you're region locked.

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matrixschmatrix
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#163 Post by matrixschmatrix » Thu Jan 31, 2013 11:09 am

The extras on the Crit are really valuable, though they don't gain all that much from the blu upgrade. I figure I'll keep the Criterion dvd and pick up the MoC blu.

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manicsounds
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#164 Post by manicsounds » Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:37 am


Orlac
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#165 Post by Orlac » Wed Oct 30, 2013 3:58 pm

On the Criterion BD, does Japanese text appear for the narrative cards (i.e. "this is what happened) or is it like the MOC with just English subs?

Orlac
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#166 Post by Orlac » Mon Nov 25, 2013 2:26 pm

Orlac wrote:On the Criterion BD, does Japanese text appear for the narrative cards (i.e. "this is what happened) or is it like the MOC with just English subs?
Anyone?

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manicsounds
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#167 Post by manicsounds » Mon Nov 25, 2013 10:07 pm

The booklet says the original Japanese text elements have been lost, so it is only presented with subtitles, based on the Japanese script

Orlac
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#168 Post by Orlac » Tue Nov 26, 2013 7:36 am

thanks!

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manicsounds
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#169 Post by manicsounds » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:55 pm

"Sansho" makes an excellent, if incredibly cruel double-bill with "12 Years A Slave".

Rewatched "Sansho" today, the Masters Of Cinema BD though, and I was incredibly pleased with the presentation, I'm absolutely grateful that this and most of Mizoguchi's later movies were kept in good condition. (Well, besides the missing text for Sansho Dayu...) This is probably my favorite of his work, although it's not one that I'm aching to see over and over again.

Still keeping the Criterion DVD for the extras though.

Jidaigeki
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#170 Post by Jidaigeki » Sun Jan 29, 2017 11:38 pm

I just popped in Sansho The Baliff Criterion blu ray and noticed at 0:00:26 there are three small evenly spaced white lines (kind of like the Roman numeral for 3) that pops up on the right side of the black bar. It shows up for just one frame in the 26 second mark.

I was just wondering if this is on every copy or if I have a defected disc. I'd hate to return it over something so small but I'm rather OCD with my Blu Rays, especially my criterion collection.

If someone with a copy of this could check to see if it appears on theirs as well or if it's just mine, that would be greatly appreciated.

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jegharfangetmigenmyg
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Re: 386 Sansho the Bailiff

#171 Post by jegharfangetmigenmyg » Fri Nov 17, 2017 10:22 am

The new master is out in Japan. Comparison with Criterion: http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?d1=11087&d2=11088&c=4408" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As with Ugetsu, I have mixed feelings about the detail and cropping compared to the older master, but I guess that image stability will be amazing on this one as was the case with Ugetsu as well. The big question: Will Criterion upgrade their existing blu-ray of this one?

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Mr Sausage
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Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954)

#172 Post by Mr Sausage » Mon Sep 02, 2019 6:17 am

DISCUSSION ENDS MONDAY, September 16th.

Members have a two week period in which to discuss the film before it's moved to its dedicated thread in The Criterion Collection subforum. Please read the Rules and Procedures.

This thread is not spoiler free. This is a discussion thread; you should expect plot points of the individual films under discussion to be discussed openly. See: spoiler rules.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

I encourage members to submit questions, either those designed to elicit discussion and point out interesting things to keep an eye on, or just something you want answered. This will be extremely helpful in getting discussion started. Starting is always the hardest part, all the more so if it's unguided. Questions can be submitted to me via PM.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954)

#173 Post by Michael Kerpan » Mon Sep 02, 2019 11:22 am

Possibly my least favorite generally-acclaimed Mizoguchi film, I do love Kyoko Kagawa in this at least....

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Mr Sausage
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Re: Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954)

#174 Post by Mr Sausage » Mon Sep 02, 2019 11:47 am

The film did nothing for me when I first saw it a decade ago. I’m looking forward to a revisit and reading other people’s thoughts.

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domino harvey
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Re: Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954)

#175 Post by domino harvey » Mon Sep 02, 2019 12:19 pm

I’m the opposite: after having seen eleven Mizoguchi films, I’m not entirely convinced of the more effusive praise he’s garnered from people whose opinion I greatly respect, but if they were all as good as this, I’d “get” it easily. I think the moment fairly early on where the kids realize they’ve been sold gets at a deep horror present in fairy tales and folk lore, a stomach-turning realization of a cruel and uncaring world without being exploitative or cheap

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