It's been a Criterion Christmas. With gifts & giftcards I acquired several Criterion Collection DVDs of classic films. As I wrote before, these editions are expensive but worth every penny because of their restored prints and the scholarly bonus features. This one is considered one of the world's greatest films and for those of you unfamiliar with it and its director Kenji Mizoguchi, you can read about it here: http://www.amazon.com/Ugetsu-Criterion-Collection-Masayuki-Mori/dp/B000BB14I0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1230738754&sr=1-1
Ugetsu is an elegant (startling but not scary) ghost story set in wartorn medieval Japan about two familes. Both husbands want to better themselves against the wishes of their more practical wives. One wants to be a successful potter while the other want to be a samurai. The movie's theme could be, be careful what you wish, for as the men's quests leads to tragic results. I couldn't find a good trailer that gives plot details instead of those with disjointed scenes that make no sense to the unfamiliar. The audio commentary is enlightening in understanding the production history and certain scenes. This is a movie that gets better with repeated viewings bringing out the richness of its deceptive simplicity. Mizoguchi was a perfectionist who demanded a lot from his cast & crew as a documentary here states, but the end result is a legacy of great films. I wrote about his Sansho the Bailiff on an earlier entry and I'm planning to acquire more of his films.
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