Outreach
Video Lending Library
Japan
- Program Title: Life of Oharu
- EASC Code: JL-02
- Series Title:
- Region/Country: Japan
- Language: Japanese
- Subtitles: English
- Subject: Movie & TV Drama
- Program Type: Feature
- Media Type: VHS
- Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
- Producer:
- Release Date: 1952
- Running Time: 137 min.
- Color or BW: BW
- Program Abstract: Widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, Life of Oharu is Kenji Mizoguchi's (Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff) self-proclaimed masterpiece. Known for his graceful directorial style and sympathetic portrayal of women, Mizoguchi risked all to tell the devastating story of one woman's fall from lady-in-waiting to concubine to prostitute. Avoiding melodrama, Mizoguchi focuses on Oharu's dignity as she is betrayed repeatedly by her father, her lovers, and society. Saikaku Ihara's classic 17th-century novel is brilliantly realized through a masterful screenplay and the heart-rending performance of Kinuyo Tanaka (Sansho the Bailiff). The film, which won top honors at the Venice Film Festival, earned Mizoguchi worldwide recognition and new artistic freedom as a director.
- Data Entry Date: 9/3/2002
