Sanshô dayû (1954)

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Ogai Mori (story)
Fuji Yahiro (writer)

Release Date:

1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A film of unparalleled beauty by the great Japanese Master Kenji Mizoguchi

Plot:

In mediaeval Japan a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him...

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Exile | Governor | Decree | Mercy

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Kinuyo Tanaka	...	Tamaki
Yoshiaki Hanayagi	...	Zushiô
Kyôko Kagawa	...	Anju
Eitarô Shindô	...	Sanshô dayû
Akitake Kôno	...	Taro
Masao Shimizu	...	Masauji Taira
Ken Mitsuda	...	Prime Minister Fujiwara
Kazukimi Okuni	...	Norimura
Yôko Kosono	...	Kohagi
Noriko Tachibana	...	Namiji
Ichirô Sugai	...	Minister of Justice
Teruko Omi	...	Nakagimi
Masahiko Kato	...	Young Zushio
Keiko Enami	...	Young Anju
Bontarô Akemi	...	Kichiji

Also Known As:

Legend of Bailiff Sansho (USA)
Sansho the Bailiff (UK)
The Bailiff (USA)

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG (1998) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | UK:A | Hong Kong:I

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Daiei Studios

Trivia:

'Kenji Mizoguchi' left the composer alone to do the music. He also did that before in his previous films Ugetsu Monogatari as much as Chikamatsu Monogatari.

Quotes:

Taro: Even children as young as you are sold and bought, treated like animals, and nobody questions it. What a horrible world.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Water (2005/I)

One of the Best Films of All Time? Sure.

Many would not even rank "Sansho the Bailiff" among Mizoguchi's better works, let alone cite it as one of the greatest films of all time. I have not seen every film ever made nor every film Mizoguchi ever made but I find it hard to imagine that there are many better films than this or that Mizoguchi made one of them. "Sisters of Gion" comes close, but even that masterpiece cannot match the transcendental glories of "Sansho." It is sheer perfection, utilizing the elements of melodrama that Mizoguchi so excelled at (without overdoing it as he sometimes did) against the backdrop of a haunting, almost mythic landscape. Indeed, the film has the power of myth, even more so than "Ugetsu" (which perhaps tried just a little too hard for that mythic quality) and stands today - almost 50 years after it was made - as a film that is almost shocking in its sublime glories. Mizoguchi was without a doubt one of the giants of cinema and this film is breathtaking.