Kenji Mizoguchi Retrospective

When speaking of master Japanese filmmakers two names always seem to appear Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirô Ozu. And for good reason, both of them had a huge influence on cinema internationally both at them time and years to follow. There is another filmmaker however, who is just as great and in some people's opinion has a stronger body of work. Kenji Mizoguchi, who is often considered one of the early "feminist" directors has made around 85 films, most of which, disappointingly are lost. His work that does remain though, is incredibly powerful and contains very human stories that are still just as poignant today.

It's been 20 years since there has been a retrospective of Mizoguchi's existing filmography in the United States until this year. From May 2nd to June 8th the Museum of Moving Image will be presenting his entire body of work that still exists on both 35mm and 16mm film prints. This is a great opportunity for those who are unfamiliar with this master filmmaker to delve into his body of work and witness his famous extended takes on the big screen. This is definitely something cinephiles in New York City will not want to miss and if you have the opportunity to travel to the city for this, it would be well worth it.

Here is the schedule:

May 3rd

2:00 PM - Sansho the Bailiff (1954) (preceded by a presentation from film scholar David Bordwell)
7:00 PM - Street of Shame (1956)

May 4th

2:00 PM - Song of Home (1925) (with live musical accompaniment by Makia Matsumara)
3:30 PM - Oyuki the Virgin (1935)
6:30 PM - Sisters of the Gion (1936)

May 9th

7:00 PM - Utamaro and His Five Women (1946)

May 10th

1:00 PM - Hometown (1930)
3:00 PM - White Threads of the Waterfall (1933)
4:30 PM - Miyamoto Musashi (1944)
6:00 PM - The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939)

May 11th

2:00 PM - Hometown (1930)
4:00 PM - White Threads of the Waterfall (1933)
6:30 PM - Miyamoto Musashi (1944)

May 16th

7:00 PM - The Life of Oharu (1952)

May 17th

4:00 PM - The Downfall of Osen (1935)
6:30 PM - Straits of Love and Hate (1937)

May 18th

5:00 PM - Poppy (1935)
7:00 PM - Women of the Night (1948)

May 23rd

7:00 PM - A Geisha (1953)

May 24th

2:00 PM - The Famous Sword Bijomaru (1945)
4:00 PM - Portrait of Madame Yuki (1950)
7:00 PM - Osaka Elegy (1936)

May 25th

2:00 PM - The 47 Ronin (Part 1 & 2) (1941)

May 31st

5:00 PM - The Love of Sumako, the Actress (1947)
7:00 PM - Miss Oyu (1951)

June 1st

2:00 PM - The Crucified Lovers (1954)
4:30 PM - Victory of Women (1946)
7:00 PM - My Love Burns (1949)

June 6th

7:00 PM - Princess Yang Kwei-fei (1955)

June 7th

5:00 PM - The Lady of Musashino (1951)
7:00 PM - The Woman of the Rumor (1954)

June 8th 

2:00 PM - Tales of the Taira (1955)

For more information visit Museum of Moving Image