I'll tell you why so serious

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Sixteenth Century Japan. Civil wars. Military marauders and rapists. Rival clans fighting each other. The samurais, individual warriors following a rigid behaviour code and imposing themselves as an outstanding social groupThis movie develops itself in these surroundings in a half-poetic, half-realist atmosphere but very well succeeded in filmic and plot terms.Fancy and fantasy also shows up in some moments. A parallel story of two countrymen is told. One is a craftsman who Works on clay potteries, The other is a fool that wants forcefully to become a samurai though it doesn't have enough money to get the necessary outfit. Both leave their houses in a village later plundered by one of the armies above referred and go away where to make their dreams come true leaving their wives behind. This turns out to be very tragic and after several adventures including the love relationship of the potter with a ghost princess, they cone back home and meet several unhappy vicissitudes some of them having been caused by those violent soldiers. Enchanting film direction, seducing and sentimentally well presented.

(Flash Review)Taking place in 16th Century Japan, this is a tale of a couple foolish men who lose sight of what matters in life in hopes of making some big cash in the city or enhancing their personal pride or station in life by becoming a Samurai. There is much strife during this time as it takes place during the Japanese Civil Wars. These men, who are potters, risk their lives to get to the city to sell them, during war time, or abandon their trade and blow money on armor and a sword to appear to be a Samurai while leaving their family in the lurch. What this film attempts to present and teach is the lust of money and status is the wrong core focus to have in life. Will these men learn these lessons before it is too late? The film has solid cinematography and a score with character. The scenes are pretty straight forward with medium tension now and then. An interesting little film from in 50's from Japan yet not has impactful as an Akira Kurosawa film.

Viewed on DVD. Subtitles = eight (8) stars; restoration = six (6) stars; dubbing = four (4) stars. Director Kenji Mizoguchi delivers a photo play with various plot threads based on a number of sources. Both traditional and modern. This is a fantasized view of 16th Century Japan (a turbulent time) with an unrealistic "happy" ending (see below). The ghost sub theme is by far the best executed thread. Like Hitchcock (among others), Mizoguchi demonstrates that the use of simple (and low-cost) in-camera special effects and cleaver, minimalist editing can induce aberrational apprehension without resorting to expensive, post-production technical tricks (or jump editing). Cinematography (black and white) is fine although inter-scene lighting is a bit uneven. Sound stage exteriors mostly look and sound phony (looped dialog contains echoes as if actors are re-recording their lines in a huge cavern!). Sets look and "feel" realistic for the period. Subtitles are short, to the point, and pretty much match what is spoken. Restoration missed vertical wear lines (especially toward the film's end) and age deterioration in dark scenes and when scenes fade to black. Film score effectively employs Leif Motifs to enhance scene impacts (mostly traditional singing styles and instruments are used--an extra treat!). As for the contrived ending, a question: If you were once a peasant who escaped in effect servitude and achieved great militaristic fame and fortune, would you chuck it all, reunite with your estranged spouse, and return to peasantry? Only in the movies! WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

Along with Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon", "Ugetsu" was responsible for breaking Japanese cinema out of it's native land. The story is set during a civil war, where a farmer lives happily with his wife and son, as well as a friend who dreams of leaving his impoverished state to become a samurai. After finding some success, exploiting the war to make a grand profit, their greed brings them away from their wives: one into realizing his samurai ambitions, the other to the home of a pale beauty.Much has been said of the film's visual splendor. One can see here the beginnings of the sort of imagery that dominates your typical studio ghibli film, only much more bombastic. For my part, I prefer Mizoguchi's, in comparison, understated approach. Maybe not as impressive initially, but it lingers in the mind for much longer. There's really not any still shorts that do justice to the film's imagery, one must see the movements of the camera to appreciate what's on the screen. Even the most simple of moments seem more potent under Mizoguchi's proverbial eye. Adding to that is the music, which is almost surreal in how it conveys both sorrow and the fantastic.If the emphasis on visual and sounds is making it seem like Ugetsu is just a pretty but vacuous spectacle, it absolutely is not. The technical prowess only underlies the beauty of the story. On paper, the story and characters are very simple. What makes the characters realized are the incredible performances. The most powerful moments in the movie are expressed through the face. Despite the short running time giving little time to establish the character's relations, there is such a genuine chemistry among them that the significance of these bonds isn't taken for granted as it may often be in these sorts of films. Make no mistake, Genjuro loves his family, even if he isn't always appreciative. One small but wonderful moment is when he's shopping for a yukata for her, and sees an image of her holding one over herself. Genjuro's journey is the main one and the heart of the movie, with Tobei's darkly comical journey as much more of a side story.and one can't talk about Ugetsu without mention of it's ending. I won't spoil but I will say it ranks alongside another Mizoguchi masterpierce, "Sansho the Baliff", as one of the greatest, most powerful endings to a film. and it is this ending wherein one, perhaps like Genjuro himself, takes more notice of the little moments that suddenly take much more significance.This is the only film where, upon first viewing, I watched it again within 24 hours. The first time I was sad but overwhelmed, like I wasn't sure I liked it except for the ending. But repeat viewings have convinced me that there's an elusiveness to this movie: as much as I've said, I still feel like I don't fully understand the power this film has.Absolutely recommended.