THE LIFE OF OHARU on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD

Source: The Criterion Collection, Image Entertainment Official Site: criterion.com/the-life-of-oharu On July 9th, Kenji Mizoguchi`s THE LIFE OF OHARU (?????, Saikaku Ichidai Onna) will be released in digitally restored DVD and Blu-ray editions by The Criterion Collection. A peerless chronicler of the soul who specialized in supremely emotional, visually exquisite films about the circumstances of women in Japanese society throughout its history, Kenji Mizoguchi (UGETSU) had already been directing movies for decades when he made THE LIFE OF OHARU in 1952. But this epic portrait of an inexorable fall from grace, starring the incredibly talented Kinuyo Tanaka (THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA) as an imperial lady-in-waiting who gradually descends to street prostitution, was the movie that gained its director international attention, ushering in a new golden period for him.

Cast Oharu: Kinuyo Tanaka Katusnosuke: Toshiro Mifune Kikuoji: Masao Shimizu Tomo, Oharu’s mother: Tsukie Matsura Shinzaemon, Oharu’s father: Ichiro Sugai Landlady: Kiyoko Tsuji Lord Matsudaira: Toshiaki Konoe Lady Matsudaira: Hisako Yamane Otsubone Yoshioka: Yuriko Hamada Lady-in-waiting Sakurai: Noriko Sengoku Lady-in-waiting Iwabashi: Haruyo Ichikawa Lady-in-waiting Sodegaki: Kyoko Kusajima Kahei Sasaya: Eitarô Shindô Owasa, his wife: Sadako Sawamura Bunkichi, Sasaya’s employee: Hiroshi Oizumi Counterfeiter: Eijiro Yanagi Yakichi Ogiya, Oharu’s husband: Jikichi Ono The old nun Myokai: Chieko Higashiyama Owner of clothes rental store: Tozen Hidari Old pilgrim: Takashi Shimura Jihei, Sasaya’s old clerk: Benkei Shiganoya Crew Director: Kenji Mizoguchi Producer: Hideo Ko Screenplay: Kenji Mizoguchi and Yoshikata Yoda Based on the novel by: Ihara Saikaku Story editor: Isamu Yoshii Cinematography: Yoshimi Hirano Production design: Hiroshi Mizutani Edited by: Toshio Goto Music: Ichiro Saito Artistic/historical adviser: Isamu Yosh Production Year: 1952 Rating: Not Rated Run Time: 137 Minutes Color Format: Black & White Audio: PCM Mono Language: Japanese 16:9: Yes Aspect Ratio: Other Number of Discs: 1 Closed Captions: No Subtitle: English Special Features: • New high-definition digital film restoration • Introductory commentary by scholar Dudley Andrew • Mizoguchi`s Art and the Demimonde, an illustrated audio essay featuring Andrew • KINUYO TANAKA`S NEW DEARTURE, a 2009 film by Koko Kajiyama • New English subtitle translation • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Gilberto Perez BLU-RAY EDITION Catalog #: CC2275BD UPC: 715515107310 SRP: $39.95 Release Date: July 9th, 2013 DVD EDITION Catalog #: CC2276DDVD UPC: 715515107419 SRP: $29.95 Release Date: July 9th, 2013 SPINE #664

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