Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA 1953
Source: The Criterion Collection press release
Special Thanks to Courtney Ott
Cover by Michael Boland. Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA 1953
The Criterion Collection has announced the Kenji Mizoguchi's classic ghost film UGETSU (雨月物語, Ugetsu Monogatari, 1953) will be released April 1st in a 2-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray set, as well as Blu-ray and DVD editions.
By the time he made UGETSU, Kenji Mizoguchi was already an elder statesman of Japanese cinema, fiercely revered by Akira Kurosawa and other directors of a younger generation. And with this exquisite ghost story, a fatalistic wartime tragedy derived from stories by Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, he created a touchstone of his art, his long takes and sweeping camera guiding the viewer through a delirious narrative about two villagers whose pursuit of fame and fortune leads them far astray from their loyal wives. Moving between the terrestrial and the otherworldly, UGETSU reveals essential truths about the ravages of war, the plight of women, and the pride of men.
UGETSU was restored by The Film Foundation and Kadokawa Corporation at Cineric Laboratories in New York. Special thanks to Masahiro Miyajima and Martin Scorsese for their consultation on this restoration. Restoration funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in association with The Film Foundation and Kadokawa Corporation.
96 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Japanese with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio
4K UHD + BLU-RAY COMBO EDITION
SRP: $49.95
DISCS: 2
STREET: 4/1/25
CAT. NO.: CC3643UHDBD
ISBN: 979-8-88607-240-2
UPC: 7-15515-30931-8
4K UHD + BLU-RAY COMBO SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary by critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns
- KENJI MIZOGUCHI: THE LIFE OF A FILM DIRECTOR, a 1975 documentary by Kaneto Shindo
- Two Worlds Intertwined, a 2005 appreciation of Ugetsu by Masahiro Shinoda
- Process and Production, a 2005 interview with Tokuzo Tanaka, first assistant director on Ugetsu
- Interview from 1992 with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa
- Trailers
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Phillip Lopate and three short stories that inspired the film
BLU-RAY EDITION
SRP: $39.95
DISCS: 1
STREET: 4/1/25
BLU-RAY COMBO SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary by critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns
- KENJI MIZOGUCHI: THE LIFE OF A FILM DIRECTOR, a 1975 documentary by Kaneto Shindo
- Two Worlds Intertwined, a 2005 appreciation of Ugetsu by Masahiro Shinoda
- Process and Production, a 2005 interview with Tokuzo Tanaka, first assistant director on Ugetsu
- Interview from 1992 with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa
- Trailers
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Phillip Lopate and three short stories that inspired the film
DVD EDITION
SRP: $29.95
DISCS: 2
STREET: 4/1/25
DVD SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- 4K digital restoration
- Audio commentary by critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns
- KENJI MIZOGUCHI: THE LIFE OF A FILM DIRECTOR, a 1975 documentary by Kaneto Shindo
- Two Worlds Intertwined, a 2005 appreciation of Ugetsu by Masahiro Shinoda
- Process and Production, a 2005 interview with Tokuzo Tanaka, first assistant director on Ugetsu
- Interview from 1992 with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa
- Trailers
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Phillip Lopate
Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA 1953
Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA 1953
Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA 1953
4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Masahiro Shinoda and actor Tamasaburo Bando, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- New interview with film scholar Dudley Andrew
- Program on the film’s special effects
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Michael Atkinson
New illustration by Yuko Shimizu