“Four Seasons in Japan: A Cycle of Film Classics”
Free Films Fridays at 4:00 in the Clark Auditorium
This series samples the classic work of four Japanese masters of cinema, who made the postwar era a golden age of film in Japan. Rising from the ashes of atomic annihilation and the humiliation of surrender and occupation, Japanese cinema burst on to the international scene when Kurosawa’s Rashomon won the grand prize at the Venice film festival in 1951, with Mizoguchi winning there the next three years.
Ozu achieved posthumous recognition when Tokyo Story was belatedly released abroad in the ’70s, its supreme achievement gradually confirmed as part of a seamless and peerless fabric of work, when his later films were rediscovered. In the ’80s Naruse was revived to critical acclaim but little distribution, becoming a special favorite of cinematic cognoscenti. All four of these directors had extremely prolific careers that bridged the devastation of World War II, and while many of their films are hard to find, the visible tip of the iceberg is monumental indeed.
June 12: Ugetsu. (1953, 96 min.) Kenji Mizoguchi’s celebrated tale follows a 16th century potter who leaves home to sell his wares in the midst of a civil war, and is captivated by a ghost princess. His signature style, with a gliding camera that unfolds scenes like a Japanese scroll, conveys the magic and mystery of the uncanny without blinking at the gritty reality of a war-torn world. Mizoguchi (1898-1956) is also known for The Life of Oharu and Sansho the Bailiff, among other undiscovered gems.
June 19: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. (1960, 110 min.) Mikio Naruse’s modern story examines the life of a woman who ascends (and descends) the stairs to the Ginza bar where she serves as a female companion to businessmen, in a niche between geisha and prostitute. Naruse (1905-1969) shares a slow and stately style with Ozu, though his focus tends to be harder edged and grimmer in implication, so almost none of his films are easy to find.
June 26: An Autumn Afternoon. (1962, 112 min.) Yasujiro Ozu’s valedictory film recapitulates his customary themes, with a widower marrying off his daughter as the modern postwar world supplants traditional Japanese ways. As more of his films become available, the place of Ozu (1903-1963) in the pantheon of great directors becomes more certain. The Clark caps last summer’s popular “Seasons of Ozu” film series with this final testament to his genius.
July 3: Ran. (1985, 160 min.) Akira Kurasawa’s culminating masterpiece adapts King Lear to a mythical samurai past with pageantry and passion, mounting some of the most spectacular battle scenes ever filmed. Kurosawa (1910-1998) was the youngest and by far the most Westernized of these four masters. Besides Shakespeare, he found inspiration in John Ford Westerns and other popular genres, and the favor was amply returned when Hollywood remade a number of his films, most notably The Seven Samurai. With his mastery of genre and a wider view of his work, it’s hard to pigeonhole his style, but Ran demonstrates his taste for the epic.
Coming to the Clark – a film series called “An Artist in Her Own Right: Barbara Stanwyck and the Modern American Woman,” showing Saturdays at 2:00, July 18-August 15. And in September, the Cinema Salon Film Club at the Clark -- watch this space for more information.
Free Films Fridays at 4:00 in the Clark Auditorium
This series samples the classic work of four Japanese masters of cinema, who made the postwar era a golden age of film in Japan. Rising from the ashes of atomic annihilation and the humiliation of surrender and occupation, Japanese cinema burst on to the international scene when Kurosawa’s Rashomon won the grand prize at the Venice film festival in 1951, with Mizoguchi winning there the next three years.
Ozu achieved posthumous recognition when Tokyo Story was belatedly released abroad in the ’70s, its supreme achievement gradually confirmed as part of a seamless and peerless fabric of work, when his later films were rediscovered. In the ’80s Naruse was revived to critical acclaim but little distribution, becoming a special favorite of cinematic cognoscenti. All four of these directors had extremely prolific careers that bridged the devastation of World War II, and while many of their films are hard to find, the visible tip of the iceberg is monumental indeed.
June 12: Ugetsu. (1953, 96 min.) Kenji Mizoguchi’s celebrated tale follows a 16th century potter who leaves home to sell his wares in the midst of a civil war, and is captivated by a ghost princess. His signature style, with a gliding camera that unfolds scenes like a Japanese scroll, conveys the magic and mystery of the uncanny without blinking at the gritty reality of a war-torn world. Mizoguchi (1898-1956) is also known for The Life of Oharu and Sansho the Bailiff, among other undiscovered gems.
June 19: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. (1960, 110 min.) Mikio Naruse’s modern story examines the life of a woman who ascends (and descends) the stairs to the Ginza bar where she serves as a female companion to businessmen, in a niche between geisha and prostitute. Naruse (1905-1969) shares a slow and stately style with Ozu, though his focus tends to be harder edged and grimmer in implication, so almost none of his films are easy to find.
June 26: An Autumn Afternoon. (1962, 112 min.) Yasujiro Ozu’s valedictory film recapitulates his customary themes, with a widower marrying off his daughter as the modern postwar world supplants traditional Japanese ways. As more of his films become available, the place of Ozu (1903-1963) in the pantheon of great directors becomes more certain. The Clark caps last summer’s popular “Seasons of Ozu” film series with this final testament to his genius.
July 3: Ran. (1985, 160 min.) Akira Kurasawa’s culminating masterpiece adapts King Lear to a mythical samurai past with pageantry and passion, mounting some of the most spectacular battle scenes ever filmed. Kurosawa (1910-1998) was the youngest and by far the most Westernized of these four masters. Besides Shakespeare, he found inspiration in John Ford Westerns and other popular genres, and the favor was amply returned when Hollywood remade a number of his films, most notably The Seven Samurai. With his mastery of genre and a wider view of his work, it’s hard to pigeonhole his style, but Ran demonstrates his taste for the epic.
Coming to the Clark – a film series called “An Artist in Her Own Right: Barbara Stanwyck and the Modern American Woman,” showing Saturdays at 2:00, July 18-August 15. And in September, the Cinema Salon Film Club at the Clark -- watch this space for more information.
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