Just as the title says, this is the story of a year in the life of a perfect wife, and just as you would also expect, it is a year that ends in a death scene. The primary interest is that this is an autobiographical movie by Kaneto Shindo about not only his first wife … Continue reading Story of a Beloved Wife (1951)
Genji Monogatari
New Tale of Genji / Shin Genji monogatari (1961)
In movies as in life, you have to be careful what you wish for. When I saw the 1951 Genji monogatari, I thought "If only this were in color, and the leading man were not forty plus!" Shin Genji monogatari gives us a Genji of the right age, Raizo Ichikawa, and color plus widescreen. Unfortunately, … Continue reading New Tale of Genji / Shin Genji monogatari (1961)
Tale of Genji / Genji monogatari (1951)
Murasaki's Genji Monogatari is of course unfilmable, if for nothing else due to its length, and so any attempt is always going to be a sampling at best. This particular sampling comes with the finest pedigree, with the basic adaptation made by Tanizaki, the screenplay by Kaneto Shindo, and direction by Yoshimura. The result is … Continue reading Tale of Genji / Genji monogatari (1951)
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