Sansho the Bailiff

( 2 )

Overview

Kenji Mizoguchi's masterpiece opens in 11th-century Japan with an aristocratic woman Tamaki traveling through the woods with her daughter Anju, son Zushio, and maid. Through flashbacks, we learn that her husband, Taira no Masauji, was a local governor who was exiled because of his honesty and integrity. Before he leaves, he gives his son an amulet of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, and tells him, "Without mercy, man is like a beast. Men are created equal, everyone is entitled to happiness." On their journey to ...
See more details below
DVD (Subtitled / B&W / Pan & Scan)
$38.68
BN.com price
(Save 3%)$39.99 List Price
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up In Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (DVD)
  • All (19) from $15.00   
  • New (17) from $22.79   
  • Used (2) from $15.00   

More About This Product

Overview

Kenji Mizoguchi's masterpiece opens in 11th-century Japan with an aristocratic woman Tamaki traveling through the woods with her daughter Anju, son Zushio, and maid. Through flashbacks, we learn that her husband, Taira no Masauji, was a local governor who was exiled because of his honesty and integrity. Before he leaves, he gives his son an amulet of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, and tells him, "Without mercy, man is like a beast. Men are created equal, everyone is entitled to happiness." On their journey to reunite with their husband/father, they are ambushed by kidnappers, who sell the mother as a prostitute and the two children as slaves to the corrupt Sansho Eitaro Shindo. As adults, Zushio Yoshiaki Hanayagi and his sister Anju Kyoko Kagawa continue to toil as servants. Anju learns that her mother has become a courtesan on remote Sado-island. Though Zushio became Sansho's most trusted and most brutal aide; he manages to escape at Anju's behest. He finds sanctuary at a local monastery while Anju, looking to avoid the inevitably violent retribution, drowns herself in a lake. Seeking justice, Zushio petitions the Prime Minister, a desperate act that usually results in imprisonment or death. Yet his pleas prove more successful than he ever dreamed. When he finally has the power to thwart evil Sansho and reunify his family, he learns that he is tragically too late.
Read More Show Less

Special Features

New, restored high-definition digital transfer; Audio commentart by Japanese-literature professor Jeffrey Angles; New video interviews with critic Tadao Sato, assistant director Tokuzo Tanaka, and legendary actress Kyoko Kagawa on the making of the film and its lasting importance; New and improved Egnlish subtitle translation; Plus: a book featuring an essay by scholar Mark Le Fanu and two versions of the story on which the film was based - Ogai Mori's 1915 "Sansho Dayu," in an acclaimed translation by J. Thomas Rimer, and a written form of an eariler oral variation, in a new English translation
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Jonathan Crow
On its French release in 1960, Sansho the Bailiff was ranked by Cahiers du cinéma as the best film of the year, topping such classics as Breathless, L'avventura, and Psycho. Critics were struck by the film's gorgeous photography, elegant camerawork, and exotic settings and by Kenji Mizoguchi's signature use of imagery that quietly evokes a spiritual transcendence above the suffering of the material world. Unlike Akira Kurosawa's frequent use of close-ups and fast-paced editing, Mizoguchi, here as elsewhere, keeps his camera distant and his takes long, resulting in a contemplative style in which the characters' suffering and pain seem vivid, yet small compared with the immutability of the landscape. The result is a film that is thoroughly engaging up to its devastating finale. Though it was initially more popular in the West than in Japan, this masterpiece has since been widely recognized as one of Mizoguchi's most beautiful works.
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • Release Date: 5/22/2007
  • UPC: 715515023627
  • Original Release: 1954

    • Rating:

  • Source: Criterion
  • Region Code: 1
  • Presentation: Subtitled / B&W / Pan & Scan
  • Time: 2:04:00
  • Format: DVD

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Kinuyo Tanaka Tamaki
Kyoko Kagawa Anju
Eitaro Shindo Sansho
Yoshiaki Hanayagi Zushio
Ichiro Sugai Minister of Justice
Ryosuke Kagawa Ritsushi Kumotake
Akitake Kono Taro
Ken Mitsuda Prime Minister Morozane Fujiwara
Kikue Mori Priestess
Chieko Naniwa Ubatake
Masao Shimizu Masauji Taira
Masahiko Tsugawa Zushio as a Boy
Technical Credits
Kenji Mizoguchi Director
Fumio Hayasaka Score Composer
Kisaku Ito Art Director
Kazuo Miyagawa Cinematographer
Mitsuji Miyata Editor
Tamekichi Mochizuki Score Composer
Masaichi Nagata Producer
Kannahichi Odera Score Composer
Fuji Yahiro Screenwriter
Yoshikata Yoda Screenwriter
Read More Show Less

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Sansho the Bailiff
1. Legend [2:56]
2. Overruled [3:47]
3. Principle [4:18]
4. Paths [4:33]
5. Shelter [7:13]
6. Boat [2:50]
7. Sold [4:20]
8. Animals [7:11]
9. Visitor [4:23]
10. Revelations [8:40]
11. Nakagimi [3:28]
12. Heartless [4:53]
13. Mercy [9:28]
14. Ripples [4:27]
15. Taro [6:48]
16. Petition [4:47]
17. Successor [4:06]
18. Dutiful [3:36]
19. Decree [9:15]
20. Enforcement [5:35]
21. Fire [2:51]
22. Search [4:06]
23. Kwannon [10:38]
24. Bars [:00]
1. Names [2:56]
2. Twist [3:47]
3. Deity [4:18]
4. Ogai [4:33]
5. Values [7:13]
6. Separated [2:50]
7. Slavery [4:20]
8. Microcosm [7:11]
9. Helpless [4:23]
10. Changes [8:40]
11. Parallels [3:28]
12. Challenges [4:53]
13. Recollection [9:28]
14. Freedom [4:27]
15. Honorifics [6:48]
16. Cuts [4:47]
17. Confucian [4:06]
18. Morality [3:36]
19. Details [9:15]
20. Theme [5:35]
21. Individualistic [2:51]
22. Exploited [4:06]
23. Lives [10:38]
24. Bars [:00]
1. Responsibilities [3:55]
2. Location [3:31]
3. Patience [1:18]
4. Score [2:35]
5. Intention [3:13]
1. Theme [3:26]
2. Tradition [2:49]
3. Styles [5:27]
4. Acting [4:46]
5. Camera [5:20]
6. Belief [1:33]
Read More Show Less

Menu

Disc #1 -- Sansho the Bailiff
   Play
   Chapters
   Commentary
      Off/On
      Index
   Performance
      Play
   Production
      Play
      Index
   Simplicity
      Play
      Index
   Subtitles
      On/Off
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 2 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 17, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 3, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews