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.
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Video Quality
The Criterion Collection presents Ugetsu on 4K UHD Blu-Ray courtesy of an impressive 4K digital restoration from the 35mm fine-grain positive and a 35mm duplicate negative supervised by Masahiro Miyajima and Martin Scorsese. The film is presented in 2160p SDR which is quite a sight to see even without HDR implementation. The film was last released on Blu-Ray from the label in 2017 from the same base master, and that disc is also included in this package. The Blu-Ray is very nice, but the 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc does offer some improvements that make it the preferred choice. The black and white cinematography is sumptuous with smooth gradients and rich, subtle textures. The contrast remains stable and provides improvements in sharpness.
The transfer does not suffer from any major dust specks or print damage that you might expect from a film of this vintage. This transfer retains the filmic quality of the picture with fine film grain giving way to the detail you crave. Black levels are appropriately deep without any egregious nuisances such as digital noise or compression artifacts. The Blu-Ray disc has a ton of additional information it has to handle, but the 4K UHD disc allows the movie to breathe on its own. This frame showcases some excellent depth to the image which manifests a pleasing sense of scale within the array of settings. This experience offers a world of textural details in the costumes and production design. This transfer delivers on all fronts. The Criterion Collection has put forth a wonderful effort to make this film look its best.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with a noble and consistent restored LPCM 1.0 mono track in the original Japanese with optional English subtitles. Even with an older film such as this one, there do not seem to be any majorly noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear. The dialogue comes through clearly, never allowing itself to get trampled by the reserved soundscape. The music of the feature sounds great when it slithers throughout the room. Dynamic environmental sounds are in short supply, but those that are present are rendered well alongside everything else. Criterion has given this film the perfectly preserved, faithful audio presentation it deserves.
Special Features
The Criterion 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Ugetsu includes a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Phillip Lopate and three short stories that inspired the film. This work explores the themes of the film, the history that is built into the narrative, the legacy of the film, and more which is very illuminating. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Audio Commentary: Critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns provides a commentary track recorded in 2005 that offers incredible insights into the career of Kenji Mizoguchi, historical and cultural context, the background of the creative figures, and more which is a great listen.
- Interviews: A trio of archival interviews is provided that explore the impact that Ugetsu had on future filmmakers and personal reflections of director Kenji Mizoguchi from those who worked with him.
- Masahiro Shinoda (2005) (14:09)
- Tokuzo Tanaka (First Assistant Director on Ugetsu) (2005) (20:13)
- Kazuo Miyagawa (Cinematographer) (1992) ( 10:32)
- Trailers
- Japanese Trailer (3:36)
- Spanish Trailer (Incomplete) (1:06)
- Kenji Mizoguchi – The Life of a Film Director: The full 150-minute 1975 documentary by Kaneto Shindo is provided which explores the life and career of Kenji Mizoguchi. This goes beyond your simple A-to-Z retrospective of an artist with some genuine analysis of his work that is very worthwhile.
Final Thoughts
Ugetsu is a haunting narrative from the great Kenji Mizoguchi that injects the supernatural into some horrific explorations of war and the human condition. Through the lens of genre, the film taps into something impactful while never losing respectability. The film is technically stunning and narratively layered in a way that makes you instantly understand why it is considered a classic. The Criterion Collection has delivered a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray that offers an amazing A/V presentation and some first-rate special features. If you are a fan of the film, do not hesitate to add it to your collection. Highly Recommended
The Criterion Collection edition of Ugetsu is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: The Criterion Collection has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
