This film is currently unavailable

This film is certified

Contains mild violence and threat

I accept this guidance

Title of error

Gate of Hell

Teinosuke Kinugasa’s sumptuous period drama astonished audiences with its dramatic force and spectacular colour cinematography.

Drama 1953 89 mins

Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa

Subscribe to watch

Overview

One of the key works of the early 1950s wave of Japanese films to first reach foreign markets, director Kinugasa’s sumptuous period drama astonished audiences with its dramatic force and spectacular colour cinematography. During feudal unrest in the 12th century, samurai warrior Moritô (Kazuo Hasegawa) manages to thwart a palace rebellion and save the life of the empress, using loyal subject Lady Kesa (Machiko Kyô) as a decoy. When Moritô is offered anything he should desire as reward, he requests Kesa’s hand in marriage. Informed that she is already married to a fellow samurai (Isao Yamagata), he refuses to withdraw his request, setting in motion a tragic chain of events. Three decades after the director’s iconic A Page of Madness, Kinugasa’s striking tale of feudal intrigue, political machinations, and erotic obsession won the Grand Prix at Cannes, two Academy Awards for Best Foreign-Language Film and Costume Design, and has since been named by Martin Scorsese as one of the ten greatest colour achievements in world cinema. Gate of Hell’s blazing palette is proudly presented afresh by The Masters of Cinema Series in a magnificent new restoration, available for the very first time for home viewing in the UK.

Three decades after the director’s iconic A Page of Madness, Kinugasa’s striking tale of feudal intrigue, political machinations, and erotic obsession won the Grand Prix at Cannes, two Academy Awards for Best Foreign-Language Film and Costume Design, and has since been named by Martin Scorsese as one of the ten greatest colour achievements in world cinema.

Director

Teinosuke Kinugasa

Featuring

Kazuo Hasegawa , Machiko Kyo , Isao Yamagata , Yataro Kurokawa and Kotaro Bando

Genres

Drama

Certificate

Contains mild violence and threat

Country

Japan

Language

Japanese with English subtitles

Subscribe to watch

Four Mothers Four Mothers

Comedy 2023 89 mins Director: Darren Thornton

Hilarious, uplifting tale of an Irish son juggling four very different mothers over one chaotic weekend in Dublin.

Subscribe to watch

Of Horses and Men Of Horses and Men

Drama 2013 81 mins Director: Benedikt Erlingsson

Human romance and a passion for horses intertwine in this wildly beautiful, darkly funny equine tale from Iceland.

Subscribe to watch

2073 2073

Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia

Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.

Subscribe to watch

Blind Blind

Drama 2013 96 mins Director: Eskil Vogt

A woman’s blindness sharpens her capacity for imagination and fantasy in the Eskil Vogt’s inventive debut.

Subscribe to watch

The People vs. Larry Flynt The People vs. Larry Flynt

Biopic 1996 130 mins Director: Milos Forman

Milos Forman’s provocative biopic starring Woody Harrelson as a notorious pornographer turned unlikely hero and champion of free speech.

Subscribe to watch

Who We Love Who We Love

Drama 2021 94 mins Director: Graham Cantwell

Bullied for her sexuality, Dublin schoolgirl Lily turns to her gay best friend for support in this vibrant coming-out, coming-of-age drama.

Subscribe to watch

Rashomon Rashomon

Crime 1950 88 mins Director: Akira Kurosawa

Credited with bringing Japanese cinema to worldwide audiences, Akira Kurosawa’s breakthrough tells the story of a murder in the woods from four differing perspectives.