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Sansho Dayu
Mizoguchi’s historical epic is among the greatest of all Japanese films, and a masterpiece of humanist cinema.
Period drama 1954 125 mins
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Overview
Among the greatest of all Japanese films, and a masterpiece of humanist cinema, Mizoguchi’s historical epic charts the vicissitudes faced by the family of a liberal bureaucrat who offends authority. The serene beauty of the imagery offsets the often painful drama in a work of noble ideals, superbly acted and elegantly shot, with one of the most breathtaking endings ever filmed.

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