Keisuke KINOSHITA 木下恵介
The Yotsuya Ghost Story (Part I & II)
新釈四谷怪談 (前篇/後篇)
Nippon Retro ²
Influenced by an old friend, down-and-out masterless samurai Iemon forges a plan to murder his obedient wife Oiwa and marry the rich and beautiful Oume. However, plagued by his guilty conscience, he is soon destined for doom. Keisuke KINOSHITA reinterprets the classic horror story as a human tragedy. Instead of malice and hate, he depicts weak souls sealing their own tragic fate.
新釈四谷怪談 (前篇/後篇)
Shinshaku Yotsuya kaidan (zenpen/kohen)
Japan 1949
159 minutes
Director
Keisuke KINOSHITA
Script
Eijiro HISAITA based on a play by Nanboku TSURUYA
Cinematography
Hiroshi KUSUDA
Production
Shochiku
Distribution
Shochiku
Cast
Ken UEHARA, Kinuyo TANAKA, Osamu TAKIZAWA, Keiji SADA, Haruko SUGIMURA
About Keisuke KINOSHITA
木下恵介
Keisuke KINOSHITA (1912–1998) is considered one of the most important Japanese directors. Starting in 1943, he made popular dramas, comedies, romances, ghost stories and noir films for Studio Shochiku, finding strong images even within conventions. After ARMY (1944), he was not allowed to work until the end of World War II. From 1945 on, the tension between the past and the hope for a new beginning was his central theme. The suffering, responsibility, and moral challenge of the individual are at the heart of many of his dramas. KINOSHITA’s rejection of feudal, militaristic Japan is clearly visible. With CARMEN COMES HOME (1951), he brought the first Japanese color film to the cinema, a summer comedy with serious overtones. KINOSHITA, who also repeatedly addressed the contrast between country and city, is considered the central humanist of post-war Japanese cinema. His sensitively-portrayed characters and their fates continue to touch audiences today.