Product Details

• Actors: Minosuke Bandô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Kôtarô Bandô, Hiroko Kawasaki, Toshiko Iizuka
• Directors: Kenji Mizoguchi
• Format: Black & White, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: New Yorker Video
• VHS Release Date: November 11, 1998
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302906660
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,844 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #5 in	Video > Art House & International > Asian Cinema > Japan > Classics
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  #13 in	Video > Art House & International > By Original Language > Japanese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars mizoguchi's portrait of the artist, February 18, 2004

By	Kristopher Kincaid (Vietnam) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In a career littered with period films this is one of the rare examples where the master Japanese filmmaker Mizoguchi Kenji portrayed an actual historical figure, though "Utamaro and His Five Women" hardly shoots for a factual representation of an artist's life. "Utamaro" does not aim to be a literal biography but is instead an imagining of the great painter in the prime of his career and his relationship with his models - a relationship that mirrors Mizoguchi's own love/hate relationship with women. This film has the formal beauty one expects from the director, but lacks much else that is memorable. Perhaps "Utamaro" is best left for admirers of the director - initiates to Mizoguchi should look for "Sisters of the Gion," "Osaka Elegy," "Ugetsu," "A Geisha" (aka "Gion Music Festival") or his masterpiece "Sansho the Bailiff" instead. The VHS of "Utamaro" from New Yorker is terribly blurry and also unfortunately out-of-print.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting look at Utamaro's relationship with his subjects, November 29, 2008

By	Gina Collia-suzuki - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I came at this film not from the point of view of a movie buff, but from that of an art lover. The fact that Utamaro is the central figure is what inspired me to watch it. It's an interesting take on Utamaro's relationship with the women who formed the subjects of his prints, and although far from even remotely accurate in that respect is fascinating all the same. Although the film centres around the life of the artist, it is the women in the film who are the strong characters... Okita being especially prominent... and the male characters are rather weak in comparison, Utamaro himself included. The five women represent five different 'types', which I found particularly interesting due to Utamaro's fondness for portraying sets of female 'types' in his prints. If you know anything of the biographical details of Utamaro's life, forget all of that because this film isn't an accurate portrayal of the artist's life. All the same it is incredibly enjoyable and highly entertaining.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Masterpiece, April 18, 2007

By	Vlanes (Australia) - See all my reviews

I have just finished watching this film. I think it belongs up there with the very best Japanese films, and it is certainly one of the best achievements of Mizoguchi. It is impeccable - those visually haunting long shots, the sheer elegance of movements, the serene, changing flow of the narrative. For those people who understand and love cinema beyond "Meet the Fockers", this should be an exquisite experience.

Often Japanese films (Ozu) are hard for the Westerners to watch, as they seem to be too long and often stagnant. This is true to a certain extend, as cinema requires patience. In this case, there was no feeling of unnecessary protraction: the film was moving at a comfortable pace.

The quality of my tape was quite low - hiss, slightly blurred images, low contrast. Normally, I would be upset by all this. However, after a few minutes of watching I stopped to care. This is undoubtedly a true masterpiece. My highest recommendation.