(UGETSU MONOGATARI, Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan 1953, 94 min., 35mm)
Mizoguchi’s quintessential masterpiece blends history and legend, the real and the supernatural, and the savage and the lyrical. In the 18th century, two married men travel to the city where they succumb to temptation; one becomes the lover of a beautiful woman he doesn’t realize is a ghost, and the other becomes a samurai. Meanwhile, the wives of both men suffer cruel fates when abandoned. Spellbindingly told, Ugetsu is also one of the most hauntingly beautiful movies ever made.
