#653: KINUGASA, Teinosuke: Gate Of Hell (1953)

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KINUGASA, Teinosuke (Japan)
Gate Of Hell [1953]
Spine #653
Blu-ray


A winner of Academy Awards for best foreign-language film and best costume design, Gate of Hell is a visually sumptuous, psychologically penetrating work from Teinsouke Kinugasa. In the midst of epic, violent intrigue in twelfth-century Japan, an imperial warrior falls for a lady-in-waiting; after he discovers she is married, he becomes frenzied in his attempts to win her love. Kinugasa's film, an early triumph of color cinematography in Japan, is an unforgettable, tragic story of obsession and unrequited passion.

89 minutes
Color
Monaural
in Japanese
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2013
Director/Writers


Story by Kan Kikuchi.
Screenplay by Teinosuke Kinugasa.
Kinugasa was 57 when he directed Gate of Hell.

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Ten-page booklet featuring an essay by Stephen Prince.

Commentary

None.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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