Sansho the Bailiff (Criterion Collection) (1954)

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)There is much praise heaped upon Mizoguchi Kenji's "Sansho the Bailiff," including the box cover calling it "one of the finest films ever made." I probably wouldn't go that far, but it is an excellent movie ranking amongst the best of the genre, standing tall with Kurosawa Akira films such as "Red Beard." It is very heavy, with a strong message.

Like Kurosawa, social responsibility is a strong theme in Mizoguchi's works. In "Sansho the Bailiff," we see a blending of the social classes, as an honest aristocrat is exiled, his wife sold to a brothel and his children made slaves, all because the aristocrat believed peasants deserved happiness as well, and that the aristocratic class had responsibilities to the peasants. Mixed together, you see cruelty and mercy amongst both classes, from the tyrannical Sansho and his friendly son Taro, or the martyred slave Namiji and the cruel Zushio willing to brand another slave on the head with a hot iron.

To this there is the message of mercy. "Be hard on yourself, but merciful to others" is the mantra passed from parent to child. A sacred image of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, is a family heirloom, passed down from generations as a reminder.

As in all Mizoguchi's films, it is ultimately the women who suffer, bearing the sins of men on their capable shoulders. Mizoguchi is considered a feminist in Japan, although the standards are different and most Americans would probably not consider "Sansho the Bailiff" a feminist film.

It is nice to see this important film get the Criterion treatment. Along with the usual pristine transfer and updated subtitles, a translated version of Ogai Mori's 1915 "Sansho Dayu," the story that inspired "Sansho the Bailiff," is also included.

"Sansho Dayu" is so great and so beautiful. It is one of my very favorite films.

First of all, thank you so much, Andrew (reviewer below), for letting us know about the truly excellent Films Sans Frontieres DVD edition (which also comes with a beautiful DVD of Mizoguchi's superb film "Crucified Lovers"). I got so tired of waiting for Criterion to put out a DVD of this film that I went ahead and ordered the two-disc set from XploitedCinema and was not disappointed by the quality. I have now given away my lousy Home Vision VHS tape. Until Criterion steps up, the Films Sans Frontieres edition is definitely the one to own!

Second of all, even though the label says Region-Two PAL, I am pretty sure that the Films Sans Frontiere DVDs are actually REGION-FREE NTSC discs, because I can play them on my Region-One NTSC player without any problem at all. So I don't think Americans will need a Multi-Region player to watch these fine films. I bet they will play just fine on their standard Region-One DVD players.

Third of all, I just want to approve what everybody else has said about how great this film is. It is a truly beautiful experience that will shatter your heart. There is nobody like Mizoguchi and no film like "Sansho Dayu".

10 stars for the wonderful film, 1.5 stars for the crummy video tape. Instead you should definitely get the French DVDs (with English sub-titles) put out by Films Sans Frontieres, available in the U.S. from XploitedCinema. You won't regret it!

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Well, what can I say that hasn't already been said by the other reviewers?

I first saw this overwhelming masterpiece when I was ten (it was part of a Japanese film festival on my local PBS station decades ago). Even at my callow age, I was utterly floored by the power and beauty of Sansho. It was so expertly constructed that I could remember almost every scene twenty years later--particularly the scene where disappears beneath the water in an act of self-sacrifice. It was so emotionally shattering and hauntingly beautiful that I never forgot it. At long last, when I was middle aged, Sansho appeared at my local art film theater and I went to see if it was as good as I remembered. It wasn't. It was even better! My memory hadn't exaggerated it. Sansho is a supreme work of cinematic art.

I suppose I could bore you with breathless descriptions of Mizoguchi's unsurpassed mastery of the camera, his amazing use of long takes and panoramic views, his Shakespearean humanism, his heartfelt sympathy for the downtrodden (particularly women), his elementally powerful yet intellectually sophisticated stories, his paradoxical combination of devastating intensity and Olympian detachment, etc. etc. But instead I will simply say: You must see this great, great work of art at least once before you die.

P.S. I have to join everyone else here in begging, pleading with Criterion or some other reputable company to PLEASE issue a restored version of this masterpiece on DVD soon! It's a crime that we don't have one yet.

Read Best Reviews of Sansho the Bailiff (Criterion Collection) (1954) Here

I saw Sansho the Baliff some 30 years ago when it was required for a Japanese anthropology class I was taking in college. This is to alert readers to the fact that it was "positioned" not as entertainment but as source of insight into Japanese attitudes about various subjects. That is a good thing to bear in mind because while it is an excellent film in terms of acting, cinematography, plot, dialogue, etc. (hence the 5 stars) I suspect many Americans will not find it "entertaining." It is so harrowing to watch -not because of violence but because of heart-rending situations -that American viewers used to at least a bit of comic relief and/or "uplift," even in films billed as tragic, may be squirming. I still get shivers thinking about certain scenes or aspects of the story. Having said all that, I do not wish to give the impression that it is an "anthropology lesson" -it is an extremely well-executed film shedding light on some aspects of the human condition.

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This is one of the most beautiful and heart-breaking films I've ever seen.

I would like to warn people away from the poor quality videotape here. Sansho the Bailiff deserves to be seen in a better quality format than that. Luckily, a French company called Films Sans Frontieres has put out a very good DVD with English subtitles. It is a region-2 DVD, but if you have a multi-region player, you will be able to enjoy this film as it should be enjoyed. You can order the DVD through various companies: XploitedCinema, DVDalliance, films-sans-frontieres, etc.

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