Sansho the Bailiff (Blu-ray) Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi Studio: Criterion Year: 1954 Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 1080p AVC codec Running Time: 124 minutes Rating: NR Audio: PCM 1.0 Japanese Subtitles: English MSRP: $39.95
Release Date: February 26, 2013
Review Date: February 21, 2013
The Film
4.5/5 In 11th century Japan, a family is torn apart by a succession of unfairness, bad luck, and vandalism. The provincial governor is arrested for refusing to send his peasants to war at the bidding of the military when he considers their staying put to work the land in a time of need more pressing. As his wife (Kinuyo Tanaka) and his two children (Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyoko Kagawa as adults) attempt to reunite with him in exile, they’re separated by bandits with the mother sold to a brothel and the children to a life of slavery under a cruel private manor lord named Sansho (Eitaro Shindo). The film spends the rest of its running time with the various members of the family attempting to break free of their bonds so they can be united once more. It’s a long, slow road they have to travel over the course of ten years, and not all of them will survive. Director Mizoguchi was a painter in his early life, and one can see this so plainly in his framing of the action for the camera (one glance at a field of swaying reeds will prove it). He rarely uses close-ups shooting almost everything in medium shots, so that when the few medium close-ups do occur at climactic moments in the lives of the characters, they’re stunning in their impact on the viewer. There’s an evocative wind pipe that provides much of the music on the soundtrack, a lone and almost desolate sound reflecting the disheartened emotions of these distressed people. And when some uplifting events do happen for characters, there’s a joyous catharsis in the viewer sharing in the happiness of the moment. Alas, sometimes the bliss is fleeting, just like in life, and the director has no qualms in picturing that as well. Mizoguchi is a very languid director preferring long takes, so we have time to sift the many emotions that come wafting toward and through us during the film, all the better to savor its richness and complexity. Heartbreaking performances abound in the film, especially among the three principals. Yosiaki Hanayagi as the shamed son who rises to great power only to risk it all for his sense of what’s right and honorable has the deepest emotional journey of the leads, and his performance is superb. As his gentle sister who’s far stronger than anyone suspects, Kyoko Kagawa is magisterial. With less screen time, actress Kinuyo Tanaka still makes a lasting impression early in the film and then in the film’s final few moments as the children’s desperate mother. As the title character, Eitaro Shindo is properly blustery and appalling. Akitake Kono as his thoughtful and gentle son Taro is also exemplary and one wishes his part had been expanded. Sancho the Bailiff doesn’t rely on huge set pieces or hundreds of extras to make a significant impact. It’s a quiet film filled with themes as personally identifiable (love of family and the value of all human life) as any film ever made.
Video Quality
4/5
The film’s original 1.33:1 aspect ratio has been reproduced faithfully in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. The black and white picture is reasonably sharp but could have benefited with a bit more contrast. Still, the grayscale is more than adequate with solid but not the deepest possible blacks, and aside from a couple of slight instances of dirt, artifacts are not present. The white English subtitles are very easy to read. The film has been divided into 23 chapters.
Audio Quality
3/5 The PCM 1.0 (1.1 Mbps) sound mix is adequate but not among Criterion’s finest achievements. There is some hiss to be heard in the quietest sections of the film throughout, and there is some slight flutter on the soundtrack, too. That aside, the timbre is just a bit shrill in sections and tinny sounding in others. Crackle has obviously been dealt with as well as the engineers could, but there are instances where the listener can hear the muffled remnants of their work.
Special Features
4/5
The audio commentary is by Japanese professor Jeffrey Angles. It’s an exceptional track spoken with enthusiasm but not in an overwhelming fashion. He provides trivia about the film, of course, but he also offers up background information on various participants in the project (writer, composer) and presents an astute analysis of the film which deepens its meanings even for someone who’s seen the film multiple times. There is a 10 ¼ -minute interview with actress Kyoko Kagawa speaking on her impressions about working on the film, particularly Mizoguchi’s directorial technique. First assistant director Tokuzo Tanaka speaks about 15 minutes on what it was like to work with a director who was always skeptical of assistants until they proved their mettle and how unimpressed he was with the finished film. Japanese film critic Tadao Sato speaks 23 ¾ minutes on the themes in the film and particularly Mizoguchi’s esteemed view of strong women as saviors of civilization. The enclosed booklet offers almost 80 pages of stills, the cast and crew list, an essay by writer-teacher Mark Le Fanu on the lessons Sansho the Bailiff has to teach us all, and two different versions of the folktale that the screenplay for the film was based on. The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc, the title of the chapter you’re now in, and index markers for the commentary that goes along with the film, all of which can be switched on the fly. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
Sansho the Bailiff won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival for good reason. It’s a superlative meditation on the nature of family ties, personal honor, humanism, and the lengths to which people will go to maintain them despite the greatest of odds. In its lyrical images and dazzling portrayals, it’s a film that comes with a hearty recommendation. Matt Hough Charlotte, NC
