Stars: Machiko Kyo, Ayako Wakao, Michiko Kogure, Aiko Mimasu, Hiroki Machida, Sakae Ozawa

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Summary: In AKASEN CHITAI, the cynical Mickey has entered the life as a form of rebellion against a wealthy businessman father whose philandering scarred her mother.<BR><BR>YOKIHI is a panoramic period romance about the legendarily beautiful and graceful common-born woman loved by the last T'ang Emperor. The pure love shared by the royal couple is offset by the political turmoil and corruption of the 8th century, as a dynasty breathes its last dying gasps.

In AKASEN CHITAI, director Kenji Mizoguchi once again explores the lives of the courtesans of Tokyo's Yoshiwara pleasure district but forgoes his customary lyricism, taking a more harshly realistic view than in earlier films as SISTERS OF THE GION. Set in a brothel ironically dubbed Dreamland, the film allows five of its occupants to unfold their lives. Yumeko (Aiko Mimasu), a middle-aged widow supporting a son, remembers an era when the profession of courtesan was esteemed, requiring skills in music and flower arrangement. The cynical Mickey (Machiko Kyo) has entered the life as a form of rebellion against a wealthy businessman father whose philandering scarred her mother. Yorie (Hiroki Machida) is a simple country girl, working to support aged parents while dreaming of marriage. Yasumi (Ayako Wakao), a victim of her father's embezzlement, moonlights as a moneylender, to achieve respectability with a small business. Hanae (Michiko Kogure), with a baby and an unemployed husband, simply hopes for survival. Against an audio backdrop of news reports of the Diet of Japan voting to outlaw prostitution, the women struggle for a scrap of dignity amid the bleakness of their lives. A veritable dream team of Japanese actresses gives an ensemble performance of memorable virtuosity in the director's last and most lacerating excoriation of his nation's unforgivable treatment of its women.
YOKIHI is a panoramic period romance about the legendarily beautiful and graceful common-born woman loved by the last T'ang Emperor. The pure love shared by the royal couple is offset by the political turmoil and corruption of the 8th century, as a dynasty breathes its last dying gasps.

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Main Language:	Japanese
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio commentary on AKASEN CHITAI by Japanese film expert Tony Rayns, Video introductio to YOKIHI by Tony Rayns, Original trailers, 64-page booklet
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1955
Release Date:	May 26, 2008
Runtime:	178 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	E K A 50036
Keywords:	General, Drama, Japanese, Akasen, Chitai, Yokihi
Genre:	Drama