The Life of Oharu (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray)

A peerless chronicler of the soul who specialized in supremely emotional, visually exquisite films about the circumstances of women in Japanese society throughout it's history, Kenji Mizoguchi had already been directing movies for decades when he made THE LIFE OF OHARU in 1952. But this epic portrait of an inexorable fall from grace, starring the incredibly talented Kinuyo Tanaka (THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA) as an imperial lady-in-waiting who gradually descends to street prostitution, was the movie that gained it's director international attention, ushering in a new golden period for him.

Starring: Daisuke Kato, Kikue Mori, Kinuyo Tanaka, Ichiro Sugai, Toshiro Mifune, Akira Oizumi, Chieko Higashiyama, Eijiro Yanagi, Eitaro Shindo, Jukichi Uno, Kyoko Kusajima, Masao Mishima, Masao Shimizu, Noriko Sengoku, Sadako Sawamura, Takashi Shimura, Toranosuke Ogawa, Yuriko Hamada

Director: Hideo Koi, Kenji Mizoguchi