The Tale of Genji (Genji-monogatari)
Dir: Kozaburo Yoshimura 1951 (Japan)
121 mins 35mm B&W Rated R (unclassified)
Kazuo Hasegawa, Michiyo Kogure
Japanese with English subtitles
Praised in Japan for its delineation of characters and careful period recreations, Yoshimura’s reinterpretation of the classic Japanese novel by Lady Murasaki from the early eleventh century (considered the world’s first “modern” novelist and the world’s first novel) is a spectacular jidai-geki (period) film. Genji, the son of the emperor, has gained renown among the nobility of Kyoto for his charm and good looks, yet he cannot stop himself from pursuing a forbidden object of desire: his father’s young and beautiful bride. Kohei Sugiyama won the cinematography prize at Cannes in 1952 for the superb black and white photography.

Newly struck, imported 35mm print courtesy of the Japan Foundation.

Please note: this is a pre-exhibition event; Genji - The world of the Shining Prince opens 12 December 2008.

The Tales of Genji. Dir: Kozaburo Yoshimura 1952. Courtesy of the Japan Foundation