The Gate of Hell

January 1, 2016 marks what would have been Teinosuke Kinugasa’s 120th birthday. In order to ring in the new year and pay tribute to the pioneering Japanese director we screen his landmark jidaigeki about an imperial soldier (Kazuo Hasegawa) whose increasing obsession with a married lady-in-waiting (Machiko Kyo) eventually leads to tragedy. An early triumph of color cinematography that dazzled international audiences upon its release (recently restored to its original brilliance), The Gate of Hell won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design.

1953, 89 min., Blu-ray, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. With Kazuo Hasegawa, Machiko Kyo, Isao Yamagata, Yataro Kurokawa, Kotaro Bando.

Tickets
$12/$9 seniors & students/$5 Japan Society members

Part of Monthly Classics
Year-round screenings of beloved classics, hidden gems and recent discoveries of Japanese cinema on the first Friday of every month.

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