Street Of Shame (1956) ***

Somber drama about Japanese prostitutes.

Taira Clan Saga (1955) ***

Empress Yang Kwei Fei (1955) ***

Chikamatsu (1954) ***

Sansho The Bailiff (1954) ***

Along with "Ugetsu" (1953), this is Kenji Mizoguchi's finest post-war film. It's a sad story of slavery in medieval Japan.

Ugetsu (1953) ****

A masterpiece of Japanese cinema, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.

Life Of Oharu (1952) ***

Powerful Japanese drama.

Miss Oyu (1951) ***

Miyamoto Musashi (1944) ***

Far superior to Hiroshi Inagaki's "Samurai" trilogy, made 10 years later, on the same subject. Superbly directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.

The 47 Ronin: Part 2 (1942) *****

The second part of the greatest Japanese film of the 1940's. 

The 47 Ronin: Part 1 (1941) *****

Mizoguchi's version of the famous tale. Superbly directed.

Tale Of Late Chrysanthemums (1939) ****

Exquisitely directed Japanese drama about the life of a famous kabuki actor.

The Straits Of Love And Hate (1937) **

A minor effort from Kenji Mizoguchi.

Sisters Of The Gion (1936) ***

Interesting Japanese drama about two geisha sisters living in Kyoto's red-light district.

Osaka Elegy (1936) **

Hailed by some as Kenji Mizoguchi's first masterpiece, it's actually an average melodrama about a young woman who agrees to become her boss' mistress in order to keep her father out of jail. Of course, this being a feminist film, the father then rejects his daughter, considering her a slut. Please!

Osen Of The Paper Cranes (1935) ***

Poppy (1935) **

One of Kenji Mizoguchi's most conventional films.

Oyuki The Virgin (1935) **

One of Kenji Mizoguchi's weakest films, a very conventional adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's "Boule de suif", which also inspired John Ford's "Stagecoach" (1939).

The Water Magician (1933) ****

Tokyo March (1929) **

Only 24 min survives from this silent Kenji Mizoguchi's film.