Chikamatsu monogatari (The crucified lovers) 1954 - An essential tale of tragic romance

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IMDB Rating: 8,2

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Main Cast: Kazuo Hasegawa, Kyoko Kagawa, Eitaro Shindo, Eitaro Ozawa

"In the 1950s, Kenji Mizoguchi was on a roll. He won two successive Golden Lions at the Venice Film Festival - an unprecedented feat - and produced three unqualified masterpieces: Life of Oharu, Ugetsu, and Sansho Dayu. The Crucified Lovers, made the same year as Sansho, stands as Mizoguchi's last great film. For this film - about star-crossed lovers, based on a puppet play by Monzaemon Chikamatsu - he returns to familiar themes: avaricious, duplicitous men; pious, long-suffering women; and the cruel vagaries of fate. Unlike his previous postwar films, the lead male character, Mohei, does not seem consumed by greed, vengeance, or vanity. Yet compared to the purity and devotion of lead female - a near constant in Mizoguchi's oeuvre - Mohei still seems weak in comparison. The film unfolds with marvelous fluidity, gathering momentum until the lovers' gruesome end. The blissful smiles on the faces of Osan and Mohei as they are led to crucifixion is one of the most striking images in Mizoguchi's long catalogue. Technically, Mizoguchi fills this film with striking photography and elegant camera movement. Though perhaps lacking the lyricism of Ugetsu and the grandeur of Sansho Dayu, The Crucified Lovers is a breathtaking work." - www.allmovie.com

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Genroku chushingura (The 47 ronin) 1941 - An epic tale about the legendary Japanese vendetta

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IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Main Cast: Tokusaburo Arashi, Yoshizaburo Arashi, Daisuke Kato

"Director Mizoguchi abandoned his usual fascination with modern-day social problems in favor of epic patriotism that he shows here. Produced over a two-year period, the stylistic elements are all in place in The 47 ronin: elegant composition, minimal cutting, subtle but telling use of a tracking camera, and concern with psychology rather than action. This is not, in fact, an easily accessible film for Westerners, as it is concerned with ritual and customs that aren't always made explicit. It is a movie of long takes of formal conversation, as the ronin loyal to their late master wrestle with how they will respond to his humiliating death. Even if the reference points aren't always clear, the emotions expressed are universal, and it's fascinating to imagine Japanese theatrical audiences in the early days of World War II watching this tale of men of honor willing to give up everything, including their lives, to uphold their principles." - www.allmovie.com

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(720p, 4 GB):

http://uploaded.net/file/brb43hdp/Japanese_The_47_Ronin_1941_720p_WEB_DL_H264_KG_4LMXEyS37TnYRT.part1.rar 
http://uploaded.net/file/jrlbouja/Japanese_The_47_Ronin_1941_720p_WEB_DL_H264_KG_4LMXEyS37TnYRT.part2.rar 
http://uploaded.net/file/znq9p1es/Japanese_The_47_Ronin_1941_720p_WEB_DL_H264_KG_4LMXEyS37TnYRT.part3.rar 
http://uploaded.net/file/9gesaxxx/Japanese_The_47_Ronin_1941_720p_WEB_DL_H264_KG_4LMXEyS37TnYRT.part4.rar

Henry V. 1944 - An inspiring classic for later Shakespeare adaptations

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IMDB rating: 7,4

Director: Laurence Olivier
Main Cast: Lairence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks, Robert Helpmann

"Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Henry V is one of the finest Shakespeare films ever made, full of rousing action, beautiful colors, and passionate performances. In contrast to previous Shakespeare adaptations, it was fresh and lively - even challenging and daring - in its presentation and structure; it had fun with its subject, while other versions had been reverent and respectful; and it delighted audiences, scholars, and critics alike, becoming the first screen adaptation of a Shakespeare play to receive mostly enthusiastic reviews and turn a profit. Olivier made his movie in the middle of World War II, convincing the British government of the morale-boosting potential and propaganda uses of a good adaptation of the original play, about an English invasion of France in the 15th century; he then took off for the neutral wide-open spaces of Ireland with the best cast he could assemble from actors too old to be in uniform, a handful of actors borrowed from the armed services, highly sought-after Technicolor cameras, and a script that kept intact the core of Shakespeare's play. The movie earned him a special Academy Award. Equally important in broader historical terms, Henry V paved the way for all other Shakespeare films, from Olivier's versions of Hamlet, Richard III, and Othello through to Kenneth Branagh's more contemporary adaptations." - www.allmovie.com

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Rasputin and the empress 1932 - The three fabulous Barrymores together

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IMDB rating: 6,7

Director: Richard Boleslawski
Main Cast: John Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Ralph Morgan, Diana Wynyard

"It's hard to separate fact and fancy from the many accounts of what happened on the set when all three of the fabulous Barrymores - Ethel, John and Lionel - appeared together for the only time in Rasputin and the Empress. As for the end result, John offers the subtlest (!) performance as Russian Prince Paul Chegodieff; Lionel throws all caution to the four winds in the role of 'Mad Monk' Rasputin; and Ethel comes off as rather artificial as Empress Alexandra (Ethel was more appealing in her character roles of the 1940s and 1950s). When seen today, Rasputin and the Empress seems rather choppy in spots, with isolated lines of dialogue and sometimes whole scenes completely missing. This is due to a million-dollar lawsuit brought against MGM by Prince Yusupov, the man who really engineered Rasputin's assassination. The Prince wasn't offended by being depicted as a murderer, but he was distressed when MGM suggested that his wife had been raped by Rasputin. As a result, Rasputin and the Empress was withdrawn from distribution, and all prints were later bowdlerized when released to television. Also as a result, all future Hollywood films were obliged to carry the 'Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental' disclaimer." - www.allmovie.com

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