IMDb RATING
8.1/10
7.9K
YOUR RATING
Follows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.Follows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.Follows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total
Akira Oizumi
- Manager Bunkichi
- (as Hiroshi Oizumi)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film, which was director Kenji Mizoguchi's dream project, was severely under-financed, and the production was forced to use a warehouse instead of a regular sound stage. This warehouse happened to be located near railways, and each time a train passed by, they had to stop shooting, which made the shooting of the film even more difficult with the director's obsessive use of long, continuous, uninterrupted takes. The same warehouse was also used for Josef Von Sternberg's film 'The Saga of Anatahan'.
- Quotes
Katsunosuke: Lady Oharu, a human being - no, woman - can only be happy if she marries for love. Rank and money don't mean happiness.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits shown over Japanese artwork/water-colors.
- ConnectionsFeatured in See Here My Love (1978)
Featured review
Mizoguchi's empathy for female characters is legendary. The Life of Oharu is one outstanding example. One woman's journey from member of the imperial court to elderly streetwalker is narrated in exquisite, shimmering, painful style. Oharu (Kinuyo Tanaka) is seduced by a man below her station. Her crime is to love the man back unreservedly. That action becomes the catalyst for a series of degradations punctuated by false dawns, as Oharu's life spirals to rock bottom. And as bleak and depressing as that sounds, Mizoguchi's storytelling, combined with Tanaka's dignified portrayal, make this film cathartic, a tragedy with a small, life-affirming message at its heart. It is a cautionary tale to the follies of social mores, and the burden that women through the ages have to endure. More than that, it is a tale of one woman's dignity through the most humiliating of circumstances. Stunning.
- LunarPoise
- Dec 23, 2011
- Permalink
- How long is The Life of Oharu?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $6,921
- Runtime2 hours 13 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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