Yasuzo Masumura

[Li Hoo Cheong]

Following Tod Booth's posting on Masumura, I would like to recommend
this very talented director's <A wife Confesses> (1961) and 
<The Wife of Seishu Hanaoka> (1967), both superb depictions of a
suffering wife's reaction, one passionate and rebellious, and
one subdued and somewhat hopeless against the jealousy of her 
mother-in-law.  Both roles are acted by Wakao Ayako who also
appeared in Masumura's celebrated <Red Angel> (1966), a must for
anyone interested in Masumura who completed his film studies in
Rome and learned his trade in Daei under the tutorship of great
directors like Mizoguchi and Ichikawa Kon.

His <Blind Beast> (Warehouse? 1969) is worth seeing for its 
grotesque eroticism.  It is a pity that Masumura's last two
films, <Lullaby of the Good Earth> (1976; KineJun Top Ten no.3)
and <Double Suicide at Sonezaki> (1978; KineJun Top Ten no.2)
are apparently not in the programme.

There is very little in English on Masumura (1924-86).  Stuart
Galbraith IV's <The Japanese Filmography>