The Best Old Movies on a Big Screen This Week: NYC Repertory Cinema Picks, October 5-11
Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)
Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
After a recent restoration, Mizoguchi’s adaptation of 18th century ghost stories returns to the big screen just in time for the Halloween season. Set in 16th century Japan, the film follows two peasant families whose lives are uprooted by military turmoil. Genjuro leaves his wife and son behind to sell pottery in the city. Tobei abandons his wife to fulfill his dreams of becoming a samurai. The film’s supernatural elements are rooted in the real, derived from themes of greed, love, and loss. The celebrated cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa lends the film an unsettling atmosphere with his constantly moving camera. A.J. Serrano (October 8, 12:30pm as part of the “Revivals” program at the New York Film Festival)