Games of Vision in STREET OF SHAME
2 Episodes
Observations on Film Art No. 27
Master director Kenji Mizoguchi’s final film, STREET OF SHAME—a wrenching portrait of women working in a brothel in Tokyo’s red-light district—employs intricate mise-en-scène to create an almost hypnotic relationship between viewer and image. In this episode of Observations on Film Art, Professor David Bordwell examines how the filmmaker, working with the great cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa, uses camera placement, framing, and intricate choreography of movement to build anticipation, define the relationships between characters, and heighten the film’s powerful critique of patriarchal injustice.
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14:06Episode 1
Games of Vision in STREET OF SHAME
Episode 1
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1:26:15Episode 2
Street of Shame
Episode 2
Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi • 1956 • Japan
For his final film, Mizoguchi brought a lifetime of experience to bear on the heartbreaking tale of a brothel full of women whose dreams are constantly being shattered by the socioeconomic realities surrounding them. Set in Tokyo's Red Light District (t...