is a 1953 Japanese '' jidaigeki'' film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. It tells the story of a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

(

Kazuo Hasegawa was a Japanese film and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 films between 1927 and 1963. Career Born to a sake brewing family in Kyoto, he first appeared on stage at age five in a theater run by his family as a side business. In 1918, he beca ...

) who tries to marry a woman ( Machiko Kyō) he rescues, only to discover that she is already married. Filmed using Eastmancolor, ''Gate of Hell'' was

Daiei Film Daiei Film Co. Ltd. (Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese cinema, producing ...

's first color film and the first Japanese color film to be released outside Japan. It was digitally restored in 2011 by the National Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and Kadokawa Shoten Co., LTD. in cooperation with NHK.

Plot

The film begins during the Heiji Rebellion in 1160. Lord Kiyomori "the Monk" of the Taira clan has taken his whole family on a pilgrimage to the Itsukushima Shrine. In his absence, the Cavalry Chief Yoshitomo of the Minamoto clan, and the Guard Chief, Nobuyori of the Fujiwara clan, attacked Sanjo Palace, the residence of former Emperor Go-Shirakawa in a coup. The samurai Endō Morito is assigned the duty of escorting

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

Kesa away from the palace once she volunteers to disguise herself as the daimyō’s sister, buying the daimyō’s father and real sister time to escape unseen. The pair escape a bloody skirmish with their lives, and flee to Morito’s brother’s home, but Kesa is unconscious. Morito sprays her with water repeatedly to try to wake her, and in a last-ditch effort, feeds her water from his mouth, which rouses her. The pair are interrupted by a samurai who says he is with the Cavalry, one of the two groups who betrayed the daimyō. The hotheaded Morito immediately begins dueling the samurai, but Morito’s brother arrives and puts a stop to the duel. Morito learns his brother has also betrayed the daimyō, claiming “the world has changed since a day ago.” Morito is unconvinced to join his brother and betray his master, but the battle is over, and he returns to the gate in the aftermath. At the gate, Morito learns that he is suspected of betraying the daimyō, and offers to bring the news of what happened to the daimyō to prove his loyalty. At great personal risk, he makes the journey, and beats the other samurai en route to deliver the message themselves. Morito succeeds in his task, and is chosen to ride with Lord Kiyomon to stamp out the insurrection. After the coup has failed, Morito runs into Kesa again, pleased to see she is well. He is immediately transfixed by her, and asks her to visit his home for dinner, but she declines. Her aunt explains Kesa is expected at the palace, and Morito is visibly reluctant to part with her. At the palace, Lord Kiyomon rewards the warriors who rode with him with one single wish. Morito asks him for Kesa’s hand in marriage, to which Lord Kiyomon agrees, but Kiyomon’s son informs them both that she is married to Wataru Watanabe, a samurai of the Imperial Guard. Morito asks for her hand anyway, and Lord Kiyomon declines, offering any other wish Morito has. He refuses anything else Lord Kiyomon has to offer. Morito grows agitated, continuing to search for any way he can claim Kesa as his own. Kesa expresses concern to Wataru, worried she is culpable for Morito’s obsession with her. Wataru reassures her she has done nothing wrong, and promises to protect her. Relieved, Kesa relaxes. Kesa is summoned to the palace to perform koto music for Lord Kiyomon. Kiyomon admires her beauty, and in doing so, begins to sympathize with Morito. He calls upon Morito and decides to give him a chance to compete for Kesa’s hand. Morito enters a horse race in which Wataru is competing, and nearly attacks Wataru at a “Forget the Race” dinner after the race is over, visibly disturbing everyone around him. Upset, Morito tries to visit Kesa, who asks her handmaid, Tone, to tell him she was at her aunt’s. Morito, having met Kesa’s aunt before, heads to the home and discovers the lie. He threatens Kesa’s aunt, calling her a liar and proclaiming he’ll search the whole house for her. Her aunt convinces Morito Kesa isn’t there, and Morito has her write a note to Kesa claiming she’s sick and needs Kesa to come see her. Kesa receives the note, and, with some encouragement from Wataru, travels to see her aunt. Morito ambushes Kesa at the home, getting her alone and threatening to kill Wataru, her aunt, and even Kesa herself if she denies him. Kesa collapses to the floor and says she will fulfill his heart’s desires. Coerced by his violent tendencies and unhinged behavior, and scared for her loved ones, she details a plan for Morito to kill Wataru and claim her once she’s widowed. Kesa returns home, and gives her loyal handmaid, Tone, a gift. She asks for sake, then tells Tone to retire for the night. Kesa then spends an evening drinking with her husband, visibly shaken but unwilling to tell Wataru what is wrong. She plays the koto for him one last time, and the two retire for the night. An indeterminate time later, Morito sneaks across the grounds and into a bedroom, dealing a decisive killing blow to a figure beneath the blankets. Morito quails once he sees he has slain Kesa, begging her to forgive him. Grief-stricken, he hurries to Wataru and wakes him, begging him to cut his head off, since he has just killed Kesa. He says she sacrificed herself, resigned to the knowledge that Morito wanted her despite her own wishes. Wataru rushes to Kesa’s side, crying and asking why she didn’t trust him to protect her. Morito kneels in the courtyard, cutting off his topknot and vowing to start over as a monk. Morito quietly leaves in the predawn light, walking back out of the castle through the gate of hell.

Cast

– Morito Endo * Machiko Kyō – Lady Kesa *

Isao Yamagata was a Japanese film actor. In 1942, Yamagata and So Yamamura formed the ''Bunkaza Theatre Company''. In 1949 he made his film debut with ''Kirareya Senta''. Yamagata became famous for his role in 1953 film '' Gate of Hell''. He became a charac ...

– Wataru Watanabe *

Yatarō Kurokawa (15 November 1910 – 23 June 1984) was a Japanese film actor. Filmography The filmography of Yatarō Kurokawa includes 228 films from 1935 to 1971: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/person/p0120320.htm accessed 9 June 2009 * '' A Mother's Love'' (1 ...

– Taira no Shigemori *

Kōtarō Bandō Kotaro, Kōtarō or Koutarou (written: , , , , , , , , , , or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese scientist and inventor *, Japanese photography critic an ...

– Rokuroh *

Jun Tazaki , born Minoru Tanaka, was a Japanese actor best known for his various roles in kaiju films produced by Toho, often portraying scientists or military personnel. Career Tanaka began his career as a traveling stage actor in the 1930s, perform ...

– Kogenta * Koreya Senda –

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first so ...

Masao Shimizu was a Japanese actor. His wife was actress Yumi Takano. His first starring role in the film was in ''Momoiro no Yuwaku'' in 1931. In 1947, he formed the Mingei Theatre Company. Shimizu often work with Akira Kurosawa. He appeared in more than 25 ...

– Fujiwara no Nobuyori * Tatsuya Ishiguro – Yachuta * Kenjirō Uemura – Masanaka *

Gen Shimizu Gen may refer to: * ''Gen'' (film), 2006 Turkish horror film directed by Togan Gökbakar * Gen (Street Fighter), a video game character from the ''Street Fighter'' series * Gen Fu, a video game character from the ''Dead or Alive'' series * Gen l ...

– Saburosuke *

Michiko Araki Michiko is a Japanese given name, used for females. Although written romanized the same way, the Japanese language written forms (kanji, katakana, hiragana) can be different. Common forms include: * 美智子 — "beautiful wise child" * 美 ...

– Mano *

Yoshie Minami Yoshie is both a Japanese surname and a Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: ; Family name *, Japanese professional wrestler ; Given name *, Japanese tenor singer *, Japanese actress and singer *, Japanese popular pop singer- ...

– Tone *

Kikue Mōri Kikue (written: 菊栄) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese educator *, Japanese activist, writer, socialist, and feminist {{given name Japanese feminine given names ...

– Sawa *

Ryōsuke Kagawa was a Japanese actor. His son was child actor Sō Shuntarō. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1928 and 1986. His final film role was in the 1986 film ''Dixieland Daimyō'' directed by Kihachi Okamoto. Selected filmography * '' Sto ...

– Yasutada * Kunitarō Sawamura – Moritada

Production

* Yoshinobu Nishioka - Art director

Reception

After the Japan Society sponsored a U.S. release of the film in December 1954,

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

reviewed it for ''The New York Times''. According to Crowther:

The secret, perhaps, of its rare excitement is the subtlety with which it blends a subterranean flood of hot emotions with the most magnificent flow of surface serenity. The tensions and agonies of violent passions are made to seethe behind a splendid silken screen of stern formality, dignity, self-discipline and sublime esthetic harmonies. The very essence of ancient Japanese culture is rendered a tangible stimulant in this film.

Awards

''Gate of Hell'' won the grand prize award at the

1954 Cannes Film Festival The 7th Cannes Film Festival was held from 25 March to 9 April 1954. With Jean Cocteau as President of the Jury, the Grand Prix went to the '' Gate of Hell'' by Teinosuke Kinugasa. The festival opened with '' Le Grand Jeu'' by Robert Siodmak. Th ...

, a 1955

Academy Honorary Award The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929) – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Moti ...

for "Best Foreign Language Film first released in the United States during 1954", along with the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color, and the 1954 New York Film Critics Circle Award for "Best Foreign Language Film". It won the

Golden Leopard The Golden Leopard () is the top prize at the Locarno International Film Festival, an international film festival held annually in Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. Directors in the process of getting an international reputation are allowed to be ...

at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

Home video

In the United Kingdom, ''Gate of Hell'' was released in 2012 on

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and DVD as part of the

Masters of Cinema Masters of Cinema is a line of DVD and Blu-ray releases published through Eureka Entertainment. Because of the uniformly branded and spine-numbered packaging and the standard inclusion of booklets and analysis by recurring film historians, the ...

line; the next year

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scho ...

released it in the United States.

References

External links

* * *
''Gate of Hell: A Colorful History''
an essay by Stephen Prince at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

{{Authority control 1953 films 1953 drama films 1950s Japanese-language films Samurai films Jidaigeki films Films set in the 12th century Films awarded an Academy Honorary Award Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners Films that won the Best Costume Design Academy Award Palme d'Or winners Golden Leopard winners Films directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa Films produced by Masaichi Nagata Films scored by Yasushi Akutagawa Daiei Film films Japanese drama films 1950s Japanese films