Based on a famous play by Chikamatsu (Japan's Shakespeare), the film is set in 17th-century Kyoto, where an act of kindness by an apprentice to his miserly master's wife leads to a charge of adultery, a "crime" punishable by death. Going on the run — and falling in love along the way — the illicit couple is hunted by both the woman's husband and his business rivals, who think they can destroy him by destroying her. Distinguished by exquisite tracking and crane shots, and featuring some of the most memorable sequences in all Mizoguchi, The Crucified Lovers is "[a work of] power and magnificence [by] the greatest of Japanese filmmakers" (Jean-Luc Godard).

This screening is made possible with the support of the Japan Foundation, and is in collaboration with the Consulate-General of Japan.

Image Credit:
(C)1954 角川映画
(C)1954 Kadokawa Pictures