Produced with an eye toward international distribution in light of Mizoguchi's growing global reputation, YANG KWEI FEI—a co-production with Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers—was the director's first color film. It was shot using Eastmancolor, a process that Daiei had been actively researching at the time. More melodrama than accurate historical reconstruction, the film portrays Yang Kwei Fei (Kyo Machiko) as a tragic heroine who falls prey to the political ambitions of her opportunistic family.
Print courtesy of The Japan Foundation
Mizoguchi was born in Tokyo in 1898. Following his debut in 1923, he was noted for Kaminingyo Haru no Sasayaki (1926). After Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion (1936), he won the International Award for The Life of Oharu (1952), the Silver Lion for Ugetsu Monogatari (1953), and Sansho Dayu (1954) at the Venice Film Festival, making his name known globally. He died suddenly in 1956 at the age of 58.
From Tokyo International Film Festival 2026, No. 39
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