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Memoirs of a Geisha - DVD

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:26 pm
by hidefbob
Plot ... "The story begins in the years before World War II, when a Japanese child, Chiyo, is torn from her penniless family to work as a servant in a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival, Hatsumomo, who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms into the legendary geisha Sayuri. Beautiful and accomplished Sayuri captivates the most powerful men of her day, but is haunted by her secret love for the one man beyond her reach." Based on the book by Arthur Golden.

Cast ... Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Koji Yakusho, Youki Kudoh, Kaori Momoi, Tsai Chin, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Suzuka Ohgo & Gong Li.

The Cinematography in this movie is superb ... well deserving of its Oscar. I would love to see this movie on Blu-Ray!

As for the story, despite the mixed reviews that I have read regarding its possible short comings, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

I also loved the music by John Williams ... which included solos by Yo-Yo Ma & Itzhak Perlman. It won the Golden Globle Award for best Original Score

I think it is unfortunate that the world of the Geisha is one of the traditions of Japan that is slowly dieing. From watching the PBS special on the Geisha (I believe the title was "The World of Geisha"), it is apparent that many of the Geishas of today are a far cry from those of the pre-war era. Lost is much of the artistry of the Geisha protrayed in the movie ... the music, the dance and other artistic skills. Unfortunately, many today are nothing more than prostitutes.


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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:27 am
by Richard
We very much enjoyed this movie and it is easy to recommend considering the excessive length was never really felt as we watched.

Unfortunately we ended up watching this under poor imaging circumstances for black level and it is a very dark movie that will test this facet of imaging from beginning to end. The point being the following day I viewed it under much better circumstances and we both agreed that while the movie was good it was not good enough to be viewed twice leaving us in a conundrum because as you say the cinematography is excellent!

Widescreen Review's Comments

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:36 pm
by hidefbob
Widescreen Review said this ...

"Viewing in a completely blackened room allows for optimal visual information in the very dark opening sequence."