The Criterion Collection

Gate of Hell

Edition no. 653

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Release Date: Tuesday, 09 April 2013
Country of Release: USA
MSRP: $19.95

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Licensor Information

Kadokawa Herald Pictures

Directed by: Teinosuke Kinugasa

Featuring: Kazuo Hasegawa, Machiko Kyo, Isao Yamagata, Yataro Kurokawa, Kotaro Bando, Koreya Senda

A winner of Academy Awards for best foreign-language film and best costume design, Gate of Hell is a visually sumptuous, psychologically penetrating work from Teinosuke Kinugasa. In the midst of epic, violent intrigue in twelfth-century Japan, an imperial warrior falls for a lady-in-waiting; after he discovers she is married, he becomes frenzied in his attempts to win her love. Kinugasa’s film, an early triumph of color cinematography in Japan, is an unforgettable, tragic story of obsession and unrequited passion.

Year: 1953
Time: 89 min.