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Sansho the Bailiff
Directed by
Kenji Mizoguchi
Not Rated
1955
2h 4m
Drama
8.3
100%
95%
8.1
Add to Watchlist
In mediaeval Japan a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.
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Where to Watch Sansho the Bailiff
Criterion Channel
Subscription
Amazon Video
Buy $14.99
Apple TV
Buy $14.99
Fandango At Home
Buy $14.99
Cast of Sansho the Bailiff
Kinuyo Tanaka
Tamaki
Yoshiaki Hanayagi
Zushiô
Kyōko Kagawa
Anju
Eitarō Shindō
Sanshô dayû
Ichirō Sugai
Minister of Justice
Bontarō Miake
Kichiji
Yōko Kozono
Kohagi
Chieko Naniwa
Ubatake
Kikue Mōri
Priestess
Ken Mitsuda
Prime Minister Fujiwara
Masao Shimizu
Masauji Taira
Ryōsuke Kagawa
Ritsushi Kumotake
Akitake Kōno
Taro
Kanji Koshiba
Kaikudo Naito
Shinobu Araki
Sadaya
Masahiko Tsugawa
Young Zushiō
Keiko Enami
Young Anju
Teruko Oumi
Nakagimi
Kimiko Tachibana
Namiji
Reiko Kongō
Shiono
Sansho the Bailiff Ratings & Reviews
Filmspotting
Adam Kempenaar
Fitting for a work of this heartbreaking magnitude, Sansho's most devastating scene is also its most beautiful.
LarsenOnFilm
Josh Larsen
...a humanist landmark.
Deep Focus Review
Brian Eggert
Sansho the Bailiff holds the distinction of being perhaps the saddest story ever put to film.
IONCINEMA.com
Nicholas Bell
An undeniably moving, exquisitely composed film.
Gone With The Twins
Mike Massie
Saddening, revelatory, and provides no comic relief, but it's well worth the ride.
RogerEbert.com
Roger Ebert
At some point during the watching, "Sansho the Bailiff" stops being a fable or a narrative and starts being a lament, and by that time it is happening to us as few films do.
Village Voice
Jaime N. Christley
Every cut threatens to swallow a galaxy.
Film Freak Central
Walter Chaw
a film of surpassing, transcendent wisdom and beauty.
Scene-Stealers.com
Eric Melin
It illuminates the human condition and gives you plenty of time to think. It is the nature of nature to show no mercy, but mercy is inherent to the nature of human beings, even when it seems buried under loads of suffering.
Parallax View
Sean Axmaker
Mizoguchi is the poet laureate of Japanese cinema, gracefully exploring the battered but resilient souls in the cruel worlds of Japan's feudal past and present.
Film and Felt
Gabe Leibowitz
A richly layered masterpiece, Sansh the Bailiff deserves a spot near the highest pantheon of world cinema.
Antagony & Ecstasy
Tim Brayton
You are well aware at every moment that you are watching something that has been assembled with utmost precision.
ColeSmithey.com
Cole Smithey
Perfect.
Combustible Celluloid
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Serious as a heart attack and so emotionally wrenching that it's almost difficult to watch.
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Dennis Schwartz
It's a masterpiece in its simplicity of telling a compelling story and its depth of understanding the human condition.
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