Gate Of Hell

The Endô Times
in Daieis Of Old

Gate Of Hell
aka Jigokumon
Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa
Japan 1953
Daiei/Euraka Masters Of Cinema
Blu Ray Zone B

Warning: Some major spoilers here.

Gate Of Hell aka Jigokumon is one of those films where you just have to give a huge pat on the back to the label., Eureka Masters Of Cinema, for getting it out there into the wild. This one was the first Japanese colour production to travel out to an international audience and also the very first colour film put out by Daiei.

Based on a play by Kan Kikuchi, this tells the story of samurai Morito Endô (played by Kazuo Hasegawa) and the lady in waiting of a sister of the current Emperor of the time in which this was set, Kesa (played by Machiko Kyô, a very successful leading lady who worked with such luminaries and Kurosawa and Ozu). During a rebellion, Kesa volunteers to be a decoy for the Emperor’s sister. She is taken to safety by Morito but he then becomes infatuated with her (with no real encouragement from her). When order is restored and the Emperor is handing out rewards, Morito asks for Kesa to be his wife. Alas for all involved, Kesa is already married to another samurai, Wataru Watanabe (played by Isao Yamagata) and Morito refuses to back down with his affections and intentions towards the good lady, even going so far as to directly compete with the husband in that year’s big horse race. As you might expect, the story ends in tragedy with shame and the weight of the world on both of the male antagonists and, yeah you guessed it, death for the female character who is the one who is truly the victim in the film.

It looks great though. The colours the director employs are really quite rich and very well put in the service of the characters. For instance, the various costumes worn by Machiko Kyô as Kesa are often in contrast with the environment in which she finds herself, allowing her to be a stand out presence in whatever scene she is in. Such as during the horse race sequence where everyone is seen in or around big, blue tents, she is wearing bright orange clothing. Or, during the end game of the picture, when she is wearing light pink., it’s set against the dull, greyish browns, again pushing her into the foreground.

The director is also giving a lot of depth to the 1.37:1 aspect ratio of the film. Using lots of vertical and horizontal lines found within the structures of the sets and locations, often layered over the top of each other in different plains in the shot (like an old Victorian peep show box), to create a wealth of depth in the image. He will also do things like look through or past things which are in the foreground in order to give a sense of scale to the picture. For instance, during the panic of the battle at the start, when the Emperor’s house is all people fleeing the arrows and swords of their attackers, he might shoot some of it looking through the diaphanous silk curtains separating inside and outside. Or he might put a big foreground object like a few trees of a forest in the bottom right of a shot, past which you can see armies riding by on a horse. Or, in one memorable moment early in the film, the panic of battle in the background is seen with several cocks fighting in the foreground, perhaps even offering a visual metaphor of what is really going on at this point in the story.

It’s an engaging film but the one who really comes out of the mess of a tragedy with his honour in tact is the husband. It’s hard to get too attached to Kesa (who seems to be holding back sometimes in her negation of Morito’s wrangling... quite possibly because he saved her life). As for Morito himself, he’s a complete eel and at no time did he gain my sympathies, even when he cuts his top knott off in shame at the end of the picture. A good example of his character is when he’s just brought Jesa to safety but she’s passed out on the ground. It’s an interesting moment, he is drinking from a container of water, observes she is still passed out and, instead of throwing the water on her to revive her, instead takes a sip and then spray spits it out onto her face... followed by filling his mouth with water and then kissing it in between her lips, which eventually revives her. It’s strange stuff and not what I would expect to find within the confines of a 1950s movie, to be sure.

Other than that, my only other surprise was when Morito kicks a dog in rage. The dog clearly takes a foot in the ribs which lifts him into the air and, considering the BBFC’s policy on animal cruelty, I was surprised to find that this had not been excised from the film on a UK zoned Blu Ray. Talking of which, the film is presented in a wonderful transfer of a very fine print but there are no extras on the disc, although it is presented with a booklet. Gate Of Hell is not my favourite of films set in the time of samurai but it’s very watchable and entertaining, especially considering the unlikeable nature of the main male character. Certainly one I would recommend giving some time too if you enjoy Japanese cinema, for sure.