10 Visual Movie Masterpieces You've Probably Never Seen

8. Ugetsu Monogatari

When most people think of the post-war Golden Age of Japanese cinema, the films of Akira Kurosawa immediately spring to mind. The success of Rashomon put Kurosawa in the international spotlight, and his subsequent films have won numerous awards around the globe. Less well known but equally significant in terms of Japanese cinema at its very best is Kenji Mizoguchi, whose 1953 movie Ugetsu Monogatari is one of his finest. A period ghost story, Ugetsu centres around the villages which surround Lake Biwa and tells of peasants uprooted by an ongoing civil war struggling to survive and thrive. Described by the late film critic Roger Ebert as "one of the greatest films of all time", its potency lies not just in the uniformly excellent performances but also the enigmatic, often haunting cinematography. Figures emerge from the mist like spectres, accentuating the fable-like aspect of the narrative, while Mizoguchi allows his camera to glide effortlessly from one stunning composition to the next. Also one of Martin Scorsese's favourite movies, it's fully deserving of its 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating.