---
title: "Ugetsu: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/ugetsu/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/ugetsu"
critics_score: 81
critics_reviews: 8
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ugetsu (1953): what the critics said

Critics' score 81 from 8 reviews: 6 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative.

Most critics respond warmly to Ugetsu, with praise clustering around Mizoguchi’s direction, the images and the movement between ordinary life and the supernatural. Slant Magazine singles out the fluid staging and long takes for bringing the war narrative and supernatural symbolism together. The AV Club finds the subtle shifts between the real and supernatural unsettling and central to the film’s tragic force. Other praise reaches beyond atmosphere: the reviews also value the humour, carefully arranged compositions and attention to small, intimate actions.

The scores range from mixed to emphatically positive, with no negative assessments recorded. The reservations are harder to establish: the text behind both mixed scores is unavailable, as is one of the positive reviews. That limits what can be said about specific disagreements. The accessible reviews differ chiefly in emphasis, rather than offering a clear dispute over the film’s strengths or weaknesses.

## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen

Rating 5/5. 5 April 2025. 

Bowen presents the film as a tragic, poetic, and deeply powerful masterpiece. He especially praises Mizoguchi’s fluid staging and long takes, which interweave the war narrative with supernatural symbolism.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/ugetsu-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-mizoguchi-kenji/)

## The AV Club — Scott Tobias

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 November 2005. 

Tobias regards Ugetsu as a devastating, powerfully tragic masterpiece. He singles out Mizoguchi’s subtle shifts between the real and supernatural for creating a destabilizing atmosphere.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/ugetsu-1798201199)

## The Independent — Liese Spencer

Rating HHHH. 7 February 1998. 

The critic calls the film an elegant masterpiece and recommends it. They praise its exquisite images, poetic storytelling and robust humour.

[Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/film-reviews-the-woodlanders-ugetsu-monogatari-clubbed-to-death-1143360.html)

## RogerEbert.com

Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 

The URL identifies a RogerEbert.com Great Movies review of the 1953 film. The blocked page does not reveal the critic’s verdict or what the review singles out.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-ugetsu-1953)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1952. 

The review finds the film absorbing and praises its rich visual style and coherent direction. It especially singles out the cinematography’s compositions, likening them to old Japanese prints.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1952/film/reviews/ugetsu-monogatari-1117795983/)

## Time Out — RM

Fi1m's normalised score 66/100 (inferred from the text). 

The page identifies this as a review of Mizoguchi’s best-known work, but the review text is unavailable. Its verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be determined from the accessible page.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ugetsu-monogatari)

## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 1954. 

The page identifies the piece as a review, but its text is unavailable. The critic’s verdict and specific praise or criticism cannot be verified from the accessible page.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1954/09/08/archives/the-screen-in-review-ugetsu-from-japan-offered-at-plaza.html)

## HeyUGuys — Craig Skinner

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 February 2011. 

The critic praises Ugetsu as an exquisite film that balances epic scope with intimacy. He singles out the quietly beautiful scene of a woman stitching as light enters the room.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/late-mizoguchi-1951-1956-dvd-review/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/ugetsu.md