Nice effects though.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

In 1160, in the Heiji Era, Lord Kiyomori (Koreya Senda) travels with his court to the Temple of Itsukushima and his Sanjo Castle is invaded by two other lords, in a coup d'etat. The loyal samurai Moritoh Enda (Kazuo Hasegawa) asks the court lady Kesa (Machiko Kyô) to pose of the lord's sister to create a diversion while the lord's real sister and his father flee in the middle of the people. Then Moritoh travels to meet Lord Kiyomon and fights with him to defeat the enemies and the coup fails. Lord Kiyomon rewards the warriors that helped him and when he asks Moritoh what he wishes, he requests to marry Kesa. The lord grants his wish but soon he learns that Kesa is married with Wataru Watanabe (Isao Yamagata), a samurai from the imperial guard. Moritoh harasses Kesa and threatens her, promising to kill her husband, her aunt and her if she does not marry him. Kesa's decision leads the trio to a tragic fate."Jigokumon" is a Japanese classic released in Brazil by the best Brazilian distributor on a totally restored version on DVD. The dramatic story of love, obsession and tragedy is developed in slow pace and has great performances and stunning cinematography with wonderful colors and camera angles. The tragic conclusion based on the code of honor of Moritoh that will live in disgrace is frustrating for Westerns that would prefer the conclusion with a decapitation or seppuku (harakiri) instead. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Portal do Inferno" ("Gate of the Hell")

I saw this film when new in 1954 in London, and still remember much of it today. It is a sad and poignant story, beautifully photographed and effectively directed. Costumes and scenery have an authentic air about them. It starts with a battle scene with the young women travelling in a small carriage under threat and in danger. It follows with her life being saved by the heroic action and bravery of a young warrior. He claims her for himself as a reward for his bravery but soon finds that she is already spoken for. Nevertheless he pursues her and insists on what he feels are his rights. This leads to friction in her family and eventually causes the tragedy of her death. It is a lesson in how selfishness can lead to unhappiness in another's life. I feel it is a film not to be missed and would watch it again if it were shown on UK TV. or was available on DVD

Wow! What an awesome movie. The leading lady was gorgeous, the shots were magnificent, the music was fantastic, and overall, this was a great movie.Although it is in Japanese, and I saw it with subtitles, it is still the best movie I have seen all year.This movie totally held my attention, and delivered everything I could have wanted, but not in the way that I expected. Wow! Easy to see why this movie won an Oscar for best foreign film. I would say that it is as good as any movie I have ever seen. I loved it.If you are looking for something different from a film, give this one a look. You will not be disappointed.Desert-Buddha

Despite my love for Japanese films, I felt very underwhelmed by this picture. The plot was interesting (about a man who MUST have a married woman and demands her hand when he is offered ANY reward for his service to the Shogun), and the color cinematography is great BUT overall, the film felt a little too sterile--as if the actors were over-restrained in their performance. This is really a shame, as despite a great ending and an interesting premise, just doesn't elevate itself to greatness. I gave my videotape to a friend and asked his opinion and he, too, felt the film was a bit dull and sterile at times. This seemed to be an attempt to make a great film that just needed more polish to raise it above mediocrity.