Memoirs of a Geisha [UMD for PSP]

• ".. a visually stunning adaptation of Arthur Golden's best-selling novel." (Barry Caine, OAKLAND TRIBUNE) The director of Chicago, Rob Marshall, transports us into a mysterious and exotic world that casts a potent spell. A Cinderella story like no other, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA stars Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li. "Gorgeously photographed, meticulously directed and hypnotical

It's hard to find fault with the fascinating story, which traces a young girl's determination to free herself from the imprisonment of scullery maid to geisha, then from the imprisonment of geisha to a woman allowed to love. Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo), a young girl with curious blue eyes, is sold to a geisha house and doomed to pay off her debt as a cleaning girl until a stranger named The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) shows her kindness. She is inspired to work hard and become a geisha in order to be near the Chairman, with whom she has fallen in love. An experienced geisha (Michelle Yeoh) chooses to adopt her as an apprentice and to use as a pawn against her rival, the wicked, legendary Hatsumomo (Gong Li). Chiyo (played as an older woman by Ziyi Zhang), now renamed Sayuri, becomes the talk of the town, but as her path crosses again and again with the Chairman's, she finds the closer she gets to him the further away he seems. Her newfound "freedom" turns out to be trapping, as men are allowed to bid on everything from her time to her virginity.

Some controversy swirled around casting Chinese actresses in the three main Japanese roles, but Zhang, Yeoh and Gong in particular ably prove they're the best for the part. It's admirable that all the actors attempted to speak Japanese-accented English, but some of the dialogue will still prove difficult to understand; perhaps it contributes to some of the emotion feeling stilted. Geisha has all the ingredients of a sweeping, heartbreaking epic and follows the recipe to a T, but in the end it's all dressed up with no place to go.--Ellen A. Kim
 

Customer Reviews:

Passionate reworking of the book

"Memoirs of a Geisha" both book and film, should be one of those films I should love to hate but don't. Instead, I found myself captivated by the lush world, especially that brought to the big screen. Despite the surpring little multi-culture event that went on with the movie, it is just as wondrous and passionate as the book, with more inclination toward the "fairy tale" side of things. Which, if not necessarily historically accurate, is fine with a fairy tale freak such as myself. The acting is sensational, and the film is finely crafted. It's a wonderful story that does very well as a movie, even to the point of becoming breath-taking.

2008-09-27

Great But Dosen't Do The Book Any Justice

I love this film but as always the book is better than the movie and there were things I read in the book that they decided not to put in screenplay which is understandable to me but still as my review says. The film itself didn't do the book any justice

2008-09-10

memoirs of a geisha blu-ray

great movie colors really pop i also recommend the last samurai on blu-ray the colors and picture quality are amazing.

2008-08-23

Less than Accurate Geisha Memoir -- or Something More?

Director Rob Marshall spins a cool Japanese tale in Memoirs of a Geisha, an adaptation of the Arthur Golden novel of the same name. I loved the photography and segues throughtout the film. The editing and music were perfect.

But the whole pining for love that can never be but might be, the geisha life and it's prid and standards and finally the invasion of American culture left me a bit wanting. I wanted more than I got, but what I did get was a fine, entertaining film.

The jealous friends, the stab you in the back with a smile style, the unrequited love triangle, and the bidding on a woman's virginity were all quite fascinating in their own right.

The characters were well done, and the actors, two of whom also were in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, were right for their respective roles; they were Ziyi Zhang Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Legend of the Black Scorpion; and Suzuka Ohgo: Asian Cinema 4-pack (Curse of the Golden Flower / Memoirs of a Geisha / Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon / House of Flying Daggers).

Definitely a chick flick, but I was always a sucker for them.

This DVD was barebones, a couple of commentary tracks and that's about it. Previews for one movie, gosh....

Just as good:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

2008-08-10

Great Movie

100th time watching the movie but this was my first time watching it in Hi Def and it's that much better.

2008-08-08