great film

I saw it here in London at the BFI southbank a few weeks ago, it was really good. Sublime photography and shots, great acting, the story is good. Full of little japanese moments.

It's also funny because I talked about this movie with a friend of mine whose mum is japanese, and her mum used to be a bar girl while at Uni! She said it was very common for Japanese girls to do this type of job.

http://astudioincoventgarden.blogspot.com

you again!

you are on every *beep* 2nd message board I visit

8 of 10 is my rating as well

This film was so bad, that it wasn't even good. - Evangelion217

10 out of 10

I like the movie, but it has some drawbacks. One of the main problems with When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is having quite a few pointless or uninteresting characters and sometimes prolonging the plot to a tedious degree.

However, I'll give this movie credit for having strong performance from nearly everyone involved. Also, this is the only '60s Japanese film noir I've seen so far that has a smooth, jazzy soundtrack and Saul Bass-like opening credits. The black and white cinematography is beautiful to look at, especially the shots of Gonza at night. Despite having a slow start, it gets gradually more and more interesting as the plot unfolds and the final 10 minutes are great. It's not the best movie I've seen Hideko Takamine in, but it's overall very interesting.

So, I guess it's 8,5/10 then.