Memoirs of a Geisha

Theatrical Release Date: 2005 12 09 (USA - Limited) / 2005 12 16 (USA)

UPC: 043396111592

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Mild Violence, Adult Situations, Sexual Situations, Children in Peril]

Summary: This film, based on the novel by Arthur Golden, unfolds from the perspective of Chiyo (Zhang Ziyi), a girl who, at the age of nine, is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto in the early 1930s. Here, she learns that becoming a geisha can be the single path to wealth and independence for a woman. The head geisha of her house, however, Hatsumomo (Gong Li), is bitterly jealous of Chiyo and abuses her at every opportunity. Eventually Chiyo is taken under the wing of Hatsumomo's rival, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), by far the most famous and successful geisha in their district. Under Mameha's tutelage, Chiyo becomes Sayuri, the most legendary geisha in the nation, skilled in all areas, from conversation to dance, and sought after by seemingly every man alive...except for the one whom she has secretly longed for since she began her training, The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) -- a man who showed her kindness at a time when her view of the world had turned the most bleak. Now as World War II approaches, Japan stands at the brink of a new era and Sayuri must confront the possibility that history will leave all that she has worked for behind. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Soundtrack – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Score – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – National Board of Review Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Original Score – null Best Costume Design – Phoenix Film Critics Association Best Original Score – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Actress – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Film Music – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Costume Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Makeup and Hair – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Art Direction - Period or Fantasy Film – Art Directors Guild Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Mixing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: cc11 behind the scenes featurettes including "The Look of a Geisha (inside the wardrobe and make-up)," "The Music of the Film," "Geisha Bootcamp (see how the actresses became geishas), "A Geisha's Dance" and more!
Director Rob Marshall and co-producer John DeLuca audio commentary
Production audio commentary (costume designer, production designer, editor)

Memoirs of a Geisha

Format: DVD

Release Date: 03/28/2006

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 145 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Memoirs of a Geisha
1. Start
2. The Hanamachi
3. Hatsumomo
4. "You Are to Become Geisha"
5. The Oath
6. Search for Her Sister
7. Over the Rooftops
8. Loss & Purpose
9. Fifteen
10. A Most Unexpected Visitor
11. A Moving Work of Art
12. One Look
13. Sayuri
14. Sumo
15. The Eel and the Cave
16. Every Man's Fantasy
17. Cherry Blossoms
18. The Baron's Kimono
19. 15,000 Yen
20. Hatsumomo's End
21. War Years
22. Back to the Hanamachi
23. Entertaining Americans
24. Hot Springs
25. Pumpkin's Surprise
26. The Heart Dies
27. Forgiveness
28. Memoirs of Another Kind

Cammila Collar

Beautiful but boring, Memoirs of a Geisha is worth watching once for the sake of its rich imagery alone. Unfortunately, without a well-paced narrative or particularly compelling story, its allure is only skin deep. While many literary adaptations suffer from a lack of focus and become chaotic in an attempt to include shallow bits from every vein and subplot in the book, Geisha succeeds in paring down its basic storyline into a fairly coherent and uncomplicated idea. Sadly, the filmmakers fail to provide insight into the inner life or emotional struggle of the main character, Saiyuri, and this is the element that would have given this story some meaning. The events of the film are clear enough and the audience is rarely confused about what is happening, but so is it rarely inspired to care. Despite some use of the protagonist's inner monologue, the audience is left too often on the outside of Saiyuri's most defining experiences: her climb to geisha stardom, her bitter rivalry with geisha Hatsumomo, and her intense love for a man known as The Chairman. Even when her virginity is auctioned off to the highest bidder as a means to raise her notoriety, we aren't sure how she feels about this, if indeed she feels anything at all. The ornate sets and costumes depict pre and postwar Japan with glorious meticulousness and even the movements of the men and women of this time and place are all perfectly sculpted to the period. If only the external lives of its characters alone were enough, Memoirs of a Geisha would be a great film indeed. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Gary Barber  Executive Producer 
Roger Birnbaum  Executive Producer 
Steven Spielberg  Producer 
Robin Swicord  Screenwriter 
Doug Wick  Producer 
John Williams  Composer (Music Score) 
Patricia Whitcher  Executive Producer 
Bobby Cohen  Executive Producer 
Rob Marshall  Director 
Lucy Fisher  Producer 
Zhang Ziyi  Actor 
Ken Watanabe  Actor 
Michelle Yeoh  Actor 
Koji Yakusho  Actor 
Youki Kudoh  Actor 
Kaori Momoi  Actor 
Tsai Chin  Actor 
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa  Actor 
Suzuka Ohgo  Actor 
Gong Li  Actor 
Randall Duk Kim  Actor 
Mako  Actor 
Kenneth Tsang  Actor 
Thomas Ikeda  Actor 
Zoë Weizenbaum  Actor 
Shizuko Hoshi  Actor 

Country: USA