I saw the 1 hour version shown on TCM. I'll like to see the 78 minute restoration as this version has no inter titles, no translation of signs and missing a third of the film. Now, back then a benshi would live narrate so there wouldn't be titles but do they have a copy of what the benshi said during the film (if anything)? I would read a synopsis before watching as it makes things clearer. The plot is hard to follow, some of it is from the POV of crazy people or the dream of the protagonist. Well worth watching but more for admiration than enjoyment.

...from director Teinosuke Kinugasa. A man (Masuo Inoue) works as a janitor at a mental asylum in order to be near his wife (Yoshie Nakagawa), who is a patient. The man's daughter (Ayako Iijima) is to be married soon, and questions of attendance are making things difficult for the man.

This meager narrative provides the framework for a lot of flash-cut editing, strobing visual tricks, and experimental cinema. This isn't interesting as a traditional story (at least, not the existing version, which is said to be missing nearly a third of its original footage), but rather in depicting madness and inner turmoil in a visual fashion. Even the usual silent film intertitles are absent, rendering the film a purely visual experience. The score that was used on the version I watched seemed like it was suited for a late 1960s acid party. The original release was said to have had a narrator and traditional Japanese music accompaniment. What I saw was still an interesting viewing, much of it closer to experimental films from the 1960s than what I'm used to seeing from the 1920s.

If you decide to watch this film, read through the summary on IMDb first. While this summary does help to explain what you're seeing (and you DO need this), it also praises the film for not relying on intertitle cards. I totally disagree...a few would have helped explain the action, as without the summary much of it just wouldn't make sense. As it is, the film ALREADY is confusing and strange.

The style of "A Page of Madness" is uniquely strange. It's a Japanese silent film which reminds me a bit of the German Expressionist film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"--but not nearly so strange and stylized. Instead, the film relies on fast intercutting of symbols and shapes to provide the odd style for the movie. It also is a bit reminiscent of the American horror film "Freaks" as it tries to evoke a strong reaction in the viewer as they're exposed to insane folks WILDLY overacting and overdoing the whole crazy bit. To me, it makes for an oddly interesting art film but not much more. It's certainly NOT a film to appeal to mass audiences as they wouldn't sit still for such a vague and bizarro film.

As for the plot, I'll have to assume the one on IMDb is correct. I couldn't exactly tell what was happening but the summary did make the film make sense.