Shubun (1950)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Ryuzo Kikushima (writer)
Akira Kurosawa (writer)

Release Date:

17 July 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Ichiro Aoye, a young painter, encounters a famous singer, Miyako Saijo, while on holiday in the mountains...

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Inn | Tabloid | Singer | Scandal

Cast

Toshirô Mifune	...	Ichirô Aoye
Shirley Yamaguchi	...	Miyako Saijo (as Yoshiko Yamaguchi)
Yôko Katsuragi	...	Masako Hiruta
Noriko Sengoku	...	Sumie
Eitarô Ozawa	...	Hori
Takashi Shimura	...	Attorney Hiruta
Shinichi Himori	...	Editor Asai
Ichirô Shimizu	...	Arai
Fumiko Okamura	...	Miyako's mother
Masao Shimizu	...	Judge
Tanie Kitabayashi	...	Yasu Hiruta
Sugisaku Aoyama	...	Dr. Kataoka
Kokuten Kodo	...	Old Man A
Kichijiro Ueda	...	Old Man B
Bokuzen Hidari	...	Drunk
Taiji Tonoyama	...	Aoye's friend
Junji Masuda	...	News Reporter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yasuko Goto
Koji Mitsui	...	Cameraman A (uncredited)

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ryuzo Kikushima		writer
Akira Kurosawa		writer

Produced by
Takashi Koide	....	producer
Sojiro Motoki	....	planning producer

Original Music by
Fumio Hayasaka

Cinematography by
Toshio Ubukata

Art Direction by
Tatsuo Hamada

Costume Design by
Bunjiro Suzuki

Makeup Department
Toku Sakuma	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Teruo Hagiyama	....	chief assistant director
Keizaburo Kobayashi	....	assistant director
Yasu Nakahira	....	assistant director
Yoshiho Nihonmatsu	....	assistant director
Hotaro Nomura	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Saburo Omura	....	sound

Special Effects by
Keiji Kawakami	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Kazuzo Kajimoto	....	still photographer
Masao Katô	....	lighting technician

Editorial Department
Yoshi Sugihara	....	negative cutter

Other crew
Kametaro Kamida	....	processing
Takamasa Kobayashi	....	equipment
Hideo Morishita	....	script supervisor
Fushitaro Moriya	....	display

Production Companies

• Shochiku Company
• Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo

Distributors

• Shochiku Films of America (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD) (as Eclipse from the Criterion Collection)
• EMC (1980) (USA) (subtitled)
• Entertainment Marketing (USA) (re-release)
• Eureka Video (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Shochiku Company
• Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo (1964) (USA) (subtitled)
• YLE Teema (2005) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1984) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Scandal (International: English title)
Shubun - Sukyandaru (Japan)

Runtime:

104 min | USA:105 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | Finland:K-7 | Switzerland:16

Company:

Shochiku Company

Outstanding

This is my favourite Kurosawa film. The director was reported to have been furious at the state of media freedom under the post-WWII US Occupation, and he vents his spleen on it here. The film is a passionate condemnation of gutter press and appears to be partly based on the director's own experiences.

I have to stop myself from the overuse of superlatives when describing this film. The acting is simply some of the best I've seen in any movie. Mifune does his usual good job as the brooding and very serious motorbike-riding painter but, for once, even the great Mifune is outclassed by several other actors.

Yoshiko Yamaguchi shines as the doe-eyed singer, whom a scandal magazine tries to frame as the painter's lover.

Despite not appearing until a third of the way through the film, Takashi Shimura steals every scene from Mifune. He is in top form as the weird and corrupted lawyer, and is a delight to watch.

But even Shimura is outclassed by the young Yoko Katsuragi, playing his daughter, who despite dying of TB is cheerful and a joy to all around her.

Nor does the support cast let them down. A number of great character actors, led by the man who plays the sleazy editor, complete the picture nicely.

I unreservedly recommend this film as a must-see for any film lover.