Hakuchi (1951)

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (novel)
Eijirô Hisaita (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

30 April 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Kameda, who has been in an asylum on Okinawa, travels to Hokkaido. There he becomes involved with two women...

Plot Keywords:

Modern Day Adaptation | Remake | Dostoevsky | Prince | Love Triangle

Cast

Setsuko Hara	...	Taeko Nasu
Masayuki Mori	...	Kinji Kameda
Toshirô Mifune	...	Denkichi Akama
Takashi Shimura	...	Ono, Ayako's father
Chieko Higashiyama	...	Satoko, Ayako's mother
Chiyoko Fumiya	...	Noriko
Eijirô Yanagi	...	Tohata
Yoshiko Kuga	...	Ayako
Minoru Chiaki	...	Mutsuo Kayama, the secretary
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Madame Kayama
Noriko Sengoku	...	Takako
Mitsuyo Akashi	...	Madame Akama
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bokuzen Hidari	...	Karube (uncredited)
Daisuke Inoue	...	Kaoru (uncredited)
Kokuten Kôdô	...	Jumpei (uncredited)

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky		novel "The Idiot"
Eijirô Hisaita		writer
Akira Kurosawa		writer

Produced by
Takashi Koide	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Fumio Hayasaka

Cinematography by
Toshio Ubukata

Film Editing by
Akira Kurosawa

Production Design by
Takashi Matsuyama

Set Decoration by
Genzo Komiya		(settings)
Shohei Sekine		(settings)
Ushitaro Shimada

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yoshitaro Nomura	....	chief assistant director

Sound Department
Yoshisaburo Imo	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Akio Tamura	....	lighting technician

Editorial Department
Yoshi Sugihara	....	assistant editor

Production Companies

• Shôchiku Eiga

Distributors

• Shochiku Company (1951) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Shochiku Films of America (????) (USA) (theatrical)
• Shôchiku Eiga (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Toho Company (1963) (USA) (theatrical)
• Concorde Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD) (as Eclipse from the Criterion Collection)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Eureka Video (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• YLE Teema (2005) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1984) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

The Idiot (USA)

Runtime:

166 min | Japan:180 min (premiere) | Japan:265 min (extended version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Australia:PG | New Zealand:PG | Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:16 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Hokkaido, Japan

Company:

Shôchiku Eiga

Trivia:

Filmed as a two-part production running 265 minutes. Shochiku (the studio) told Akira Kurosawa that the film had to be cut in half, because it was too long; he told them, "In that case, better cut it lengthwise." The film was released truncated at 166 minutes.

Movie Connections:

Version of "The Idiot" (1966)

Interesting Dostoevsky Translation

This is a rather meandering tale which is hard to follow without a familiarity with the Dostoevsky novel. Armed with some understanding of the novel, this becomes an interesting translation. It's amazing to watch Kurosawa take its Russian roots and transfer it to Japanese culture. All in all, it's far from being one of his best. But like almost all of his work, it has moments which are fascinating. I would recommend it only to someone who is familiar with the novel or is trying to plow their way through it.