Biruma no tategoto (1956)

Director:

Kon Ichikawa

Writers:

Michio Takeyama (novel)
Natto Wada (writer)

Release Date:

28 April 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

July, 1945: Japan's army is on the run. A platoon in Burma sings to keep its spirit up. Inspiration comes from their self-taught lute player...

Plot Keywords:

Japanese | Buddhist | Burma | Japanese Army | Dead

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Rentaro Mikuni	...	Captain Inouye
Shôji Yasui	...	Mizushima
Jun Hamamura	...	Ito
Taketoshi Naitô	...	Kobayashi (as Takeo Naito)
Shunji Kasuga	...	Maki
Kô Nishimura	...	Baba (as Akira Nishimura)
Keishichi Nakahara	...	Takagi
Toshiaki Ito	...	Hashimoto
Hiroshi Tsuchikata	...	Okada
Tomio Aoki	...	Oyama
Nobuteru Hanamura	...	Nakamura
Sanpei Mine	...	Abe
Takashi Koshiba	...	Shimizu
Tomoko Tonai
Tokuhei Miyahara	...	Nagai
Yoshiaki Kato	...	Matsuda
Masahiko Naruse	...	Soldier
Bin Moritsuka	...	Soldier
Sojiro Amano	...	Soldier
Yôji Nagahama	...	Boy
Kunitaro Sawamura	...	Old man
Eiji Nakamura	...	Old monk
Asao Sano	...	Soldier
Shojiro Ogasawara	...	Soldier
Tanie Kitabayashi	...	Old woman
Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Defense Commander
Yûnosuke Itô	...	Village head
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Akiyoshi Fukae	...	Soldier

Directed by
Kon Ichikawa

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michio Takeyama		novel
Natto Wada		writer

Produced by
Masayuki Takaki	....	producer

Original Music by
Akira Ifukube

Cinematography by
Minoru Yokoyama

Film Editing by
Masanori Tsujii

Production Design by
So Matsuyama

Sound Department
Masakazu Kamiya	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Ko Fujibayashi	....	gaffer

Production Companies

• Nikkatsu

Distributors

• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Brandon Films Inc. (1967) (USA) (subtitled)
• Contemporary Films (1960) (UK) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

Harp of Burma
The Burmese Harp (USA)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12

Filming Locations:

Burma

Company:

Nikkatsu

Movie Connections:

Remade as Biruma no tategoto (1985)

Soundtrack:

Hanyuu no Yado

a movie to carry with you

Living in Thailand at the age of 10, I saw this movie broadcast on TV. Thirty years later I still think of it. And eventually I became a dharma student. Coincidence? I think not! Such is the awesome impact of this movie. More than an important anti-war film, it can really bring out some seldom expressed feelings - not because of carefully crafted scenarios which bring moral indignation against war, confusion or cruelty, but instead showing a more natural horror of war's results. After watching the film for the third time, I still feel a deep visceral pang when Mizushima covers his face and runs past yet another mountain of rotting bodies he finds on the shores of the river.

What's really sad is that you can't get the movie on DVD!