Akahige (1965)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Masato Ide (writer)
Ryuzo Kikushima (writer)

Release Date:

19 December 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In a charity hospital, a hard-bitten but honorable older doctor, Dr. Niide, takes a young intern under...

Plot Keywords:

Clinic | Doctor | Intern | Japanese | Japan

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Toshirô Mifune	...	Dr. Kyojio Niide, 'Akahige' ['Red Beard']
Yuzo Kayama	...	Dr. Noboru Yasumoto
Tsutomu Yamazaki	...	Sahachi
Reiko Dan	...	Osugi
Miyuki Kuwano	...	Onaka
Kyôko Kagawa	...	Madwoman
Tatsuyoshi Ehara	...	Genzo Tsugawa (as Tatsuya Ebara)
Terumi Niki	...	Otoyo
Akemi Negishi	...	Okuni, the mistress
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Dr. Handayu Mori
Eijirô Tôno	...	Goheiji
Chishu Ryu	...	Mr. Yasumoto
Takashi Shimura	...	Tokubei Izumiya
Haruko Sugimura	...	Kin, the madam
Kinuyo Tanaka	...	Madame Yasumoto, Noboru's mother

Also Known As:

Red Beard (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

185 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo

Certification:

Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:PG | UK:15 (re-rating) (2002) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Kurosawa Production Co.

Trivia:

This movie marked the end of Akira Kurosawa's collaboration with Toshirô Mifune.

Quotes:

Genzo Tsugawa: We knew you were coming two weeks ago. It seems he likes you. He's unfriendly to people he likes. Not me. He never finds fault with me. He ignores me completely.

Touching Low-Paced Lesson of Humanity

In the Nineteenth Century, in Japan, the arrogant and proud just-graduated Dr. Noboru Yasumoto (Yuzo Kayama) is forced to work in the Koshikawa Clinic, a non-profit health facility ruled by Dr. Kyojio Niide (Toshirô Mifune), a.k.a. "Red Beard". "Red Beard" is a good, sentimental, but also very firm, strong and fair man. While in the clinic, Dr. Yasumoto becomes responsible for healing the hurt teenager Otoyo (Terumi Niki), and he learns a lesson of humanity, becoming a better man.

"Akahige" is another magnificent work of Master Akira Kurosawa. The touching and low-paced story is very beautiful, and shows the redemption of a spoiled man that becomes a human being, learning important and worthwhile values of life. It is almost impossible to highlight one individual performance in such a spectacular cast, but Toshirô Mifune shows his versatility in the role of the good "Red Beard". The 185 running time, with intermission, does not make any part of this interesting story boring, and this film is highly recommended for any sensitive audience. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Barba Ruiva" ("The Red Beard")