Akahige (1965)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Masato Ide (writer)
Ryûzô Kikushima (writer)
(more)

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 | Intern | Doctor | Japan | Japanese

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Toshirô Mifune	...	Dr. Kyojio Niide, 'Akahige' ['Red Beard']
Yûzô 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
Chishû Ryû	...	Mr. Yasumoto
Takashi Shimura	...	Tokubei Izumiya
Haruko Sugimura	...	Kin, the madam
Kinuyo Tanaka	...	Madame Yasumoto, Noboru's mother
Eijirô Yanagi	...	Madwoman's father
Koji Mitsui	...	Heikichi
Nobuo Chiba	...	Matsudaira
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Rokusuke
Ken Mitsuda	...	Genpaku Amano, Masae's father
Yôko Fujiyama	...	Chigusa, Masae's sister
Kô Nishimura
Yôko Naito	...	Masae
Reiko Nanao	...	Otoku
Imari Tsuji	...	Okatsu
Akiko Nomura	...	Ofuku
Sue Mitobe	...	Otake
Yoshitaka Zushi	...	Choji
Kin Sugai	...	Choji's mother
Michiko Araki	...	Brothel owner
Bokuzen Hidari	...	Patient A
Atsushi Watanabe	...	Patient B
Yasuzo Ogawa	...	Businessman
Yutaka Sada	...	Resident
Ikio Sawamura	...	Resident
Fumiko Honma	...	Resident
Miyoko Nakamura	...	Okoto
Akiko Kazami	...	Masae's mother
Chisato Aoki	...	Prostitute
Kyoko Kurisu	...	Prostitute
Yukiko Yanagishita	...	Prostitute
Toshiko Fukai	...	Prostitute
Keiko Tomita	...	Girl on street
Taiko Shoji	...	Thug
Shoichi Hirose	...	Thug (as Shoichi 'Solomon' Hirose)
Hiroyoshi Yamaguchi	...	Thug
Masanobu Ôkubo	...	Choji's father
Fujio Tokita	...	Thug
Tatsuo Araki	...	Thug
Hiroshi Tanaka	...	Thug
Tôru Ibuki	...	Thug
Mitsuga Uni	...	Thug
Hiroto Kimura	...	Thug
Shu Komuro	...	Thug
Ryu Kuze	...	Thug

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Masato Ide		writer
Ryûzô Kikushima		writer
Akira Kurosawa		writer
Hideo Oguni		writer
Shugoro Yamamoto		novel "Akahige shinryotan"

Produced by
Ryûzô Kikushima	....	executive producer
Akira Kurosawa	....	associate producer
Tomoyuki Tanaka	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Masaru Satô

Cinematography by
Asakazu Nakai		(as Asaichi Nakai)
Takao Saitô

Production Design by
Yoshirô Muraki

Costume Design by
Yoshiko Samejima

Makeup Department
Yoshiko Matsumoto	....	hair stylist
Junjiro Yamada	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Hiroshi Nezu	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Masanobu Deme	....	assistant director
Yôichi Matsue	....	assistant director
Shirô Moritani	....	first assistant director
Kenjiro Omori	....	assistant director

Art Department
Nozomi Fukusako	....	assistant art director
Akio Nojima	....	property master

Sound Department
Ichirô Minawa	....	sound effects editor
Zen Sashida	....	sound assistant
Hisashi Shimonaga	....	sound mixer
Shin Watarai	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Masao Fukuda	....	still photographer
Fumiyoshi Hara	....	assistant lighting technician
Kazutami Hara	....	assistant camera
Hiromitsu Mori	....	lighting technician

Editorial Department
Reiko Kaneko	....	assistant editor

Transportation Department
Yoshio Sekine	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Shigeru Kishima	....	production assistant
Teruyo Nogami	....	script supervisor
Yuichi Yoshitake	....	acting office

Production Companies

• Kurosawa Production Co.
• Toho Company

Distributors

• Toho Company (1965) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Toho Company (1966) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Frank Lee International (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Cowboy Pictures (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• trigon-film (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Kinuta Laboratory  video editing
• Toho Studios  sound stages

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:

According to the DVD commentary by film scholar Stephen Prince, this is the only Akira Kurosawa film to feature nudity.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the brothel where young Otoyo is being rescued: when Red Beard (Toshiro Mifune) prepares to step out of the brothel opening to confront the thugs gathered outside, from the inside camera view, right before he steps through the door flap, there are a couple of thugs standing just right outside the opening. But from the outside shot, which shows Red Beard stepping out, the nearby thugs have changed position, and are now standing much farther away from the opening.

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.

Films like that can influence the way we see the world

This film is practically never mentioned when Akira Kursawas best films are listed. I think this film should be at least one of the first three of such a list! I do love most of his films very much and my private choice of his best film is always this one. I saw it only once, maybe 20 years ago, but the memory of it is still very strong,. Some scenes burned their image into my mind forever! When I saw it at a small art house cinema here in Vienna, Austria, it was like a lovely dream you want to go on and on. I left the cinema thinking I just saw the best film of my life.

True, it not comparable with the story telling masterpiece Rashomon or the complex Seven Samurai. The film does not feature new ways of telling a story. But I think it is Kurosawas most human legacy in a body of work which is rich of statements on humanity. and human weaknesses and strengths. Looking at any list of current films in the cinemas today one can only wish there would be much more films like Red Beard. Films like that can influence the way we see the world, like the current films packed with violence already do. It would be a much better world for sure!

I don't go so far as to single out any part of the story. I would wish every one would see the film as I did, knowing nothing about it except the title and the director. The film speaks for itself.