Scandal (1950 film)
| Scandal | |
|---|---|
 Original Japanese poster | |
| Directed by | Akira Kurosawa |
| Written by | Akira Kurosawa Ryuzo Kikushima |
| Produced by | Takashi Koide |
| Starring | Toshirō Mifune Takashi Shimura Shirley Yamaguchi Noriko Sengoku |
| Music by | Fumio Hayasaka |
| Distributed by | Shochiku Co. Ltd. |
Release date | April 30, 1950 |
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | Template:Film Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Scandal (醜聞, Sukyandaru, aka Shūbun[1]) is a 1950 film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshirō Mifune, Takashi Shimura and Shirley Yamaguchi.
Plot
Ichiro Aoye (Toshirō Mifune), an artist, meets a famous young classical singer, Miyako Saijo (Shirley Yamaguchi) whilst working on his paintings in the mountains. After discovering they are both heading for the same location he offers to give her a motorcycle ride to where they are staying. On the way, they are spotted by paparazzi for the tabloid magazine Amour, who track the two down. As Saijo refuses to grant the photographers an interview they plot their revenge by taking a picture of the couple having breakfast and print it under the headline 'The Love Story of Miyako Saijo'.
Aoye is outraged by this false scandal and plans to sue the magazine. During the subsequent media circus, Aoye is approached by a down-and-out lawyer, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), who claims to share Aoye's anger with the press. Aoye takes him for his attorney but Hiruta, desperate for money to cure his daughter with terminal tuberculosis, Masako (Yôko Katsuragi), accepts a bribe from the editor of the magazine to throw the trial. The trial proceeds badly for the plaintiffs. Struck by the kindness of Aoye and Saijo towards his Masako, and Masako's own disgust at the way he is handling the case, Hiruta becomes ridden with guilt. As the trial draws to an end, Masako dies, convinced that Aoye and Saijo will win the case. On the final day of the trial Hiruta, prodded by his conscience, confesses all and, though he is disbarred, his reputation is saved and Amour loses the case.
Commentary
Scandal was described by Kurosawa himself as a protest film about "the rise of the press in Japan and its habitual confusion of freedom with license."
It perhaps isn't coincidental that Mifune's character in the film is a painter. Kurosawa had toyed with the idea of becoming a painter before becoming a director, and always retained a passion for painting; he often painted the storyboards for his films.
References
- ^ The Japanese title "醜聞" is a kanji word which is pronounced "Shūbun" in standard Japanese. However the furigana "スキャンダル sukyandaru" is officially added to the Japanese title. Shochiku official web site
External links
- Scandal at IMDb
- Scandal at AllMovie
- Scandal at Rotten Tomatoes
- Scandal Template:Ja icon at the Japanese Movie Database
