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Sanshiro Sugata

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 69.110.235.152 (talk) at 05:28, 12 March 2008 (Removing public domain label, since courts have given the rights to Kurosawa's estate until 2038. See talk page.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

姿三四郎
Sanshiro Sugata
Directed byAkira Kurosawa
Written byAkira Kurosawa
Tomita Tsuneo
Produced byKeiji Matsuzaki
StarringDenjirô Ôkôchi
Susumu Fujita
Yukiko Todoroki
Takashi Shimura
CinematographyAkira Mimura
Music bySeiichi Suzuki
Distributed byToho Company Ltd.
Release dates
JapanMar 25, 1943
Running time
97 min
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Sanshiro Sugata (姿三四郎, Sugata Sanshirō, aka Judo Saga) was the directorial debut of the Oscar-winning Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa. It was first released in Japan on 25 March 1943 by Toho film studios, eventually being released in the United States on 28 April 1974 and is based on the novel of the same name by Tsuneo Tomita. It follows the story of Sanshiro, a strong stubborn youth, who travels into the city in order to learn Jujutsu. However, upon his arrival he discovers a new form of self-defence: Judo

Although not the most famous entry in Kurosawa's canon, the film is seen as an early example of Kurosawa's immediate grasp of the film-making process, and includes many of his directorial trademarks, such as the use of wipes. The film itself was quite influential at the time, and has been remade on no less than five occasions. It was successful enough to spawn a sequel, Sanshiro Sugata Part II, which was released in 1945.

Production

Following 5 years of second unit director work on films such as Uma and Roppa's Honeymoon, Kurosawa was finally given the go-ahead to direct his first film, even though he himself claimed that, in films like Uma, "I had been so much in charge of production I had felt like the director". After hearing of a new novel from the writer Tomita Tsuneo, Kurosawa decided the project was for him and asked film producer Iwao Mori to buy the rights for him. According to renowned Kurosawa scholar Donald Ritchie, the reason Kurosawa was allowed to direct the film was because he had had two film scripts printed, including one of which had won the education minister's prize. However, his work was too far away from the government requirements for a wartime film. Tomita's novel, on the other hand, was considered "safe", dealing, as it did, with a Japanese subject such as the rivalry between judo and jujitsu, was a period piece, and was a popularist subject. Kurosawa deliberately went out to make a "movie-like movie", as he knew he would not be able to insert any particularly didactic qualities in the film.

Themes

The central theme of the film is the education and initiation of Sugata and the way in which, whilst learning the ways of Judo, he also learns about himself. The film's central scene concerning this theme is when, after being accosted by Yano for getting involved in a streetfight, Sugata leaps into the cold waters near Yano's temple and stays there in order to show his master his dedication, and the fact that he is neither afraid to live nor to die.

Cast

Denjirô Ôkôchi… Shogoro Yano
Susumu Fujita… Sanshiro Sugata
Yukiko Todoroki… Sayo Murai
Ryunosuke Tsukigata… Gennosuke Higaki
Takashi Shimura… Hansuke Murai
Ranko Hanai… Osumi Kodana
Sugisaku Aoyama… Tsunetami Iimura
Ichirô Sugai… Police Chief Mishima
Yoshio Kosugi… Master Saburo Kodama
Kokuten Kodo… Buddhist Priest
Michisaburo Segawa… Wada
Akitake Kôno… Yoshima Dan
Shôji Kiyokawa… Yujiro Toda
Kunio Mita… Kohei Tsuzaki
Akira Nakamura… Toranosuki Niiseki
Eisaburo Sakauchi… Nemeto
Hajime Hikari… Torakichi

Edited Versions and DVD Releases

Sanshiro Sugata was originally released with a length of 97 minutes in Japan in 1943. However, on its post-war reissue in 1952 (by which time Kurosawa had become a world renowned director), it was issued as a slightly shorter 80 minute version, which saw some slight changes to the film's structure as well as its running time[1].

Although available on DVD in China and Australia, Sanshiro Sugata is currently unavailable on the format in Europe and America, with their currently being no plans to release it. It can be found on auction sites such as ebay on its VHS format quite cheaply. It is also available to stream for free from the internet after a Japanese Court ruling in July 2006 that all films produced prior to 1953 were to be made available to the public domain[2].

Remakes

Sanshiro Sugata has been remade five times since it was initially released, although these versions are even harder to find in the West than the original. The 1955 and 1965 versions share the script of the original versions, whereas the subsequent three releases are all based on the novel rather than Kurosawa's screenplay.

  • Sugata Sanshiro (1955) - Directed by Shigeo Tanaka
  • Sugata Sanshiro (1965) - Directed by Seiichiro Uchikawa
  • Ninkyô yawara ichidai [A Brave Generous Era] (1966) - Directed by Sadao Nakajima
  • Sugata Sanshiro (1970) - Directed by Kunio Watanabe
  • Sugata Sanshiro (1977) - Directed by Kihachi Okamoto

References

  1. ^ accessdate=July 1st "Sanshiro Sugata Alternate Versions". IMDB.com. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing pipe in: |url= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Japanese Court Rules Pre-1953 Movies In Public Domain". contract music. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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