Blue Christmas (film)

The Blue Stigma
Japanese theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kihachi Okamoto
Written by	Sô Kuramoto
Produced by	Kenji Kakiuchi Michio Morioka
Starring	Hiroshi Katsuno Keiko Takeshita Eiji Okada Kaoru Yachigusa Masaya Oki
Cinematography	Daisaku Kimura
Edited by	Yoshitami Kuroiwa
Music by	Masaru Satô
Release date	23 November 1978 (1978-11-23)
Running time	133 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Blue Christmas (Japanese: ブルークリスマス, Hepburn: Burū Kurisimasu, lit. 'The Blue Christmas'), known worldwide as The Blue Stigma, is a 1978 Japanese science fiction film by director Kihachi Okamoto. It deals with prejudice against UFO witnesses whose blood is turned blue by the encounter.

Plot

The blood of those who witnessed UFOs turned blue, and when the number of such people increases, then the President of the United States makes a decision after suffering.

Cast

• Hiroshi Katsuno : Oki Taisuke
• Keiko Takeshita : Nishida Saeko
• Kunie Tanaka : Nishida Kazuo
• Masaya Oki : Harada
• Eiji Okada : Hyodo
• Kaoru Yachigusa
• Hideyo Amamoto
• Yoshio Inaba
• Shin Kishida
• Naoko Otani
• Eitaro Ozawa : Godai
• Ichirō Nakatani : Usami
• Hideji Ōtaki : Takeiri
• Shinsuke Ashida : Aiba
• Tatsuya Nakadai : Minami Kazuya

Release

The Blue Stigma was distributed in Japan by Toho Pictures on November 23, 1978.

Production

Satoshi Kuramoto's original scenario is a political drama that focuses on the nation's plot to eliminate the changes it brings as foreign bodies, rather than the encounter between UFOs and humankind on Earth. The plot is ultimately achieved by the eradication of blue-blooded humans by military force, but in the process, Kuramoto relentlessly portrays political propaganda using broadcast media.

Kuramoto's scenario was published in " Kinema Junpo " the year before the production, and it was triggered by Tomoyuki Tanaka, who was the president of Toho Video at that time. Tanaka is a producer of Toho special effects movies, and at the same time, he is also known as a big science fiction enthusiast, such as holding a planning meeting inviting science fiction writers around " Matango " (1963). It led to the decision to accept Kuramoto's script, which is far from the special effects that is a specialty, as "if it is interesting as science fiction".

Kihachi Okamoto was selected at the request of Tanaka, who has formed a combination for many years, but Okamoto himself always dreamed of encountering a UFO. Okamoto recalls that he was happy to receive Kuramoto's script as a "gift" in the preface to the scenario book published with the release of the movie. In addition, I immediately arranged a cameraman to shoot the actual scene of Christmas (because it is impossible to shoot the actual scene if it was released before Christmas the following year). However, it is said that Okamoto was quite reluctant to respond to Kuramoto's request that "the script cannot be modified at all". Okamoto complained that Kuramoto's script was "thick like a phone book and that he had to shoot on location all over the world, which required a huge budget and labour", and at one point he should do it in a TV drama rather than a movie. There was also one. However, as a result of discussions with Kuramoto, Okamoto made a movie by cutting the scene of the White House where the President of the United States and the Secretary of State plan to deal with humans with blue blood and the scene of Hokkaido where the runaway tribe is attacked by special forces. I got the confidence to complete it. In general, the first part starring Tatsuya Nakadai is said to be Okamoto Touch, and the love story of Hiroshi Katsuno and Keiko Takeshita in the second part is said to be Kuramoto Touch, but rather Okamoto Touch appears in the latter. He says that he is.

External links

• Blue Christmas at IMDb
• Blood Type: Blue at Letterboxd
• The Blue Stigma on wikizilla
• Review