Hakuchi (1951)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (novel)
Eijirô Hisaita (writer)

Release Date:

30 April 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Kameda, who has been in an asylum on Okinawa, travels to Hokkaido. There he becomes involved with two women...

Plot Keywords:

Modern Day Adaptation | Remake | Dostoevsky | Prince | Love Triangle

Cast

Setsuko Hara	...	Taeko Nasu
Masayuki Mori	...	Kinji Kameda
Toshirô Mifune	...	Denkichi Akama
Takashi Shimura	...	Ono, Ayako's father
Chieko Higashiyama	...	Satoko, Ayako's mother
Chiyoko Fumiya	...	Noriko
Eijirô Yanagi	...	Tohata
Yoshiko Kuga	...	Ayako
Minoru Chiaki	...	Mutsuo Kayama, the secretary
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Madame Kayama
Noriko Sengoku	...	Takako
Mitsuyo Akashi	...	Madame Akama

Also Known As:

The Idiot (USA)

Runtime:

166 min | Japan:180 min (premiere) | Japan:265 min (extended version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Australia:PG | New Zealand:PG | Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:16 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Hokkaido, Japan

Company:

Shôchiku Eiga

Trivia:

Filmed as a two-part production running 265 minutes. Shochiku (the studio) told Akira Kurosawa that the film had to be cut in half, because it was too long; he told them, "In that case, better cut it lengthwise." The film was released truncated at 166 minutes.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Idiot" (2003)

Difficult but worth seeing

I wonder if the original 265-minute version (see "trivia") will ever be released on DVD? It seems to me that out of respect for Mr. Kurosawa, arguably the greatest filmmaker who's ever lived, it should be done if at all possible. If only I were a billionaire...

I found the film very difficult to follow, probably in part because of the extensive cutting (which is obvious in a few places), but also because, to my shame, I've never read the Dostoevski novel, though I started on it many years ago.

But the film is worth watching, despite the considerable difficulties it may pose, if only for the extraordinary--I won't say acting, but perhaps PRESENCE will do--of Toshiro Mifune, and the very fine acting by virtually all the other cast members. And of course for the magnificent visual compositions by this unsurpassable master of film, Akira Kurosawa.

And perhaps most important: for the moral tone of the film. I reverence Kurosawa not only for his amazing skill, but above all for his moral preoccupation. Without being preachy, in film after film he reminds us of the things that are really important in our lives and in our relationships with others. Very few filmmakers seem, especially nowadays, to care about that. I believe Kurosawa was a master not only of film but of life itself.