Red Beard (1965)
"Akahige" (original title)

In 19th century Japan, a rough tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Masato Ide (screenplay), Hideo Oguni (screenplay),

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Yûzô Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Dr. Kyojô Niide
Yûzô Kayama	...	Dr. Noboru Yasumoto
Tsutomu Yamazaki	...	Sahachi
Reiko Dan	...	Osugi
Miyuki Kuwano	...	Onaka
Kyôko Kagawa	...	Madwoman
Tatsuyoshi Ehara	...	Genzô Tsugawa
Terumi Niki	...	Otoyo
Akemi Negishi	...	Okuni, the mistress
Yoshitaka Zushi	...	Chôji
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Dr. Handayû Mori
Eijirô Tôno	...	Goheiji
Takashi Shimura	...	Tokubei Izumiya
Chishû Ryû	...	Mr. Yasumoto
Haruko Sugimura	...	Kin, the madam

Storyline

In a charity hospital, a hard-bitten but honorable older doctor, Dr. Niide, takes a young intern under his guidance through the course of a number of difficult cases.

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Plot Keywords:

clinic | doctor | intern | japanese | japan | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

19 December 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Barbarroja

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kurosawa Production Co., Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

185 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie marked the end of Akira Kurosawa's collaboration with Toshirô Mifune.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Genzo Tsugawa: [Showing Yasumoto a waiting room filled with sick people] The waiting room for outpatients. They're treated for free in the afternoons...
Genzo Tsugawa: [Giving a heavy sigh] I don't know... All of them would be better off dead.

User Reviews

Touching Low-Paced Lesson of Humanity

In the Nineteenth Century, in Japan, the arrogant and proud just-graduated Dr. Noboru Yasumoto (Yuzo Kayama) is forced to work in the Koshikawa Clinic, a non-profit health facility ruled by Dr. Kyojio Niide (Toshirô Mifune), a.k.a. "Red Beard". "Red Beard" is a good, sentimental, but also very firm, strong and fair man. While in the clinic, Dr. Yasumoto becomes responsible for healing the hurt teenager Otoyo (Terumi Niki), and he learns a lesson of humanity, becoming a better man.

"Akahige" is another magnificent work of Master Akira Kurosawa. The touching and low-paced story is very beautiful, and shows the redemption of a spoiled man that becomes a human being, learning important and worthwhile values of life. It is almost impossible to highlight one individual performance in such a spectacular cast, but Toshirô Mifune shows his versatility in the role of the good "Red Beard". The 185 running time, with intermission, does not make any part of this interesting story boring, and this film is highly recommended for any sensitive audience. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Barba Ruiva" ("The Red Beard")