The Stairway to the Distant Past (1995)
"Harukana jidai no kaidan o" (original title)

Director:

Kaizô Hayashi

Writers:

Kaizô Hayashi, Daisuke Tengan

Stars:

Masatoshi Nagase, Kiyotaka Nanbara, Haruko Wanibuchi

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Masatoshi Nagase	...	Mike Hama
Kiyotaka Nanbara	...	Hoshino
Haruko Wanibuchi	...	Lily Hama
Shirô Sano	...	Masaru
Eiji Okada	...	White man
Tetta Sugimoto	...	Sugimoto
Mika Ohmine	...	Akane Hama
Shin'ya Tsukamoto	...	Yamaguchi
Jô Shishido	...	Shishido
Keiji Matsuda	...	Matsuda
Akaji Maro	...	Detective
Kazuko Shirakawa	...	Sachiko Shibata
Sumiko Sakamoto	...	Minato no Mary
Noriko Sengoku	...	Asa
Yôichi Sai	...	Chief of Police

Storyline

---

Plot Keywords:

detective | sequel | surrealism

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

18 March 1995 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Stairway to the Distant Past

Filming Locations:

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Wana (1996)

User Reviews

A Sophomore Work; Unconvincing, Boring and Clumsy

I have just finished watching the last in this trilogy- The Trap, 2005. Where Stairway was a feeble wishy washy visually confusing poorly scripted effort, The Trap was a real movie.I really cannot figure out how anyone would find Stairway superior to The Trap, but since a few reviewers liked this film, i know i will not bother to seek the first in the trilogy. Stairway just felt off kilter through the whole piece, like a drunk who just can't get his footing. Derivative and Hat-tipping can be fun in the movies but in this film all those efforts were lifeless and clumsy and unconvincing.So my advice is- skip this film and see The Trap instead.