Suzaki Paradise Red Light (1956)
"Suzaki Paradaisu: Akashingô" (original title)

Director:

Yûzô Kawashima

Writers:

Toshirô Ide, Yoshiko Shibaki (original story),

Stars:

Michiyo Aratama, Yukiko Todoroki, Seizaburô Kawazu

Cast

Credited cast:
Michiyo Aratama	...	Tsutae
Yukiko Todoroki	...	Otoku
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	Mr. Ochiai
Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Yoshiji, Tsutae's husband
Izumi Ashikawa	...	Tamako
Shôichi Ozawa	...	Sankichi
Kazuko Tani	...	Singer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tomio Aoki	...	Ice man
Keizô Fuyuki	...	Soba Shop Owner
Tôru Hiranuma	...	Kazuo
Noriko Katsura
Atsuko Katô	...	Bus Conductor
Yoshirô Katô	...	Radio Shop Clerk
Dokô Kihara	...	Boat man (as Kô Kihara)
Akiko Kikuno

Storyline

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

31 July 1956 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Suzaki Paradise Red Light

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nikkatsu

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

A rare classic from a director who deserves attention

This is only the first film of Yuzo Kawashima that I watch and I'm definitely looking for more of his work! Kawashima remains virtually unknown in the west, which is a shame, since, from what I've read, he was a pioneer of Japanese new-wave, a big influence for Shohei Imamura and was highly regarded in Japan. The film is about a young, homeless couple in search for job, that ends up in a small bar just outside the Suzaki red-light district in Tokyo. I found the film really absorbing, I actually felt that I was living too in a small house at the edge of Suzaki river, watching the trucks, the noodle delivery men, the prostitutes and their clients crossing the bridge, in and out of the district. There are also some nice scenes of the busy and full of life streets of the 50s Tokyo. Overall, this is a fascinating film, on par with the other Japanese classics from the 1950s, that deserves to be distributed in the west along with more Kawashima movies, so that we get a chance to discover this neglected director.