The Great White Tower (1966)
"Shiroi Kyotou" (original title)

Director:

Satsuo Yamamoto

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto, Toyoko Yamasaki (novel)

Stars:

Jiro Tamiya, Eijirô Tôno, Takahiro Tamura

9 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jiro Tamiya	...	Goro Zaizen, assistant professor of the first surgery dept)
Eijirô Tôno	...	Professor Azuma (the first surgery dept)
Takahiro Tamura	...	Shuji Satomi - Assistant professor
Eitarô Ozawa	...	Professor Ugai (internal medicine)
Eiji Funakoshi	...	Professor Kikukawa (Kanazawa University)
Osamu Takizawa	...	Professor Funao (Toto University)
Kenjirô Ishiyama	...	Zaizen, Goro's father-in-law
Yoshi Katô	...	Professor Okouchi (Basic Medial Science)
Teruko Kishi	...	Masako, Azuma's wife
Mayumi Ogawa	...	Keiko, Goro's lover
Shiho Fujimura	...	Saeko, Azuma's daughter
Toshio Takahara	...	Tsukuda
Yûzô Hayakawa
Fujio Suga	...	Professor Hayama (obstetrics and gynecology)
Masami Shimojô	...	Professor Imatsu (the third surgery dept)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

15 October 1966 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Great White Tower

Filming Locations:

Kanazawa, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Shiroi kyotô (1978)

User Reviews

A savage and surgically precise critique of Japanese political practice

It shouldn't take the viewer long to work out that the fictional Osakan University hospital at the centre of Satsuo Yamamoto's outstanding film is Japan in microcosm: with its corrupt and self-serving elite and its distrust of democracy, meritocracy and change. The nation and its people are the cancer ridden bodies, still trusting the God like authority of their doctors.

The film opens with real footage of a 30cm scalpel incision on an old man's stomach. The flesh is peeled back to reveal a soup of guts and innards. It is clear that the director is not going to hide anything from us in the next 150 minutes.

The fine ensemble cast ensures that the drama is real and the script keeps the compelling narrative to the fore. The film never feels didactic or preachy and only in the character of Dr Satomi (Takahiro Tamura) do we have any cypher of idealism.

Crisply shot and edited, the same source material was later used for an anodyne, apolitical and predictable TV drama.