Norwegian Wood (2010) Noruwei no mori (original title)

Director:

Tran Anh Hung

Writers:

Haruki Murakami (novel)
Tran Anh Hung (written by)

Release Date:

11 December 2010 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Toru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.

Plot Keywords:

1960s | Woods | Grief | Death | Tokyo Japan

Awards:

4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Ken'ichi Matsuyama	...	Toru Watanabe
Rinko Kikuchi	...	Naoko
Kiko Mizuhara	...	Midori
Kengo Kôra	...	Kizuki
Reika Kirishima	...	Dr. Reiko Ishida
Eriko Hatsune	...	Hatsumi
Tokio Emoto	...	Storm Trooper
Takao Handa	...	Midori's Father
Yusuke	...	High School Classmate
Yuki Ito	...	Student Activist
Kentaro Tamura	...	Student Activist
Makoto Sugisawa	...	Student Activist
Kohei Yoshino	...	Student Activist
Sawako Okuma	...	College Girl
Haruka Masuda	...	College Girl
Yui Higashiyama	...	College Girl
Izumi Hirasawa	...	Midori's Friend
Mariko Yamanaka	...	Midori's Sister (voice)
Shinichi Hara	...	Dorm Student
Wataru Ohshige	...	Dorm Student
Tomoako Miyake	...	Dorm Student
Masahiro Kobori	...	Dorm Student
Shigesato Itoi	...	University Professor
Haruomi Hosono	...	Record Shop Manager
Yukihiro Takahashi	...	Gatekeeper
Tetsuji Tamayama	...	Nagasawa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rika Yasui Hammen	...	Extra (voice)

Directed by
Tran Anh Hung

Writing credits
Haruki Murakami		(novel)
Tran Anh Hung		(written by)

Produced by
Wouter Barendrecht	....	co-executive producer
Satoshi Fukushima	....	co-producer
Joe Ikeda	....	associate producer
Chihiro Kameyama	....	executive producer
Naoki Kusumoto	....	producer: main title
Kaoru Matsuzaki	....	associate producer
Mioko Ogawa	....	assistant producer
Shinji Ogawa	....	producer
Keizo Shukuzaki	....	line producer
Masao Teshima	....	executive producer
Michael J. Werner	....	co-executive producer

Original Music by
Jonny Greenwood

Cinematography by
Ping Bin Lee		(director of photography) (as Mark Lee Ping Bin)

Film Editing by
Mario Battistel

Casting by
Tsuyoshi Sugino

Production Design by
Norifumi Ataka
Tran Nu Yên-Khê		(as Yên Khê Luguern)

Set Decoration by
Tetsuya Nomura
Ayaki Takagi

Costume Design by
Tran Nu Yên-Khê		(as Yên Khê Luguern)

Makeup Department
Naoko Ikeo	....	additional hair stylist
Naoko Ikeo	....	additional makeup artist
Kana Masuda	....	additional hair stylist
Kana Masuda	....	additional makeup artist
Yûichi Matsui	....	makeup effects artist (as Yuichi Matsui)
Manami Mayamoto	....	additional makeup artist
Manami Miyamoto	....	additional hair stylist
Etsuko Ohno	....	additional hair stylist
Etsuko Ohno	....	additional makeup artist
Satoko Takakuwa	....	assistant hair stylist
Satoko Takakuwa	....	assistant makeup artist
Fumi Takeshita	....	key hair stylist
Fumi Takeshita	....	key makeup artist
Chika Tanabe	....	additional hair stylist
Chika Tanabe	....	additional makeup artist
Masayo Tokuda	....	additional hair stylist
Masayo Tokuda	....	additional makeup artist

Production Management
Takashi Ishihara	....	production supervisor
Susumu Isono	....	executive supervisor
Hiroyuki Ogawa	....	supervisor
Yasushi Shiina	....	executive supervisor
Yusuke Taguchi	....	production manager
Shinji Takeuchi	....	supervisor
Hironori Terashima	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Masaru Ikeda	....	director: main title sequence
Hideaki Jimbo	....	assistant director
Shozo Katashima	....	first assistant director
Yu Koreyasu	....	assistant director
Mitsutomo Maeda	....	director: main title sequence
Koichi Tanaka	....	assistant director
Yuko Yamamoto	....	assistant director

Art Department
Satoshi Hashizume	....	additional art director
Takumi Hirano	....	additional set dresser
Nao Idei	....	props
Kenji Iizuka	....	construction foreman
Mai Ikeo	....	set dresser
Gen Itô	....	assistant art director
Kenji Iwai	....	set dresser
Hironori Iwamoto	....	assistant art director
Masashi Kumagai	....	set construction supervisor
Chie Matsumoto	....	additional set dresser
Kosuke Mito	....	greensman
Mariko Mituzaki	....	additional set dresser
Makiko Morita	....	set dresser
Fumiori Nagashima	....	construction foreman
Keisuke Sakurai	....	set dresser
Kyoko Shimano	....	painter
Aya Suzuki	....	assistant art director
Naoko Takemura	....	props
Miyuki Tanaka	....	set dresser
Ayumi Tokuda	....	set dresser
Chigusa Tsutsumi	....	painter
Atsushi Yamaguchi	....	door carpenter
Yasuhiro Yamauchi	....	additional set dresser
Tsuyoshi Yamazaki	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Philippe Amouroux	....	sound re-recording mixer
Fabrice Conesa	....	foley artist
Yukio Hokari	....	additional sound effects
Natsuko Inoue	....	foley editor
Hiroshi Ishigai	....	dialogue editor
Hideaki Ishii	....	optical sound recordist
Takeshi Kawamata	....	sound recordist
Fusako Kitagawa	....	sound studio assistant
Vincent Maloumian	....	foley assistant
Yujiro Miki	....	sound recordist
Noboru Nishio	....	optical sound recording advisor
Miki Nomura	....	sound studio engineer
Akihiko Okase	....	sound effects supervisor
Takeshi Shimizu	....	sound recordist
Kazuhiko Tomita	....	sound recordist
Tomoharu Urata	....	sound mixer
Niels Barletta	....	sound mastering engineer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Hidekazu Kishiura	....	special effects supervisor
Yoshitaka Makigi	....	special effects technician
Kimiko Murai	....	special effects technician
Chuji Shimajiri	....	special effects supervisor
Isamu Terakado	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Shoko Azami	....	compositor
Nobuya Ishida	....	compositor
Keisuke Katohno	....	digital matte
Hajime Matsumoto	....	visual effects supervisor
Minami Okuma	....	compositor
Yukio Sakamoto	....	compositor
Kiyohisa Shirao	....	3dcg
Kiyohisa Shirao	....	compositor
Daiwa Shoji	....	compositor
Takashi Tanaka	....	compositor (as Takashi Tanaka)
Naoto Tobe	....	compositor
Manami Tsujino	....	3dcg director
Kazuhisa Yoshizawa	....	digital artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Ryohei Abe	....	assistant lighting technician
Fumina Echizen	....	additional grip
Jun Fukumoto	....	cinematographer: autumn unit
Keigo Fukushima	....	assistant camera operator: winter unit
Shiyi Gao	....	assistant camera operator (as Gao Shi Yi)
Alan Gitlin	....	digital imaging technician
Kenichi Hamada	....	assistant lighting technician: winter unit
Takumi Hirai	....	assistant lighting technician
Yoshiyuki Iida	....	assistant camera operator
Arata Ishizuka	....	best boy grip
Gen Ito	....	assistant camera operator: autumn unit
Hiroki Izumi	....	Steadicam operator
Kouken Jinno	....	assistant lighting technician
Yasuyuki Jitsuhara	....	key grip
Kensuke Kitamura	....	additional lighting technician
Megumi Kitamura	....	underwater camera operator
Shigeto Kunii	....	assistant camera operator
Hideo Kunimatsu	....	camera department assistant
Koichi Kuroda	....	still photographer
Takako Maji	....	assistant camera operator: autumn unit
Yasushi Masuda	....	additional lighting technician
Hiroshi Matsuda	....	additional grip
Hiroyuki Matsudo	....	underwater camera operator
Norito Matsumoto	....	assistant lighting technician
Takahiro Mizuse	....	assistant lighting technician
Yûki Nakamura	....	lighting director
Masayuki Nishimura	....	assistant lighting technician: winter unit
Hironobu Ohno	....	assistant lighting technician
Keigo Ohnuki	....	assistant lighting technician (as Keigo Onuki)
Tai Ouchi	....	digital imaging technician assistant
Jun Saitô	....	additional lighting technician (as Jun Saito)
Tetsuo Sano	....	underwater camera operator
Ryota Sato	....	additional grip
Yudai Sato	....	additional grip
Hikaru Satô	....	assistant camera operator: winter unit (as Hikaru Sato)
Kôta Satô	....	additional lighting technician (as Kota Sato)
Jun Shimogaito	....	additional assistant camera operator
Takayuki Sugimura	....	assistant camera operator
Yosuke Suzuki	....	additional grip
Takemasa Tagishi	....	additional grip
Satoshi Tani	....	assistant lighting technician: winter unit
Sean Walker	....	assistant camera operator

Casting Department
Ryuta Takaya	....	casting associate
Yoichiro Yamaguchi	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nami Shinozuka	....	key costumer
Sayaka Takahashi	....	key costumer
Miyuki Tanaka	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Ado Ishii	....	color management
Frédéric Busnel Joncour	....	editing studio technical supervisor: Paris
Hiromichi Komai	....	on-line editor
Caroline Lasselin	....	editing studio organization and logistics: Paris
Stephane Lehembre	....	editing studio organization and logistics: Paris (as Stéphane Lehembre)
Wataru Matsumota	....	color management
Yov Moor	....	digital intermediate consultant: post-production
Chikako Namba	....	assistant editor
Syo Ogoshi	....	film recording (as Sho Ogoshi)
Ken Okada	....	digital cinema mastering
Masaharu Oomi	....	color timer (as Masaharu Ohmi)
Kiyoshi Anatol Runze	....	post-production coordinator: Paris
Seiji Saitô	....	digital color grader (as Seiji Saito)
Yaori Sato	....	color timer
Gilles Stella	....	editing studio technical assistant: Paris

Music Department
John Barrett	....	pro tools operator
BBC Concert Orchestra	....	musicians
Fiona Bonds	....	musician: violin, The Emperor Quartet
Martin Burgess	....	musician: violin, The Emperor Quartet
Bryce Edge	....	music executive producer: Jonny Greenwood
The Emperor Quartet	....	musicians
Jonny Greenwood	....	composer: additional music
Takeshi Hayama	....	live performance coordinator: Kobe
Clare Hayes	....	musician: violin, The Emperor Quartet
Benjamin Hughes	....	musician: cello soloist
Aiko Kakurai	....	music coordinator
Joely Koos	....	musician: cello, The Emperor Quartet
Toshitaro Kurata	....	musical instrument instructor
Toshitaro Kurata	....	musician
John Metcalfe	....	musician: viola, The Emperor Quartet
Yuuki Motoya	....	music 5.1 mix assistant
Charles Mutter	....	musician: violin soloist
Erika Ohtake	....	music recording engineer
Akihiko Oono	....	music 5.1 mixer (as Akihiko Ohno)
Simon Rhodes	....	score recordist
Kei Sato	....	music editor
William Schofield	....	musician: cello, The Emperor Quartet
Hiroshi Shimofusa	....	assistant music editor
Graeme Stewart	....	music 2.0 & 5.1 mixer: additional music
Graeme Stewart	....	music 5.1 mixer
Graeme Stewart	....	music mixer: The Emperor Quartet
Graeme Stewart	....	music producer: The Emperor Quartet
Graeme Stewart	....	music producer: additional music
Graeme Stewart	....	music recordist: The Emperor Quartet
Graeme Stewart	....	music recordist: additional music
Graeme Stewart	....	recording producer
Eriko Tateno	....	voice trainer
Sanchiko Tawa	....	voice trainer
Rebecca Turner	....	orchestra leader: BBC Concert Orchestra
Timothy Welch	....	musician: viola soloist
Shin Yasui	....	music producer
Robert Ziegler	....	conductor: BBC Concert Orchestra
Robert Ziegler	....	orchestral arrangements: BBC Concert Orchestra
Paul Pritchard	....	assistant scoring engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Yoshiaki Asukada	....	transportation
Takahiro Imanishi	....	transportation
Yoshinari Inoue	....	transportation
Hideki Iwamoto	....	transportation
Takafumi Kondo	....	transportation
Tashiyuki Koyama	....	transportation
Akihiko Masuda	....	transportation
Shinichiro Matsuo	....	transportation
Ryota Miyazaki	....	transportation
Seishi Ochi	....	transportation
Tomohiro Sakai	....	transportation
Koichi Sato	....	transportation
Tetsuya Takada	....	transportation
Noboru Tonooka	....	transportation
Takeshi Uehara	....	transportation

Other crew
Yoko Amakawa	....	assistant: Mr. Tran, winter unit
Keiko Amano	....	production assistant
Sachiko Hanaoka	....	location manager
Naomi Hatta	....	assistant to producers
Naoki Hishikawa	....	production assistant
Hitoshi Igaue	....	assistant marine coordinator
Anna Ishikawa	....	dialect coach
Yasuharu Kanda	....	record shop set supervisor
Reiko Katayama	....	assistant to producers
Kimihito Kato	....	production legal
Hidemaru Koyanagi	....	clearance
Junko Kusunoki	....	clearance
Akira Matsueda	....	production advisor
Kang Hong Mi	....	translator and interpreter
Yume Murakami	....	production accountant
Masaru Nakamura	....	aquatic supervisor
Natsuko Nezu	....	production accountant
Mariko Nishizawa	....	assistant: Ms. Luguern
Mitsuru Obara	....	billiards instructor
So Ohtsuka	....	lab manager
Hana Okazaki	....	assistant: Mr. Tran
Masatoshi Saito	....	making of
Saori Sekiguchi	....	title
Makoto Shibata	....	lab coordinator
Atsushi Shimane	....	location manager
Hiroyuki Shimizu	....	production legal
Kasumi Shimizu	....	clearance
Kazuko Shingyoku	....	script supervisor
Hiroshi Takahashi	....	student riots supervisor
Shigeharu Tokunaga	....	production assistant: bilingual
Teruo Tsuda	....	title
Masahiko Yaginuma	....	swimming instructor
Yoko Yamane	....	swimming instructor
Ken Yasui	....	production assistant: winter unit
Yuji Yokoyama	....	lab coordinator
Kayo Yoshida	....	international marketing

Production Companies

• Asmik Ace Entertainment
• Dentsu
• Fuji Television Network
• Kodansha
• Sankei Shimbun
• Sumitomo Corporation
• WoWow

Distributors

• Asmik Ace Entertainment (2010) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Benelux Film Distributors (2011) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Curious Films (2011) (Australia) (theatrical)
• EDKO Film (2010) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Lumière Productie (2011) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2012) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Pandora Filmproduktion (2011) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Pretty Pictures (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Red Flag Releasing (RFR) (2012) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Soda Pictures (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
• Toho Company (2010) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Vértigo Films (2011) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Aerofilms (2011) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Aerofilms (2011) (Slovakia) (all media)
• CP Digital (2010) (Russia) (all media) (CIS)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2011) (Singapore) (all media)
• EDKO Film (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• EDKO Film (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Fuji Television Network (2011) (Japan) (TV)
• Home Box Office Latin America (HBO) (2011) (Brazil) (TV) (Latin America)
• Lumière Home Entertainment (2011) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Lusomundo (2010) (Portugal) (all media)
• M6 Vidéo (2012) (France) (DVD)
• Mongkol Major (2011) (Thailand) (all media)
• PCV (2010) (Greece) (all media)
• Sahamongkolfilm Co. (2011) (Thailand) (all media)
• Serenity Entertainment International (2010) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Shanghai Huayu Film Company (2011) (China) (all media)
• Soda Pictures (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• United King Films (2011) (Israel) (all media)

Other Companies

• Abbey Road Studios  score recording facility (as Abbey Road)
• BF Studio  music recording facility: The Emperor Quartet
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Griffith  crane and grip equipment supplied by
• Imagica  digital intermediate
• Imagica  prints
• Minami Azabu Studio Room  music 5.1 mixing studio
• Nihon Shomei Co.  transportation services provided by
• Nonesuch Records  soundtrack
• Sanwa Cine Equipment  camera equipment supplied by
• Sanwa Pro Light  lighting equipment supplied by
• Storm Rider Co.  extras casting
• Technicolor  release printing
• Vintage Books  novelization

Also Known As:

"Noruwei no mori" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:PG-12 | UK:15 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA (2011) | South Korea:18 | Spain:16 | Denmark:15 | USA:Not Rated | Sweden:15 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Asmik Ace Entertainment

Soundtrack:

Norwegian Wood

Movie Version of Norwegian Wood

When I was a university student, one of my close friends told me that novels by Haruki Murakami were good, and recommended me to read them. I was 19 years old then, and it was the first time for me to read "Norwegian Wood." The novel captured my interest, and I have read it again and again since then, and I still read it even now. "Norwegian Wood" is one of my favorite books.

The novel "Norwegian Wood" depicts the university days of the main character, Watanabe Tohru. In the novel, he lives in Tokyo, and goes to university. He likes reading American modern literature. He did not have any friends except for one best friend during his high school days, but the friend killed himself at the age of seventeen. Watanabe has several relationships with women between the age of 18 and 21. Some characters in the novel, other than Watanabe's best friend, have also killed themselves. The novel consists of sex, death, literature, and intelligence.

I went to university, and had some close female friends. In addition, I liked reading classic literature. Furthermore, I did not belong to a sport clubs at university, so the scope of my friendship was limited. In essence, I felt a sense of intimacy with Watanabe while reading the novel. (In fact, I learnt "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger and "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald from Norwegian Wood, and both books were the first English novels which I completed reading in their original language.) Norwegian Wood is an important book for me, so I was glad to hear, 2 to 3 years ago, that the movie version of this novel would be screened. The movie was released about one week ago, and I went to see it today.

Locations shot in the movie were beautiful, and the music sounds good. In particular, I was moved by one scene in which Reiko sang "Norwegian Wood" by the Beatles with a guitar, and Naoko lost her mental stability during Reiko's performance. In addition, the cast members in the movie were also good, especially Mizuhara Kiko, who played Midori, was very cute and vivid.

Since I have read the novel over and over, and remember the whole story in detail, I can go so far as to say that I do not need any explanation for the story in the movie. Because I know the story, I was purely interested in how the film director, Tran Anh Hung, had expressed the novel through the media of a movie.

The movie version of "Norwegian Wood" was not solely a converted version of the novel, but represented its originality and creativity with the help of movie techniques, such as music, voice (cry, laugh, or angry), facial expression, and scenery.

However, it is certain that those who have never read the novel will not enjoy the movie.

(The above comment is forwarded from my blog at http://metropolitantokyo.blogspot.com/)