Nora inu (1949)

During a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Ryûzô Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Detective Murakami
Takashi Shimura	...	Chief Detective Sato
Keiko Awaji	...	Harumi Namaki, the girl-friend
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Madame Namiki, Harumi's mother
Noriko Sengoku	...	Ogin, the pickpocket
Noriko Honma	...	Woman of wooden tub shop
Reikichi Kawamura	...	Officer Ichikawa
Eijirô Tôno	...	Old man of wooden tub shop
Yasushi Nagata	...	Investigation Chief Abe
Isao Kimura	...	Shinjiro Yusa
Teruko Kishi	...	Ogin, a pickpocket
Minoru Chiaki	...	Girlie Show director
Ichirô Sugai	...	Yayoi Hotel owner
Gen Shimizu	...	Police Inspector Nakajima
Kan Yanagiya	...	Police Officer

Storyline

Murukami, a young homicide detective, has his pocket picked on a bus and loses his pistol. Frantic and ashamed, he dashes about trying to recover the weapon without success until taken under the wing of an older and wiser detective, Sato. Together they track the culprit.

---

Plot Keywords:

bus | post war japan | stolen gun | baseball game | japanese noir | 

---

Taglines:

Another great detective classic in the tradition of "High and Low" by the same director!

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #233.

---

Goofs

At one point, there is a man playing a tune on a harmonica that needs two people with harmonicas to play.

---

Quotes

Det. Sato: That kind of high-strung girl is as stubborn as they come. Make 'em mad and they clam right up.

---

Connections

References Hallelujah (1929)

---

Soundtracks

The Waves of the Danube
Composed by Iosif Ivanovici
This is played by a harmonica player outside the bar where Murakami follows Ogin.
(The melody is also known as "The Anniversary Song", the title Al Jolson and Saul Chaplin gave to their adaptation of it.)

User Reviews

More than just noir

This early Kurosawa film interested me not only as a historical object, but because, as in every one of his films I've seen so far, the moral and philosophical implication of the story carries as much weight as the dramatic and poetic aspects. As another commenter said here, "When was the last time you saw a film where the central character had something called a moral imperative." To me it's extremely gratifying to find directors like Kurosawa, Bergman, and today's Hirokazu Kore-eda who treat moral themes seriously and with dignity, and don't shy away from difficult questions.

I was also intrigued by how almost every scene bears, already, the stamp of Kurosawa's unique vision as a director. I have no idea how this comes about, but there's just something there, almost like a fingerprint, that says "Kurosawa" unmistakeably. I would have to leave it to more gifted and better schooled viewers than myself to explain it, but I love seeing it. In part, I suppose it's due to the exceptionally fine cinematographers that Kurosawa habitually worked with.

I think the film is about thirty minutes too long, but if I have to see a film that's a bit too long, I'm at least glad it's by Kurosawa!

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

17 October 1949 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Chien enragé

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,942, 28 July 2002

Gross USA:

$46,808

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,808

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Art Association, Shintoho Film Distribution Committee, Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1