Fall Guy (1982)

A hot shot teen stumbles onto a mob execution and the gangsters conveniently set him up as the fall guy.

Director:

Kinji Fukasaku

Writers:

Kôhei Tsuka (play), Kôhei Tsuka (screenplay)

Stars:

Keiko Matsuzaka, Morio Kazama, Mitsuru Hirata

24 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keiko Matsuzaka	...	Konatsu
Morio Kazama	...	Ginshiro
Mitsuru Hirata	...	Yasu
Chika Takami	...	Tomoko
Daijirô Harada	...	Tachibana
Keizô Kanie	...	Film Director
Nijiko Kiyokawa	...	Yasu's mother
Rei Okamoto	...	Toku-san
Akira Shioji	...	Yamada
Harumi Sone
Hyôe Enoki	...	Tome
Shiro Takano
Kenjirô Ishimaru
Nagare Hagiwara	...	Yuji
Toshiya Sakai	...	Makoto

Storyline

A lowly obsequious member of a movie star's entourage agrees to marry his boss's pregnant mistress so he can continue his feckless lifestyle. He then takes up dangerous work as a stunt man to support his new family. Duty and loyalty turn into something deeper.

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Plot Keywords:

falling down stairs | movie poster | love triangle | hospital | newlyweds | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Kamata kôshin-kyoku
(Based on "Song of the Vagabonds" from 1929 operetta "The Vagabond King")
Written by Rudolf Friml (as Rudolph Friml)
Performed by Keiko Ishizaka, Morio Kazama and Mitsuru Hirata

User Reviews

Quite enjoyable though the tempo of the film is a bit inconsistent.

"Fall Guy" is an odd film. Through much of the film, it's an obvious (and very broad) comedy. However, later in the film, it's much more of a romantic drama--making it very hard to categorize and a bit strange.

The film begins on a movie set. One of the stars of the film begins behaving like a jerk, as it's obvious he's very insecure and has an ego the size of Texas. And, during all of Gin-Chan's histrionics and boorish behavior, he has an entourage that constantly tells him that he's wonderful and seem willing to do ANYTHING for him. It's all quite funny and a nice commentary about some movie stars.

A bit later, Gin-Chan's old girlfriend, Konatsu, informs him she's pregnant. Not surprisingly, Gin-Chan isn't willing to marry her and orders one of his underlings, Yasu, to marry her. This scene I think was overdone--and telling Yasu to do this while Konatsu is having sex with her seemed much more awkward than funny--though it does establish, once again, that Gin-Chan's friends will do ANYTHING for him. Yasu is still quite willing to marry the lady--partly because he's always been infatuated with her and partly because he thinks so little of himself.

To prove his devotion to Konatsu, Yasu takes on all the worst and most dangerous jobs in films--and gets the crap knocked out of him daily. However, one stunt NO ONE will do--even Yasu. But, he has a change of heart and agrees to--figuring that if this stunt kills him, he can leave Konatsu a nice insurance settlement. What's next? See the film.

I liked this film but really, really wish they'd either decided to make it a kooky comedy OR a romantic film. But, the characters are so likable that I was willing to overlook this and recommend you try this quirky film. Considering my description above, you probably don't want to watch this with the kids--there are a couple rather explicit scenes and quite a bit of blood.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

9 October 1982 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Die Todestreppe

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kadokawa Haruki Jimusho, Shochiku

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1