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IMDbPro

Snow Falling on Cedars

  • 19991999
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 7m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
14K
YOUR RATING
Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
A Japanese-American fisherman is accused of killing his neighbor at sea. In the 1950s, race figures into the trial. So does reporter Ishmael.
Play trailer2:21
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaMysteryRomance
A Japanese-American fisherman is accused of killing his neighbor at sea. In the 1950s, race figures into the trial. So does reporter Ishmael.A Japanese-American fisherman is accused of killing his neighbor at sea. In the 1950s, race figures into the trial. So does reporter Ishmael.A Japanese-American fisherman is accused of killing his neighbor at sea. In the 1950s, race figures into the trial. So does reporter Ishmael.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
14K
YOUR RATING
    • Scott Hicks
    • David Guterson(novel)
    • Ron Bass(screenplay)
    • Scott Hicks(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ethan Hawke
    • Max von Sydow
    • Yûki Kudô
    • Scott Hicks
    • David Guterson(novel)
    • Ron Bass(screenplay)
    • Scott Hicks(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ethan Hawke
    • Max von Sydow
    • Yûki Kudô
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 201User reviews
    • 95Critic reviews
    • 44Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:21
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos103

    Rick Yune co-stars as Kazuo
    Ethan Hawke stars as Ishmael
    Ishmael & Hatsue
    Young Ishmael with his father, Arthur
    Ethan Hawke stars as Ishmael Chambers
    Director Scott Hicks
    Director Scott Hicks with Max von Sydow
    11 x 17 Mini Movie Poster
    Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
    Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
    Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
    Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ethan Hawke
    Ethan Hawke
    • Ishmael Chambers
    Max von Sydow
    Max von Sydow
    • Nels Gudmundsson
    • (as Max Von Sydow)
    Yûki Kudô
    Yûki Kudô
    • Hatsue Miyamoto
    • (as Youki Kudoh)
    Reeve Carney
    Reeve Carney
    • Young Ishmael Chambers
    Anne Suzuki
    Anne Suzuki
    • Young Hatsue Imada
    Rick Yune
    Rick Yune
    • Kazuo Miyamoto
    James Rebhorn
    James Rebhorn
    • Alvin Hooks
    James Cromwell
    James Cromwell
    • Judge Fielding
    Richard Jenkins
    Richard Jenkins
    • Sheriff Art Moran
    Arija Bareikis
    Arija Bareikis
    • Susan Marie Heine
    Eric Thal
    Eric Thal
    • Carl Heine Jr.
    Celia Weston
    Celia Weston
    • Etta Heine
    Daniel von Bargen
    Daniel von Bargen
    • Carl Heine Sr.
    • (as Daniel Von Bargen)
    Akira Takayama
    • Hisao Imada
    Ako
    Ako
    • Fujiko Imada
    Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
    Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
    • Zenhichi Miyamoto
    Zak Orth
    Zak Orth
    • Deputy Abel Martinson
    Max Wright
    Max Wright
    • Horace Whaley
      • Scott Hicks
      • David Guterson(novel)
      • Ron Bass(screenplay)
      • Scott Hicks(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When the Japanese-Americans are sent to internment camps, many of the extras were Japanese-Americans who had actually been sent to the camps in the 1940s.
    • Goofs
      The American flag shown has 50 stars. At the time, the flag had 48 stars.
    • Quotes

      Nels Gudmundsson: It takes a rare thing, a turning point, to free oneself from any obsession. Be it prejudice or hate, or, even love.

    • Crazy credits
      Jan Rubes and Sheila Moore are on the credits despite their scenes being deleted.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Double Jeopardy/Jakob the Liar/Mumford (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      Moon over Burma
      Written by Friedrich Hollaender (as Frederick Hollander), Frank Loesser

      Performed by Dorothy Lamour

      Courtesy of the RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment

    User reviews201

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Almost perfect
    Adapting this novel with its tricky, time-shifting narrative was always going to be a big task, but Scott Hicks' sumptuous and elegant film very nearly pulls it off. Hicks and co-writer Ron Bass move quickly into the courtroom and wisely use the trial to drive the plot, telling the backstory - the real story in this case - through a finely-woven complex of flashbacks. The difficulty is that this story is a rich, long and emotional tale which requires a fair degree of exposition for it to be satisfying. The screenplay is superbly economical in this regard, but there is no escaping the fact that the only way to cover so much ground in a film of tolerable length is to fly over it at 30,000 feet. The necessarily distant treatment this requires occasionally dilutes the emotional force which would have come from a more thorough and leisurely telling. Hicks strives valiantly to compensate with a powerfully emotive score - this works, but it doesn't always hit the mark. Rather than engendering emotion, James Newton Howard's musical is often so insistently overpowering that it locks the audience out. On occasions I felt strangely alienated by a wall of sound when I knew I should have been in tears. But that's a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent production. Overall, this is an intelligent and considered adaptation - probably the best that could be made from a novel which would have been incredibly difficult to bring to the screen. It's solidly acted, immaculately lit, and offers some of the most achingly beautiful imagery to illuminate the screen in years (the opening shots are magnificent). Most rewarding of all is the fact that Scott Hicks takes some real stylistic risks with this film. They don't always pay off, but when they do it's magical.
    helpful•36
    4
    • Steven Reynolds
    • Jan 23, 2000

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 7, 2000 (United States)
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
      • Universal Studios - Site Index (United States)
      • English
      • Japanese
      • German
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Fort Ebey State Park, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • The Kennedy/Marshall Company
      • Soundfirm
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 7 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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