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The Man Who Stole the Sun

Original title: Taiyô wo nusunda otoko
  • 1979
  • 2h 27m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
ActionCrimeThriller

A high school science teacher builds an atomic bomb and uses it to extort the nation, but cannot decide what he wants. Meanwhile, a determined cop is catching up to him, as is radiation pois... Read allA high school science teacher builds an atomic bomb and uses it to extort the nation, but cannot decide what he wants. Meanwhile, a determined cop is catching up to him, as is radiation poisoning.A high school science teacher builds an atomic bomb and uses it to extort the nation, but cannot decide what he wants. Meanwhile, a determined cop is catching up to him, as is radiation poisoning.

  • Director
    • Kazuhiko Hasegawa
  • Writers
    • Leonard Schrader
    • Kazuhiko Hasegawa
  • Stars
    • Bunta Sugawara
    • Kenji Sawada
    • Kimiko Ikegami
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    1.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Kazuhiko Hasegawa
    • Writers
      • Leonard Schrader
      • Kazuhiko Hasegawa
    • Stars
      • Bunta Sugawara
      • Kenji Sawada
      • Kimiko Ikegami
    • 15User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 8 wins & 7 nominations

    Photos17

    Kenji Sawada in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kenji Sawada and Bunta Sugawara in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kenji Sawada in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kenji Sawada and Bunta Sugawara in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kenji Sawada in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kenji Sawada in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kenji Sawada and Bunta Sugawara in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kiyoshi Kurosawa in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kazuhiko Hasegawa, Kenji Sawada, and Bunta Sugawara in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kazuhiko Hasegawa, Kenji Sawada, and Bunta Sugawara in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)
    Kazuhiko Hasegawa, Kenji Sawada, and Bunta Sugawara in The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bunta Sugawara
    Bunta Sugawara
    • Inspector Yamashita
    Kenji Sawada
    Kenji Sawada
    • Makoto Kido
    Kimiko Ikegami
    Kimiko Ikegami
    • Zero Sawai
    Kazuo Kitamura
    • Tanaka, the Director of the National Police Agency
    Shigeru Kôyama
    • Nakayama
    Kei Satô
    Kei Satô
    • Dr. Ichikawa
    Yûnosuke Itô
    Yûnosuke Itô
    • Bus Hijacker
    Eimei Esumi
    Eimei Esumi
    • Egawa
    Dennis Falt
    • CIA agent
    Hiroshi Gojô
    • Identikit Officer
    Tatsuya Hamaguchi
    Hajime Hoshi
    Junichi Hosokawa
    Akinobu Imamura
    Yukiko Inoue
    Yûdai Ishiyama
    • Detective Ishikawa
    Kazuhiro Iwamoto
    Rika Kayama
    • Student
    • Director
      • Kazuhiko Hasegawa
    • Writers
      • Leonard Schrader
      • Kazuhiko Hasegawa
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      At one point when Kenji Sawada is fending off the nuclear plant workers, the sound effects are taken from the video game Space Invaders (1978) which was enjoying massive success in Japan at the time of the movie's release. The movie begins and ends with exactly the same sound: a ticking clock, and then an explosion.
    • Quotes

      [On their way to appease a hostage-taker.]

      Yamashita: You're a teacher? What do you teach?

      Makoto Kido: Science.

      Yamashita: Hm. I don't think science isn't going to help us right now.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Crossfire (2000)

    User reviews15

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    The criticisms of this film are ridiculous.
    A highschool science teacher decides to make an atomic bomb in his apartment. The opening half hour of this movie is erratic, making it difficult to predict where the story is going or what will ultimately happen. A nice blend of dark thrills and black humor is what makes this one special. It juxtaposes tonal shifts in convincing fashion. The protagonist is an unorthodox mad scientist who is very likable and charismatic. There are some very interesting sequences in this, like the lengthy plutonium experiments and bomb construction. Most of the film is realistic but even the more wildly, intentionally unrealistic moments are entertaining in their craziness. There are also some subtleties that one will miss if they are not paying close attention. Performances are great and the ending is ballsy.

    Some of the criticisms that I've read for this film have annoyed me. It's like most of the negative reviews are coming from people who are demanding that every element of the film be easily categorized into tiny little boxes of familiarity and traditional filmmaking styles. Take the protagonist's philosophy as one example. We get a very good feel for his character throughout the film. He's an unhinged yet likable science teacher, but according to some critics he's apparently not "properly developed" because he doesn't come out and tell everyone exactly why he made the bomb. Well, why does he need a reason anyway? I thought one of the points of the film was that he didn't know what to do with the bomb after he made it. He even asks the radio DJ to poll her listeners so he can get some ideas! Come on, people. Did you really want him to make a long-winded nationalistic or philosophical speech at the end? I'm glad he didn't. In fact, I find it thought-provoking and refreshing that I have difficulty identifying exactly why he did it. And guess what? That was probably the WHOLE POINT OF THE MOVIE!

    Another ridiculous criticism is one of those oft-parroted dumb ones that I'll never understand. Due to the black humor and unrealistic moments, there are tonal shifts throughout. Of course, viewers who need their movies carbon-copied in Hollywood fashion will have a problem with this because "the movie doesn't know what it wants to be." Yeesh! Okay, do you really want every movie to be easily categorized as a "comedy" or a "drama" or a "thriller"? Do you really want every movie to be easily categorized as "realistic" or "unrealistic"? Sure, let's just eliminate genre-benders all together and we'll be left with a bunch of boring, predictable films. But at least we can feel good about ourselves because then we can properly categorize them into tiny little boxes. Listen people, the tonal shifts are one reason this film is fun to watch. The same is true with the wild shifts between realism and unrealism. The final half-hour (that everyone complains about) gave me more surprises than the last three dozen "single genre" films I've seen recently.

    This film refuses to limit itself, and that's why it's so entertaining and impressive.
    helpful•23
    8
    • ebossert
    • Aug 18, 2013

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 9, 1980 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Mannen som stal solen
    • Filming locations
      • Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto, Japan(I THINK THIS MOVIE DIDN'T LOCATION AT KUMAMOTO CASTLE .)
    • Production companies
      • Kitty Films
      • Tristone Entertainment Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      2 hours 27 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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