Tora-san, the Intellectual
| Tora-san, the Intellectual | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Yoji Yamada |
| Written by | Yoji Yamada Yoshitaka Asama |
| Starring | Kiyoshi Atsumi Fumie Kashiyama |
| Cinematography | Tetsuo Takaba |
| Edited by | Iwao Ishii |
| Music by | Naozumi Yamamoto |
| Distributed by | Shochiku |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Tora-san, the Intellectual (男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Katsushika Risshihen) aka Tora-san Meets a Lady Scholar[1] is a 1975 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Fumie Kashiyama as his love interest or "Madonna".[2] Tora-san, the Intellectual is the sixteenth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.
Synopsis
[edit]Tora-san returns to his family's shop in Shibamata, Tokyo to find himself accused of being the father of a 17-year-old girl. It turns out that Tora-san had only given help to the girl's mother after her husband had left her. Tora-san becomes infatuated with the female archeology student who is staying with his family, and attempts to take up intellectual pursuits to get near her.[3][4]
Cast
[edit]- Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō[5]
- Chieko Baisho as Sakura
- Fumie Kashiyama as Reiko
- Junko Sakurada as Junko Mogami
- Keiju Kobayashi as Professor Tadokoro
- Masami Shimojō as Tatsuzō Kuruma (Torajiro's uncle)
- Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
- Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
- Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
- Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
- Gajirō Satō as Genkō
- Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
Critical appraisal
[edit]A 1977 review in The New York Times judged Tora-san, the Intellectual to be "genuinely warm and charming". The review commented that Yoji Yamada's script was "convoluted" and the directing "uneven", but that "Mr. Yamada is decidedly professional in shaping a colorful and briskly moving story," and that the film as a whole "project[s] contemporary Japanese family life and ties realistically and affectionately."[3] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san, the Intellectual three and a half out of five stars.[6]
Availability
[edit]Tora-san, the Intellectual was released theatrically on December 27, 1975.[7] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.[8] The film played for two days in New York in 1977 during which time it received a review in The New York Times.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -KATSUSHIKA RISSHI-HEN". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ "男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇 (Madonna)" (in Japanese). www.tora-san.jp. Retrieved 2010-01-18. (official site)
- ^ a b c Weiler, A.H. (1977-04-27). "Film: Japanese Suds". The New York Times.
- ^ 男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇 (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ 男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ "Tora-San, the Intellectual" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ "男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ 男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇 (1975) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
Bibliography
[edit]English
[edit]- "OTOKO WA TSURAI YO KATSUSHIKA RISSHI-HEN (1975)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -KATSUSHIKA RISSHI-HEN". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- Otoko wa tsurai yo: Katsushika risshihen (1975) at IMDb
- Weiler, A.H. (1977-04-27). "Film: Japanese Suds". The New York Times.
German
[edit]- "Tora-San, the Intellectual" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
Japanese
[edit]- 男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇 (1975) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- "男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- 男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- 男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇 (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
External links
[edit]- Tora-san, the Intellectual Archived 2013-06-19 at the Wayback Machine at www.tora-san.jp (official site)