A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era ( Bakumatsu taiyôden ) ( The Sun Legend of the End of the Tokugawa Era )

A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era (Blu-Ray) (*)

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Original Title: Bakumatsu taiyôden
Alternate Title: The Sun Legend of the End of the Tokugawa Era
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Japanese ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( Blu-Ray/Region B )

Running Time:
110 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Special Edition
Black & White
Booklet

Movie filmed in 1957 and produced in:
Japan ( India, Eastern Asia )

Directed By:
Yûzô Kawashima

Written By:
Shôhei Imamura
Yûzô Kawashima

Actors:
Frankie Sakai ..... Inokori Saheiji, the stayer
Sachiko Hidari ..... Osome, the prostitute
Yôko Minamida ..... Koharu, the prostitute
Yûjirô Ishihara ..... Shinsaku Takasugi
Izumi Ashikawa ..... Ohisa, the maid
Toshiyuki Ichimura ..... Mokubei
Nobuo Kaneko ..... Denbei
Hisano Yamaoka ..... Otatsu - Denbei's wife
Yasukiyo Umeno ..... Tokusaburô - Otatsu's son
Masao Oda ..... Zenpachi
Masumi Okada ..... Kisuke
Toshio Takahara ..... Tadasuke
Tomio Aoki ..... Sanpei
Sanpei Mine ..... Okuma
Kin Sugai

Synopsis:

Voted one of the top five Japanese films ever made in a critic's poll by Japan's leading cinema publication Kinema Junpô, yet barely known in the West, Yûzô Kawashima's richly funny multi-levelled portrait of Japanese society Bakumatsu taiyô-den [A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era] is a glorious rediscovery. When man-about-town Saheiji (the beloved comedian Frankie Sakai) finds himself unable to pay for a bill at a brothel, he is forced to remain there to work off his debt. However he finds his wit and resourcefulness enable him to turn this situation to his advantage, as he interacts with a whole range of characters, from rivalling courtesans to political activists. Co-scripted by Shôhei Imamura (Vengeance Is Mine), it sharply and comically demonstrates the constants of human nature just as it delineates the tumultuous political times (the 1860s, leading up to the Meiji Restoration) in which they lived. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this classic in a new high-definition restoration.

Set in the last few years of the shogun's rule, this period/ensemble movie depicts the lives of the young and the restless at a whorehouse. The protagonist is Saheiji, a resourceful, witty free spirit. It's 1862, 6 years before the Shogun turned his political power over to the Emperor. Penniless Saheiji splashes out at a famous Shinagawa whorehouse. He's forced to stay on at the whorehouse to repay his debt. At first Saheiji is regarded as an unwelcome guest who never leaves but it turns out he is not just a poor grifter. None of the whorehouse's guests, hosts, servants and attending ladies are innocent but they are pragmatic schemers. Saheiji soon endears himself to them all and solves many whorehouse disputes with his wit. But it is slowly revealed that the seemingly perfect Saheiji is suffering from tuberculosis and his future is uncertain...

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 01 October, 2013.

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